The LEGO Ideas First 2021 Review Results are out and… *drum roll* and the Jazz Quartet by Hsinwei Chi and The Office by Lego The Office have both passed this round to be selected as the next LEGO Ideas sets!
It’s a really good mix – personally, I’m not surprised that The Office passed the review, as it’s one of the most popular TV sitcoms ever, and has a massive fan-base, and fits into LEGO’s new TV Sitcom Apartment subtheme.
I expect The Office to be incredibly popular. I expect The Office to be incredibly popular, and one of the most popular LEGO Ideas sets yet – the prospect of a LEGO Michael Scott, Dwight Schrute and Jim & Pam are almost too good to pass up.
I just feel bad for the countless other The Office Ideas that have been rejected before.
Hsinwei Chi‘s Jazz Quarter is a surprise, but a very welcome one as I think it looks like a fantastic display model, and something really unique that LEGO has never quite tackled. It’s almost Miniland-esque.
Additionally, Snow White and The Seven Dwarfs by Hanwasyellowfirst will require further review. Probably to see if its feasible, and whether their Disney overlords will be upset.
NEXT REVIEW RESULTS COMING EARLY 2022
The next batch of LEGO Ideas projects are already in review. 34 projects have earned their spot in the review, by reaching 10,000 supporters between early May and early September 2021. We’ll share results of the Second 2021 LEGO review period in early 2022.
Personally, I’m pleased with this, despite Animal Crossing not making it through… The Office was a very safe choice, and the rest of the picks here are relatively non-controversial.
One thing though is that these sets don’t seem too massive, and will hopefully be quite affordable.
What do you think of the results so far?
Been checking the Lego page every day. Still waiting for the Office set to be available!
It’ll be a while! I imagine this might be released in Q4 of 2022.
Maybe even 2023, considering Lego still has quite a backlog of Ideas sets to be released. Anyway, don’t hold your breath for a while…
Firstly, a congratulations to the winners. Despite my personal opinions, they earnt their reward and deserve it.
As for the results themselves, I am disappointed. The Office is in the same vein as Seinfeld and Central Perk and will not appeal to anyone who doesn’t follow the show. There seems to be a trend to producing Lego sets that are scenes/sets from TV shows, movies or games (particularly in Ideas) and I feel that’ll hurt things long-term. Nostalgia can only go so far. If it becomes the case the only ideas to win are set pieces from TV shows, that is what people will keep posting and other ideas will fall by the wayside. Why would anyone try to make something new or different?
Based on these results, the next review will probably result in Spaceballs and The Nanny winning. There’ll be a flood of submissions trying to replicate other sitcoms.
Of the sets to be produced, there’ll be nothing to look forward to in the next year.
I don’t think the popularity of The Nanny is reasonably close to the other sitcoms adapted, besides the proposed set is too big and would compete with the modulars.
For Spaceballs, apparently Lucas was cool with the movie and let it slide, on the condition that the movie wouldn’t have any connected merchandise. And it might have been a long time ago, but there’s a small Lego license that Lego has held since the late 1990’s, where they’d be wary to upset the original licensor…
“Many of Brooks’ most famous films are parodies of certain directors or genres. For example, High Anxiety is a spoof of Alfred Hitchcock movies and Young Frankenstein is a spoof of the Universal Frankenstein movies. In the same vein, Spaceballs is primarily a spoof of the original Star Wars trilogy, though it includes references to other science fiction films like Planet of the Apes and Alien. Brooks was worried Lucas might sue him over the movie even though parody is protected by copyright law.
He told Entertainment Weekly “I was afraid to get sued by Lucas. I sent him the script and he said, ‘It’s fine.’” Brooks informed The A.V. Club there was a caveat. “I wasn’t allowed to do any merchandising… I wasn’t allowed to do that. My deal with Star Wars was no action figures.’” This is ironic, as Brooks’ character in the film, Yogurt, is obsessed with merchandising.”
https://www.cheatsheet.com/entertainment/how-george-lucas-reacted-to-the-star-wars-parody-spaceballs.html/
I agree that most of those series-based sets aren’t exactly exciting, but in my opinion the jazz quartet is a very creative build. I’ve never seen a lego set like that one before and personally i’m really looking forward to he release of it.
I would guess that the Snow White set would be tweaked to look ‘more’ like its Disney counterpart, after Lego and DIsney have worked out the details…
What a joke The Office is. I do not understand why adults want a model of an office with a bunch of tiny plastic figures with printed on faces that are designed for five year olds.
At least the jazz quartet got through – a set that is imaginative, beautiful, creative and superbly executed. I’ll but that one but I am disgusted with the office, yet another set based on yet another UTTERLY LAME American Tv show…. At least the British version was actually funny.
Jay, what do you see in this set? I simply don’t understand how anyone could be delighted this lemon got selected.
Stop being toxic. These comments aren’t meant for that.
I can’t speak for the vast majority of LEGO fans, but The Office is one of the most popular TV sitcoms in the Western world, and a property that millennials and Gen Z (two major demographics that LEGO is courting heavily) have a strong affinity to.
It was the most streamed TV show on 2020 (https://variety.com/2021/digital/news/the-office-most-streamed-tv-show-2020-nielsen-1234883822/), and Netflix lost the rights to it, despite bidding US$90m a year for it.
The Office fanbase is massive, and LEGO knows this, so even if it is a “plain” and “unimaginative” LEGO set, it’s all but guaranteed to be a commercial success.
Personally, I grew up watching The Office, and have very fond memories, especially during my university years, and to this day, still enjoy catching the occasional episode or Youtube clip, so I’m personally looking forward to it, and I imagine, many other fans too.
You also have to remember, that LEGO uses these licensed properties to also appeal to non-LEGO fans, with the hopes that they draw them in, and turn them into lifelong LEGO fans 🙂
So .. from 50+ great ideas the best they could manage was yet another vanilla “room” set from a US TV show? Never mind that it could have been the UK version with its iconic characters. I suppose these must sell but it’s an easy pass for me – another play at a new market for Lego though I guess, but why waste another Ideas set on it – this is now the third such set? Why not just create an official subtheme?
The jazz quartet is a unique and creative use of the brick, I’m glad we got that. Snow White is again a continuation of an existing range and something that could quite easily have sat in the Disney range. To me the cottage looks a similar build to other small cottages we’ve seen recently.
Overall as always I’m disappointed that so many great creative and original ideas missed out. I hope the bricklink program for these can be extended.
Utterly, completely and overwhelmingly gutted that the Orca didn’t make it. They would sell bucket loads of them, I am sure.
Love the Jazz Quartet!
I have voted for the Snow White house twice now. I am glad they didn’t dismiss it completely this time. It would make a wonderful set, in my opinion.
I have to admit I am a bit disillusioned about the process of the Ideas sets. What makes a set “worthy” of being made isn’t very clear to me. So many amazing builds are always left behind
The Office is an interesting choice. There’s no doubt it is very popular, but as a remake of the UK Office, I wonder how it will sell over here if there isn’t a David Brent minifigure.
(I know the US Office has become a much different sitcom however)
TOTAL DISAPPOINTMENT FOR THE RESULT!
“Jazz Quartet”
“The Office”
and a review of “Snow White and The Seven Dwarfs” …
Perhaps the only understandable is that of Jazz. The others just don’t. Without words. Many more promising projects have been discarded, as usual.