Review: LEGO 21341 Hocus Pocus The Sanderson Sisters’ Cottage

June 22, 2023 | 4

Prepare to be bewitched with 21341 Hocus Pocus The Sanderson Sisters’ Cottage, a fun and spooky LEGO set based on cult Halloween classic, Hocus Pocus! If 21330 Home Alone is the ultimate Christmas set, this set is hands down the ultimate Halloween set.

21341 Hocus Pocus The Sanderson Sisters’ Cottage is the 49th LEGO Ideas set, and the 4th of 2023, following 21340 Tales of the Space Age, 21339 BTS Dynamite and 21338 A-Frame Cabin and

21341 Hocus Pocus The Sanderson Sisters’ Cottage will be released on 1 July 2023 for LEGO VIPs (free to join!), and is a lot of fun, especially if you grew up being enthralled by the Sanderson sisters and really enjoy Halloween.

See below for regional pricing and links:

• 21341 Hocus Pocus The Sanderson Sisters’ Cottage [US] – US$229.99
• 21341 Hocus Pocus The Sanderson Sisters’ Cottage [AUS] – AU$349.99
• 21341 Hocus Pocus The Sanderson Sisters’ Cottage [UK] – £199.99
• 21341 Hocus Pocus The Sanderson Sisters’ Cottage [EU] – €229.99
• 21341 Hocus Pocus The Sanderson Sisters’ Cottage [CA] – CAD$299.99

If you’re picking up the LEGO Hocus Pocus set, please consider using these affiliate links as I may receive a small commission with each purchase that helps support the work I do here on the blog.

Who is this set for? Hocus Pocus fans who want to relive their favourite spooky movie in LEGO form, and those wanting a usable base for a Halloween scene, with fitting minifigures

Special thanks to LEGO for sending this set for this review!

21341 Hocus Pocus The Sanderson Sisters’ Cottage Set Details

Name: 21341 Hocus Pocus The Sanderson Sisters’ Cottage
Set Number: 21341
Pieces: 2316 pieces
Price: US$349.99 | US$229.99 | £199.99 | €229.99 | CAD$299.99
Exclusive to: LEGO.com / LEGO Stores
Theme: Ideas
Release Date: 1 July 2023 (VIP Early Access)
LEGO Designers: James May (Model Designer), Lauren Cullen King (Senior Graphics Designer), Ann Healy (Model Designer)

Unboxing, Stickers and Instruction Manuals

The fan design was created by Amber Veyt (The Ambrinator) and is an excellent licensed set based on the 1993 supernatural comedy film, featuring a comedic trio of witches that accidentally get resurrected, and in turn return to terrorising the town of Salem, known for its witch trials.

When the set was announced in June 2022, many LEGO fans were surprised at this rather left-field pick, but after seeing the massive reaction from fans of Hocus Pocus, especially those in the United States, It was immediately clear why LEGO had picked it.

I for one was very surprised that Hocus Pocus, despite being 30 years old resonated with so many people, both young and old, especially in America where Halloween is such a big deal.

Here’s a look at the sticker sheet, which has plenty of fun little details and references. For licensed sets like this, stickers are a way to boost the realism and incorporate many key details from the movie, so it’s unsurprising that there are a large number of stickers, most of which are relatively easy to apply.

Here’s a look at the instruction manual. The front cover is the boring plain sanitised version, but the inside features a lovely profile of the fan designer, trivia about the movie and also features the sets designers.

Fun fact, the black cat in the designer photoshoot is Haggis, the LEGO Ideas Design Manager’s own cat!

21341 Hocus Pocus The Sanderson Sisters’ Cottage Minifigures

Like most licensed sets, the minifigures are the heart and soul of the LEGO Hocus Pocus set. 6 minifigures are included (sadly no Billy!), and include Max and Dani Dennison, Allison Watts, and the Sanderson sisters – Sarah, Winnifred, and Mary Sanderson in their witchy best.

Thackery Binx (in his cat form) is also included!

The minifigures are delightful and fans of the movie will be very happy with the amazing design work done on these minifigures, especially the care and detail paid to their prints, as well as brand new wigs and accessories to really nail their appearances.

