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This article lists notable events and releases in the history of the Lego Group.
A Lego minifigure, often simply referred to as a Lego figure or a minifig, is a small plastic articulated figurine made of special Lego bricks produced by Danish building toy manufacturer The Lego Group. They were first produced in 1978 and have been a success, with over 4 billion produced worldwide as of 2020. Minifigures are usually found within Lego sets, although they are also sold separately as collectables in blind bags, or can be custom-built in Lego stores and on lego.com. While some are named as specific characters, either licensed from already existing franchises or of Lego's own creation, many are unnamed and are designed simply to fit within a certain theme. They are highly customizable, and parts from different figures can be mixed and matched, resulting in many combinations.
Lego Adventurers was a Lego theme based on an early 20th century 'explorer' concept. It centred around the main character named Johnny Thunder and a team of explorers who go on adventures. Unlike other Lego themes, which take place in a fictional "Lego Universe", most of the Adventurers sets took places in real-world locations, such as Egypt, the Amazon rainforest, the Himalayas, India, and China. The only fictional sub-theme took place on an island where prehistoric creatures still lived. The theme was first introduced in 1998. The product line was discontinued in 2003 and replaced with the Lego Pharaoh's Quest theme in 2011.
Lego Harry Potter is a Lego theme based on the film series of the same name and the eponymous novels by British author J. K. Rowling. It is licensed from Warner Bros. Lego models of important scenes, vehicles and characters were made for the first six films and all of the published books. The first sets appeared in 2001, to coincide with the release of the first film, Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone. Subsequent sets were released alongside the new films, until Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix. The line then went dormant for three years, with sets being released in 2010 and 2011. In 2018, it was announced that more sets based on the Harry Potter franchise would be released, including new sets based on Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them and its sequel, Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald.
Lego Creator is a sandbox game for Microsoft Windows, which involves building with virtual Lego elements. The game has no missions, objectives, challenges, or money constraints. The game was released on 11 November 1998.
Lego Ninja was a theme and product range of the construction toy Lego. Launched in 1998, the collection was its own theme. It had many elements of the ninja warriors from feudal Japan. The majority of the sets were released in 1998 and 1999; however, three small sets of minifigures were released in 2000 as part of the "Mini Heroes Collection". After this, the theme was discontinued, and was effectively replaced by the "Knights Castle" theme in 2000.
Lego Creator is a Lego theme for generic models. Creator sets have few specialized bricks to create buildings, creatures, vehicles, and robots. Some sets featured instructions for three different possible builds from the bricks included and most sets in recent years have used the 3-in-1 label. Creator is also a parent theme to Lego Icons, a Lego subtheme for adolescents and adults featuring advanced building techniques and large piece counts, mostly known for Modular Buildings and detailed vehicles. Creator also has had several other subthemes such as X-Pods and mosaics.
Lego Studios was a popular brand of Lego toys released in 2000 and mainly focused on movie-making and the steps thereof. Lego Studios was first distributed in November 2000, and was later discontinued in 2003. The last series in the franchise was the Lego Spider-Man set.
Lego Belville was a Lego theme designed to appeal primarily to girls. First introduced in 1994, the theme included multi-jointed doll-like characters that were larger in scale than the traditional Lego minifigure. The toy sets were produced from standard Lego bricks and larger pieces, often in a pink and purple colour scheme, and depicted scenes from fairy tales and fantasy as well as everyday life. The product line was discontinued in 2009. Belville's direct successor is Lego Friends, which was introduced in 2012. Other Lego product ranges that have been designed for girls include Homemaker (1971-1982), Paradisa (1991–1997) and Scala (1997–2001).
Lego Toy Story is a Lego theme based on the Disney·Pixar's Toy Story film franchise. The first four sets were released on December 30, 2009, with an additional two sets being released on January 4, 2010. In May, five Lego and four Duplo sets were released under the Toy Story 3 sub-theme. For the release of Toy Story 4 there was one Duplo set based on the third film and 6 Lego sets based on the fourth film. These sets were released in March and in April 2019 this time under the Juniors line. The minifigures in the sets were also now redesigned.
