Review: LEGO Minions Rise of Gru Brickheadz (40420, 40421)

April 26, 2021 | 7

LEGO Minions minifigure-scale set aren’t the only thing that are being released today (check this post out to find out about all the new April set releases) – we also have Minions Rise of Gru Brickheadz dropping as well, and I can now share this quick review of the two new sets:

40420 Gru, Stuart and Otto and 40421 Belle Bottom, Kevin and Bob. These 2 triple-pack Brickheadz were meant to coincide with the release of Minions Rise of Gru, which has now been delayed to July 2022, so LEGO were just sitting on these sets and decided to release them.

Funny story – these sets were meant to be released last year when Rise of Gru was originally meant to come out, but it’s since been delayed twice, which is kinda sad.

Anyway, Brickheadz the theme continues to live on, meeting the needs of licensed properties, or seasonal characters and holidays, so let’s take a look at these 2 new Minions Brickheadz!

Check out the trailer to the movie below!

Special thanks to the LEGO Group for providing these sets for review

40420 Gru, Stuart and Otto Set Details

Name: Gru, Stuart and Otto
Set Number: 40420
Pieces: 244
Price: AU$TBD | US$19.99 | £17.99 – Buy from LEGO.com [AUS] [USA] [UK]
Exclusive to: LEGO.com, LEGO Brand Retail Stores
Theme: Brickheadz / Rise of Gru
Release Date: 26 April 2021

Before we jump into the character reviews, can I say I love how fun the packaging design is? I’m not the biggest Minions fan, but I do love good ole Bob sticking out the side with a cute grin.

Meet young Gru, who’s a child in this prequel to the Minions and Despicable Me franchise, which has spawned billions of dollars at the box office, obsession with bananas, and terrible Minions memes which has plagued the internet.

As you can tell, this version of Gru is much younger, and looks nowhere lke what you’d expect Gru to look like from Despicable Me. He has his trademark scarf, but beyond that, just looks like a regular boy with neatly combed hair.

The construction is quite basic but captures the cartoony look quite well, and I was really impressed by the snot techniques which makes him look like a polygonal Playstation 1 video game character.

He has a printed tile on his torso, to give the impression of an untucked shirt, and I’m glad to see printed tiles return to Brickheadz.

Here’s the back – I really like the technique used to ensure continuation of his scarf on his neck.

That said, like the movies, the real stars are the Minions, and both Otto (the round one) and Stuart the lanky one translate brilliantly to Brickheadz.

We get new eyes which are printed 2 x 2 round tiles with the super-sized Brickheadz eyes, and also printed tiles for their pockets on the front which is a nice touch.

Otto also comes with a printed Chinese dragon medallion, which likely has some sort of significance in the movie.

Here’s the look at their backs which is plain, but has their eye goggle straps extending all the way to the back.

As a bonus, Stuart also has another printed tile on his head, which has wispy bits of hair which is a cool touch.

And in case you’re wondering how they look next to their Minions minifigure counterparts, here’s a side by side!

Rating and score: 3/5 ★★★✰✰

Build [3] – No interesting techniques here, just regular a stock standard Brickheadz build that’s on the simple side
Real Value [3] – For US$20, they’re decently priced, considering you get 3 Brickheadz
Innovation [2] – Nothing too flashy here, but good to see printed tiles make a return
Coolness [3] – This is a tough one – do you think Minions are cool? If so, you’ll love these. If not, they’ll remain cringey
Keepability [4] – Rise of Gru is one of those infamous movies marred by Covid, having being delayed 2 years. They have a cool novelty as Minions Brickheadz in the OG blue and yellow colours, and there are some hardcore Minions fans, so these will stand the test of time

40421 Belle Bottom, Kevin and Bob Set Details

Name: Belle Bottom, Kevin and Bob
Set Number: 40421
Pieces: 309
Price: AU$TBD | US$19.99 | £17.99 – Buy from LEGO.com [AUS] [USA] [UK]
Exclusive to: LEGO.com, LEGO Brand Retail Stores
Theme: Brickheadz / Rise of Gru
Release Date: 26 April 2021

Here’s Belle Bottom, voiced by Taraji P. Henson in Rise of Gru. She’s meant to be an antagonist, but as the movie isn’t out, you’ll have to deduce what her character is like.

Her gold chain is a printed tile, and looks pretty cool – yet another plus to see the return of printed tiles on Brickheadz.

The sculpting of her scarf and shape of her outfit is also pretty unique.

Her big hair is quite fun to build, and the shape is done exceptionally well. You know what they say about people with big hair – they have bigger attitudes.

Unfortunately, for sets based on movies that get released without the movie as context, I have little to no idea about who Belle Bottom is, and as such, can’t really form an emotional connection with her.

Belle Bottom is accompanied by Kevin (the tall one with nunchuks) and Bob (the short one), and they’re both dressed in Bruce Lee-inspired kung-fu costumes.

They both have the new oversized Brickheadz eyes, which work really well here, and also a printed tile on their body for some added details.

From the side, you can also see that they have printed 1 x 1 yellow tiles with a black stripe, to match Bruce Lee’s iconic striped tracksuit look which is a nice touch.

And here’s how they look alongside their Kung-fu Minions Minifigure counterparts.

And here’s the trio of them together – from the pairing, it seems like these are Belle Bottom’s henchmen since Minions are all about serving bad guys and doing their bidding.

Rating and score: 2/5 ★★✰✰✰

Build [3] – Belle Bottom was a bit more interesting to build, especially her hair, but the Minions are fairly straight forward
Real Value [3] – For US$20, they’re decently priced, considering you get 3 Brickheadz
Innovation [2] – Nothing outstanding, but Belle’s hairdo used some cool techniques
Coolness [2] – I don’t really know Belle Bottom, so can’t say for sure if this is cool
Keepability [2] – Minions are unfortunately not in their original colours, so I don’t think this is as iconic, especially since Belle Bottom is a new character.

Final Thoughts: This entire wave of Minions sets (actually the entire theme) bore the full brunt of Covid-cinematic delays. A movie being delayed 2 years, and sets that were meant to be released in 2020, meant that LEGO had to take the difficult choice of releasing them without the backing of a major movie, and that almost dooms them to obscurity.

By the time Rise of Gru comes out in cinemas next year, these Brickheadz will likely be forgotten, as LEGO moves on to their 2022 sets.

That said, the Brickheadz format suits the Minions really well, and Minions fans will be delighted to have official Brickheadz, and it’s great that they aren’t too cost-prohibitve.

Out of these 2 sets, 40420 Gru, Stuart and Otto is the clear winner for me as they have Minions in their iconic blue and yellow outfits, and the addition of young Gru as well.

40421 suffers from a lack of context, as I know nothing about Belle Bottom, or why the Minions are doing kung-fu.

If you like Minions, get these, as they’re quite adorable, but if you can’t care less about Minions or Brickheadz, you can easily skip these.

That said, these are quite the novelty item, and if Minions continue to be ubiquitous, I can see these being fairly collectible once they’ve been retired, which will likely be very soon.

The new LEGO Minions Brickheadz are now available from LEGO.com in the US and UK, but hasn’t shown up on the Australian store, although they’ve been spotted at LEGO Certified Stores.

I’d love to know what you think of these Minion Brickheadz. Love em or hate em?

To read more reviews, check out the Jay’s Brick Blog Review Hub. To stay up to date on the latest posts, you can follow the Jay’s Brick Blog Facebook page, Instagram or subscribe to receive email alerts for new posts!

Special thanks to the LEGO Group for providing these sets for review.