Here’s a look at Sarah, Winnifred and Mary Sanderson which are just so much fun, and their minifigures will no doubt delight Hocus Pocus fans.

The printing on their dresses are stunningly sharp, with great fabric details, accentuated by their capes and immediately recognisable heads and wigs.

Here’s a look at their back printing, and their dual-sided heads which have alternate expressions.

Two new wigs were designed by the team to really give Mary and Winnifred movie-accurate hairstyles and they do not disappoint one bit!

I also really like the recoloured green Palpatine lightning bolts included!

Here’s a look at the side characters, Allison Watts, Max and Dani Dennison. They’re also equally as detailed, and I really like their outfits, which are really contemporary, although Dani Dennison’s witch costume completely steals the show.

Here’s a look at their back printing and their alternate expressions.

Most notably, Dani’s witches hat which has hair fused to it is spectacular, and such a great option for those looking for an upgrade Witch’s hat for minifigure Halloween outfits.

With the minifigures and these iconic characters being a huge draw of the set, the designers have also come up with this fence/gate section which also double as a display stand for all the minifigures.

It’s an easy way to display and appreciate these minifigurses, as well as use this section as part of the build.

There are some nice features such as it folding to form a proper fenced/gate section. I also quite like the tree, which has a LEGO Friends-inspired design.

Binx’s spots even has cute cat footprints on the dirt leading to his spot.

There are also these graves and headstones which feature our only nod to Billy the zombie.

Unfortunately, Disney were quite prescriptive with who was included in the set, and it was their call on the 6 minifigures included, which is a shame as he’s such a fan favourite and so many were wanting to get a minifigure of him.

There’s also an Easter Egg with the fan designer’s name and birthday on one of the graves.

Oh, and yes, if you’re wondering, that is a brand new skeleton head, in grey for the very first time since 1989!

The Completed Model and Sanderson Sisters’ Cottage Interiors

And here’s the completed model which features a rather large re-creation of the Sanderson Museum/Cottage.

The design team have done a wonderful job bringing the Sanderson Cottage to life, and fans of the show will be happy that it’s in this scale. The price is a little high, but you’re getting a complete cottage, with all 4 walls and is satisfyingly sizable making it a great display model too.

The design will also appeal to those wanting more medieval/old-style buildings, and the build has many interesting and fun techniques to keep you engaged throughout.

The end result is really quite nice, and it has plenty of personality and charm, especially if you grew up with Hocus Pocus and are intimately familiar with the house.

Here’s a look at the sides and back of the Sanderson Cottage.

For LEGO fans who want a more complete build, you’ll be pleased to know the house doesn’t have a dollhouse design and is fully enclosed.

Just to illustrate how large the cottage is, here’s a side by side comparison with the A-Frame Cabin.

And here’s a look at it side by side with the LEGO Up House. Don’t go in there, Russell!!

I really like the uneven use of brown tiles here to give it a weathered look.

And here’s a look at the front, with those great dark brown tiles as panelling, with masonry bricks interweaved within.

Many fans have been wondering about the roof, which is mostly grey. In the movie, because many of the scenes are so dark, the roof does mostly look brown which most people remember it by, and the roof was brown in one of the early design drafts, but fan designer Amber who’s a Hocus Pocus superfan discovered a photo demonstrating a slate roof, which was much closer to grey.

I also think it helps with contrast and prevents the brown from being too overpowering.

Here’s a look at the chimney, and these pearlescent pinkish purple Monkie Kid clouds, a brand new recolour for this set. They bop up and down as you turn the water wheel.

And here’s a look at the Witch Museum sign out the front.

Now let’s head indoors. To allow you to interact with the detailed interiors, the back walls open outwards, and the roof also lifts up to get you access to the attic.

The side room is attached with Technic pins, and also comes away, with the roof opening in the same fashion, which I found very cute!

Let’s take a interiors of the gift shop! It’s quite cramped inside, and if you have large clumsy hands like me, I found it quite annoying because I was constantly knocking things over when I was exploring and moving the minifigures around.

