Review: 75684 Welcome to Emerald City
Posted by SetToBuild,
75684 Welcome to Emerald City is the most dramatic set of the first wave in the LEGO Wicked line, and is a true showstopper. Significantly larger than the others in the Part One subtheme, this dazzling green model represents parts of the iconic Emerald City in the brick, where fans will find iconic scenery and clever nods to special moments in the movie. However, adult fans may be disappointed that this is ultimately still a play set.
I’ve enlisted the help of my wife and resident minidoll fan, Catherine (CrankyBricks), to explore the LEGO Wicked sets. Over to her after the break…
Summary
75684 Welcome to Emerald City, 945 pieces.
£89.99 / $99.99 / €99.99 | 9.5p / 10.6c / 10.6c per piece.
Buy at LEGO.com »
A large play set with beautiful details and a stellar cast
- Major cast members have detailed figures
- Aesthetically pleasing
- Playset won’t appeal to everyone
The set was provided for review by LEGO. All opinions expressed are those of the author.
Minidolls
Glinda is recognisable in her pink fairy-like ‘Good Witch’ outfit with opalescent tiara and wand. We discussed her gorgeous new hair piece in this earlier review. Costume designer Paul Tazewell revealed that Glinda’s pink colour scheme is a nod back to the original Wizard of Oz film from 1939, where her dress is pink. He says “There were legal issues with using pink for the Broadway design”, but that the latest movie designers “were given clearance to use the pink to be reflective of Glinda, thankfully.”
Known as her ‘bubble dress’, the printed image of folded curves do look accurate to the movie version of the dress, but are a bit small. When printed on a straight pleated mould, the two-dimensional representation of this distinctive shaping is a bit confusing.
LEGO’s bright light pink colour suits the modern movie palette, but the original version of Glinda had a much duskier and warmer-toned pale pink dress, which would have suited light nougat or even Paradisa pink for its LEGO version.
Elphaba’s face and hair-with-hat pieces are as they were in 75683 Glinda & Elphaba's Dormitory, but the fuzzy black cape piece and dress are both unique. This is her best-known Wicked Witch outfit, more widely recognised than the more casual clothes of the earlier sets in this wave. The range of extremely detailed outfits is a defining characteristic of the movie, so it’s good to see the subtleties represented in LEGO form. The purple printed patterns represent the very complex layered dress’ micro-pleated chiffon, gauze, lace, and purple taffeta, which gives it the iridescent effect seen in the movie.
Love interest Fiyero looks debonair and smug in a university blazer, with his slight smirk and raised eyebrow. I like the exaggeration of his floppy hair. This is the least detailed of the figures, and I think it’s a shame this version didn’t go for gold ink printing for the detailing on the jacket’s lapels.
The antagonist Madame Morrible’s hair is unique to her. It reminds me a little of the hair piece belonging to the proprietor of one of my favourite Friends sets, Dottie. There is a pin-hole on the top, but it isn’t used in this set. Her outfit is exquisite—the subtlety of the dark blue printing over a dark green dress with black outlines and intricate golden swirl details is impressive.
The Wizard himself completes the ensemble, with another smart (but slightly plainer) outfit, and both hair and a large top hat. This isn’t a new piece—it’s been around since 2017, but only this character wears it in dark green. I understand why the legs-with-skirt piece was used to show his long coat, but the impression he’s wearing leggings distracts a bit. Jeff Goldblum now joins an exclusive group of actors who are not only represented in LEGO, but in more than one different style of figure. Maybe it’s time for an update to this article!
Completed Model
The completed segment of the ‘city’ is largely a few studs-deep facade in mostly bright green and green, curved to form a courtyard-like central space with doorways and arches throughout. The circular motifs repeat across the facade in green, teal and dark blue—so the city isn’t fully ‘emerald’. Although the movie depiction isn’t 100% green either, it is a shame that a few more parts weren’t recoloured to complete the look. In my opinion, teal isn’t really in the green family!
