When the rumor of a Disney™ Villians set trickled down the grapevine and pictures began to circulate online I got hit with a wave of nostalgia. Memories of magical black VHS cassettes that brought my favorite movies to life on our old box TV flooded my heart and I waited patiently for my turn to buy the set, which for a time, was impossible to find or order. It seems I wasn’t the only one who found a soft spot in their heart for days gone by.
Huge disclaimer here! This in depth review may expose hidden gems of pure awesomeness, so if you want to discover these as you build, and not before, click out of this review now!
LEGO Villain Icons #43227 was released as part of the Disney™ 100 celebration. It is a beautiful build, and all the clear and subtle references to a collection of undeniably some of the best movies released in this genre, gives it an extra special touch.
It is a nice sized build with 1540 pieces. It is rated for 18+, another in a growing collection of sets dedicated to the adult fan community. It came with 14 bags, an instruction book, and two sticker sheets.
Seven movies are honored within the build. Four of them are given center stage and the other three are given a small but special nod as accessories pieces.
We will take a peek at the smaller pieces first. A white playing card is propped up on the pink Aladdin case and after a quick glance we all know whose face that is. The Queen of Hearts has made it on her very own deck of cards. The card face is made up of three pieces and all of them are printed on. Yay!
Her face changes as the card is flipped. One way she is her usual cheerful short tempered self, and beneath that she is in an angry rage. It is the smallest out of all of the movie references, but it is really nice that the designers chose to add this one in.
Tick Tock Tick Tock, oh how I wish they had made a more prominent piece for this movie, but I do love what they did to make Captain Hook a part of the set. The clock is slightly complicated to build up, but it is well worth it. Little gears made from utensil tool chainsaw blades are built into the center. A ring of golden pieces was built and attached around the base’s brown circle plate. There are eight pieces that create the ring, and they can pop off easily especially when the top clock face piece is off. A ring is built on the top of the clock in case a life size Hook has retrieved it back from the crocodile’s stomach and would like to hang it back on a waistcoat chain.
The clock face has a beautiful design printed on it with gold rings around the numeral letters and silver blue silhouettes of flying children and stars filling the center. The clock hands can rotate to any time you wish, although the closer they get to overlapping each other the looser the connection to the base becomes.
The hands are made out of a collection of small black pieces and once again an ingenious choice. Flip this little clock over and you are in for a surprise. Artwork fills the back panel and oh how I love the design. The shiny metal hook brings a sharp reminder of a greedy crocodile, and beneath white lace and a red sleeve are perfectly depicted. Although it is one of the smallest parts it may be my favorite part.
The last of the three small movie references is actually a decently sized poison apple. This gorgeous little fruit, dripping with vial intentions, was a bit more tedious to build than the previous two. The apple has an evil heart at the center where the Wicked Queen hides on a snowy white bed. Placing all the exterior design features around the apple’s sides took some time, but the top went together much quicker. Large quarter dome pieces built up most of it with the exception of the center which creates a support system for the stem and leaf. The leaf can rotate in two ways, but it has a tendency to fall off easily. The center and one side of the top is secured with just two points so it pops off with ease to reveal the villain inside.
The Evil Queen Minifigure has an all black skirt and a black torso with only a touch of color on the front where two white scraggly portions of hair hang down each side. She wears a black hood which is molded with many swoops and creases. It is a very nice LEGO piece that would be fun to add to a lot of different characters. As an added bonus she carries a shiny red apple. She has two face prints and neither of them are very appealing, but would we really expect anything else. On one side she makes an attempt to have a pleasant smile, but there is no disguising the hate in those eyes. Flip the head around and the ugliness of jealousy is apparent in the scowling eyes and snarl. The queen believed her beauty to be the most important thing about her, but true beauty lies within and this little minifigure shows the true character within the heart of the queen.
The large structure of the set is a combination of two VHS cases for Aladdin and Sleeping Beauty, a VHS cassette of The Little Mermaid, and a Beauty and the Beast book. They are all attached securely to each other, so it is easy to move around. The Little Mermaid VHS is attached at two spots with ball and joint sockets, so it is easy to pop off if a closer inspection is desired. Sleeping Beauty can also slide apart easily from the other sections, but in doing so an unfinished backside is revealed. The brown book is best left alone since it is securely attached to the pink case beneath it.
The Little Mermaid’s VHS cassette was challenging to build, or at least for me it was. I made a big mistake when I positioned the sockets at the base and after failing to fix it without destroying most of my work I gave up and had to start again from the beginning. Word of advice, watch the position of the pieces closely!
It is secure when built, but likes to fall apart easily during the first part of the build. I think the thing that amazed me the most was how realistic this looks to the real version. The backside is predominately black, but an observant eye will notice how many pieces were used to create it. The two white gears may not rotate, but they create a perfect visual effect.
Spin the cassette around to the front and the fun continues. A large center picture with the movie title, and a minifig Ursula is set between rows of light purple. This was one of many stickers used. On either side of this clear panels cover the tape that is wound beneath them. The left side of the tape is thicker than its counterpart which I thought was a great touch.
My favorite feature is the hinged top that opens and houses clips from the movie. Placed in a row this mimics tape rolling across. These were also stickers and a bit tricky to put on because they were long and skinny.