I kinda wish that the first floor was detachable like a modular building which would’ve made access much easier.

The interiors are teeming with references and Easter Eggs from the movie, and Hocus Pocus fans will appreciate the lengths that the design team have gone to replicate as many details as possible from the gift shop/witch museum.

Here’s the cauldron, where you can illuminate the hearth by pushing a button beneath.

For those worrying, yes the candle flame is black! In fact, it’s the first time this flame element has been produced in the new trans-black colour, and looks great in tandem with the printed 1×1 round brick.

Of course, there’s the book of spells encased in glass.

Here’s a look at the decorative stickers on the outside of the book, as well as on the inside which has a spell that turns Thackery Binx into a black cat.

Here’s more shots of the interior.

And yes, that’s the double broom used by Mary before she upgrades to the mop!

Here’s a look at the upper level, with the large bed and a storage corner for a broom, mop and vacuum cleaner.

Perfect to re-create iconic shots like these!

And here are the caged skeletons hanging from the roof.

And here’s a look at Dani Dennison, captured and tormented by the Sanderson witches!

What I liked:

• Wonderfully faithful and accurate homage to Hocus Pocus
• All-around great structural design with plenty of character and personality
• Outstanding minifigure designs especially the Sanderson sisters

What I didn’t like: 

• Interiors are quite cramped and hard to navigate
• No Billy
• May not appeal if you’re not a fan of Focus Pocus/Halloween

FINAL THOUGHTS:

If you’re a fan of Hocus Pocus, 21341 Hocus Pocus The Sanderson Sisters’ Cottage is everything you could want in a set that pays homage to your favourite cult-classic Halloween movie.

Well, apart from the noticeable absence of Billy, you’ll consider this the perfect set.

It packs so much personality and if you’re familiar with the movie, the minifigures and incredible attention to detail, especially in the interiors of the gift shop will surely put a smile on your face as you’re building the Sanderson Sisters cottage.

This is a fine example of a licensed property done impressively well, and outside of the lack of Billy, you can definitely tell that the design team are huge fans of Hocus Pocus and made sure to include all the little details that make all the difference in a set like this.

As a model, it’s an aesthetically-pleasing model and strikes the right balance between being big enough to display and interact with, but at the same time, isn’t too impractically large and/or expensive.

Unfortunately, if you’re not a Hocus Pocus fan, much of the appeal of the set will be lost, but it does have a tremendous amount of dark brown tiles and really useful house and structure-building elements. In fact, it’s a really good Medieval-inspired building which also means you could technically place it in the witch-burning era of the movie and still make it work!

Price-wise, this set is priced fairly, given how much you get in the way of detailed minifigures, with new and exclusive accessories and wigs, as well as a solid minifigure lineup.

It gets released in July, which is a slightly weird time to get it, but come Halloween, I can see this set being incredibly popular especially in the US where Halloween and Hocus Pocus is considered a cult-classic and important October tradition.

Hocus Pocus fans will not disappoint, and if you’ve been waiting for a witchy and spooky LEGO set, 21341 Hocus Pocus The Sanderson Sisters’ Cottage is an easy recommendation to make!

Rating and score: 4/5 ★★★★✰

Build [3] – Lots of varied build techniques from furniture, to proper structural builds with some mechanical functions
Real Value [4] – With all LEGO have squeezed in here, this feels like pretty good value and is greater than the sum of its parts
Innovation [3] – Nothing really boundary-breaking here, but a fine example of nailing a licensed set
Coolness [4] – Legions of Hocus Pocus fans will fall in love with the set, and I’m glad their favourite Halloween film is getting the love it deserves in LEGO form
Keepability [4] – A great model to whip out every October and expand upon.

Thanks so much for reading my review of 21341 Hocus Pocus The Sanderson Sisters’ Cottage!

21341 Hocus Pocus The Sanderson Sisters’ Cottage will be released on 1 July 2023 for LEGO VIPs, and will be exclusive to LEGO.com.

Special thanks to LEGO for sending this set over for an early review!

What do you think of the LEGO Hocus Pocus set? Will you be picking this up in time for Halloween?

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