Lego Prince of Persia was a Lego theme based on the 2010 film Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time. It was licensed from Walt Disney Pictures and Jerry Bruckheimer Films. The theme was introduced in 2010 and was discontinued by the end of 2011.
Lego Minifigures is a 2010 Lego theme based on a set of collectible Lego minifigures. Each figure is an original character with new clothing and facial designs, and most contain previously unseen accessories. Each series usually contained 16 different minifigures; however, some series contain as few as 9 minifigures, while others contain up to 22. Since 2021, the number of different minifigures for a series is set to 12.in 2023, the Disney 100-anniversary series came out,bringing the total number of figures to 18, although it was once again reduced to 12 with the second Marvel series. This series also introduced paper boxes,instead of the plastic bags,making it no longer possible to feel up the pieces for each figure.
Lego Ninjago is a Lego theme that was created in 2011 and a flagship brand of The Lego Group. It is the first theme to be based on ninja since the discontinuation of the Lego Ninja theme in 2000. It was produced to coincide with the computer-animated television series Ninjago, which was superseded in 2023 by a new series titled Ninjago: Dragons Rising.
Lego Pirates of the Caribbean was a Lego theme that is based on the film series of the same name. It is licensed from Walt Disney Pictures and Jerry Bruckheimer Films. There are nine known sets. The first wave was released in May 2011 with the second wave coming out in November 2011. In November 2010, it was officially announced by Lego that the video game Lego Pirates of the Caribbean: The Video Game was in production. It was released on May 10, 2011, in North America. The series acts as a thematic replacement for the popular Lego Pirates theme, featuring many of the same elements. Most of the sets are similar to the Lego Pirates theme. The theme was first introduced in 2011 and discontinued in 2017.
Lego Legends of Chima was a Lego theme that was introduced in 2013 and discontinued in 2015. The product line was based on the storyline of Legends of Chima, a 3D animated television series, which was produced to coincide with the Lego theme. The storyline was set in the fictional realm of "Chima", a fantasy world inhabited by various warring tribes of anthropomorphic animals that battle to collect a substance called "Chi". Alongside the television series and several shorts based on Lego Legends of Chima. The theme also produced a range of associated media, including theme park attractions, video games, apps, and publications.
Lego Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles was a Lego theme based on the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles entertainment franchise first created by Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird. The theme was first introduced in 2012 and was discontinued by the end of 2014. Also included sets based on both the 2012 animated series from Nickelodeon and the 2014 film produced by Michael Bay.
The Lego Ninjago Movie was a product line based on The Lego Ninjago Movie, the third film of The Lego Movie franchise. It was licensed from The Lego Group and Warner Bros. Animation. The theme was introduced in 2017 as part of a licensing and merchandising programme associated with the film. Alongside the release of the Lego sets, the programme included the release of several promotional short films and The Lego Ninjago Movie Video Game. The product line was discontinued by the end of 2019.
Lego The Powerpuff Girls was a Lego theme based on the Cartoon Network television series of the same name created by Craig McCracken. It was licensed from Cartoon Network. Before the launch of the Lego The Powerpuff Girls theme, two packs were released for the Lego Dimensions toys-to-life video game in 2017. The theme was introduced in August 2018 and was discontinued by the end of 2019.
Lego The Angry Birds Movie was a Lego theme based on Rovio Entertainment's video game series of the same name and the same of the film. It was licensed from Columbia Pictures and Rovio Animation. The theme was first introduced in April 2016. The product line was discontinued by the end of 2017.
Lego Monster Fighters was a Lego theme based on Universal Studios Monsters from the horror fiction genre. The Monster Fighters fight against the Lord Vampyre's monsters while collecting the moonstones. The story takes place in the Monster Realm and it's similar to The Monster Squad film. The theme was first introduced in May 2012. It was eventually discontinued by the end of December 2014. The theme also produced a range of associated media, including theme park attractions, several shorts, video game, app and publications.
References
- 1 2 3 4 5 Herman, Sarah (2012-07-09). Building a History: The Lego Group. Grub Street Publishers. pp. 230–233. ISBN 978-1-78340-804-7.
- 1 2 "Sports / Basketball LEGO Sets". BrickEconomy. Retrieved 2021-08-07.