I am very impressed with this cassette. It looks so realistic that you could almost mistake it for the real thing and try popping it into your vintage player.
Gaston couldn’t read this book either since it lacks any pictures in its interior, but it is a lovely reference to the movie and Belle’s love for reading. The spine is decorated with golden accent pieces and three large stickers that have beautiful artwork drawings upon them. A little golden handle seems oddly out of place at first glance, but it is needed for one of two surprises that the book holds.
Pull on the handle and a little drawer slides out and hidden inside is a rather vain hunter. I found it odd that I had to stick him in a drawer since it almost felt like I was putting him inside a type of coffin. Nonetheless, it is a sneaky little hiding place for him, and considering his demise it is fitting. The other secret feature is built into the tan pages. As I was building the interior structure for the book I was completely confused. I assumed it was going to be a hollow book, but a support structure was built that allowed for rotation. I finally put two and two together and what a happy moment that was. A special pop up shelf holds the rose which is encased in a dome covering and placed in front of blue drapes. What a lovely little surprise!
He may be vain, a villain, and hiding in a drawer, but the minifigure of Gaston is also extremely well designed. The front and sides of his pants are divided into three color layers. His red tunic continues down below his waist line and ends in a wavy line. Black pants lie beneath that, and tall brown boots finish the design off. His backside is all brown, a slightly interesting choice since I don’t think the boots would have come up that high. The torso gets a big thumbs up. His arms sport short sleeves, and his hands are yellow to depict gloves being worn. He has worked hard to get strong abs and it sure shows with muscle definition creasing his shirt front and back. He has a yellow collar on the bright red tunic, and a classy belt around his waist. Two face prints help him wear either an angry scowl, or a suave smirk to impress the ladies. His hair piece suits him very well. It is black with a slight peak at the forehead and pulled back at the nap of the neck in ponytail fashion. For now we will place him back in his drawer, but I am sure he will be ready to jump into action if the Beast shows up.
The colors of the Sleeping Beauty VHS case are my favorite of the build. The combination of purple, light aqua, and lime green are stunning together. From the front view you see the spine of the case which has three notable signs running down it. At the top a silver sticker was placed on a grey smooth tile illustrating Disney’s 100th Anniversary. Beneath that lies the title of the movie and stickers are used here also. At the bottom a large grey square tile was used to support the final sticker which is an impressive artwork drawing of Maleficent.
The artwork on the VHS cases were always a special favorite of mine. I can still remember my favorites! On this LEGO version of Sleeping Beauty the artwork is quite possibly the best feature of the build. Mosaic tile artwork creates Maleficent in layers of purple and black. A light aqua tile creates the face and she holds her golden staff which glows a bright green with the help of some tiles placed around the stone in a semicircle. A large light aqua rounded tile has the name of the movie printed upon it, along with some golden vines and a golden spinning wheel.
The staff creates a 3-D element with the pieces used to the otherwise flat tiled artwork, and there is a fabulous purpose for this. By gently tugging the staff forward a hinged door is revealed which drops down to expose the hidden quarters for Maleficent. She stands framed in a green room. There was an opportunity here to provide a supporting plate for her to stand on, but only smooth plates were provided, so she can be heard banging around a bit when the set is moved around. I suppose more than anything she is banging to be let out.
The Maleficent minifigure is exceptional from her pointed headpiece down to her long black gown. The black skirt has layers of purple curving down the front. The torso is also detailed with purple accents, and creases printed on the front and back. Her hands are light aqua, and she holds a golden staff in one hand. A fabric piece is added beneath the head to bring her capes collar up in dramatic fashion around her neck. Her head is predominately black, but has the facial features printed on a heart shaped base of light aqua. Her horned headpiece is a very special piece, and molded beautifully.
There are so many amazing features within this set, but it may be safe to say that the Sleeping Beauty case has a little extra built into it.
The final feature is the foundation for the entire build, and it stands out in a vibrant dark pink. I have to be honest here and say that this was an interesting color choice since I can’t remember anything about the movie that would make sense of this color. Half of the case is buried beneath the features that rest upon it, but there is still plenty of space to fit in some wonderful features that bring special recognition to this final movie. The spine is very similar to Sleeping Beauty’s case. Stickered tiles march down the spine bringing attention to Disney’s 100 years, the title of the movie, and the villain who did his best to bring destruction to Agrabah.
A mosaic artwork is also placed on the front of this case, but it is a bit more simple. The face of Jafar takes center stage, and if you place a fingernail beneath the red feather and pull upwards the last hidden surprise of the build will try to sneak out. Thankfully due to The Little Mermaid cassette the door does not stay propped open very well, so the scary looking red genie has a difficult time escaping.
Jafar received his wish and has transformed into a red genie, with a cloud-like red swirly tail, and a black swooping topknot of hair. He carries a dark metallic grey lamp. The print job on his torso shows us that he must be hitting the gym in preparation to accomplish his tyrannical plan. His face gives me a big chuckle whenever I see it. He is probably supposed to be scowling, but his mouth looks like he put on a cheesy grin, probably due to the fact his mother is insisting on taking his picture.
This is another amazing LEGO Disney 100 build, and one well worth picking up. It is priced well, and full of special features and plenty of minifigures are included.