At the top of the tower, the light catches the transparent green parts very nicely to give a truly sparkling emerald-like appearance. A new gold swirl piece (that I first learned of in brown as Diddy Kong’s tail) makes for a graceful flourish.
The transparent sticker sheet was not much fun—even the large stained glass window in the centre is a sticker. For the 9+ year old target audience, I can see a great deal of frustration coming from these.
However, I appreciate that the swirls and hidden fence pieces forming the silhouetted screens pull their weight in portraying the intricate and ornate gates and windows of the Wizard’s palace without decorated elements. Lots of bright green 1x2 brick with vertical slot bricks here mean that fans can now build themselves a ‘bright Green Grocer’!
The left half of the space features a perfumery, a well and an apple tree with dark green leaves with an ornate pergola-like structure around it. The door to the perfume shop is within a circular arch, reminiscent of a traditional Chinese architectural element, the moon gate.
The right half of the ground floor level is similarly ornate, with a large curved technic fender piece forming an elegant arch, topped with a clock whose golden gear printing emulates the steampunk aspects of the play and movie—this print is the saving grace compensating for all those clear stickers!
On the rear of the model the most distinctive feature is the Wizard’s face, built up using stickered curved slopes in medium nougat. There are no draped green vertical elements here to better reflect the mysterious look of the movie, just magenta curtains using a well established but nonetheless effective tie-back technique.
Underneath is a beautiful microscale model of the city and surroundings, with the yellow brick road and munchkinland represented in miniature. Next to this is a stand featuring the ‘Grimmerie’ spellbook, which the Wizard of course can’t read.
The upper area lacks any furniture or adornments save for a stickered set of drawers, but does have spaces to place figures, such that they can look out of or stand in the large round window to act out relevant scenes from the movie.
Below this area is a small room, featuring a miniature version of the Wizard’s balloon and an array of baked goods.
Elphaba can’t ride her broom, but she is provided with a clear stick to pose her at the front of the tower, cleverly using the broom as an attachment so her feet definitely don’t touch the ground.
The chairs in the cafe are simple and clever, using the shulker box piece. The removable bookcase holds the hidden QR code linking to online LEGO Wicked content—but 75682 Elphaba & Glinda Figures plays ‘Defying Gravity’, which I would have thought was the best fit for this scene.
Finally, there is a small side build: the Wizard’s bicycle drinks cart. Let me know in the comments if there is some lore behind this beyond simply the hustle and bustle of small carts around the city—I couldn’t work out if there was a specific reference here!
A few interesting pieces hide among the (surprisingly not very green!) selection of spare parts. The transparent clear saucer is handy, and I can never say no to opalescent pieces either! A handful of useful bar elements are also present.
Conclusion
This set is based on the movie, so loyal stage show fans should be prepared for things to not be quite as they expect. Either way, the lineup of minidolls is phenomenal and will surely attract fans to pick up this set. There are five major characters, most unique to the set, in eye-catching and highly detailed outfits. The £90 or $100 price tag is not at odds with the other toys associated with this movie, but I don’t think it’s low enough to entice many AFOLs just for the model or parts. With the addition of a second wave, this set’s unique minidoll appeal has further diminished.
From an interview with the design lead, we learnt that there were two target markets for these sets; kids under the age of eight, and older kids or adults who are already fans and looking for a more challenging build. I’m not sure that the latter group will quite see it this way, given that I’m sure some of them want a 43222 Disney Castle type of set and will still view this as a young children’s play set. This does however explain the choice of minidolls, which as we’ve heard before LEGO finds are beloved by younger fans. The ample areas for play and re-enactment make this set perfect for that audience.
The movie that this set is released for is only Part 1 of 2. In the same interview, the Design Lead says that they “chose some heartwarming moments from the film, so fans can bring a part of the story home and defy gravity using LEGO bricks”. Without spoilers, the second half of the plot takes some darker, less “heartwarming” turns—so I think many fans will hope that more adult-oriented sets are released with Part 2 of the movie. Maybe like the Deku Tree, the designers will acknowledge that multiple movies and stage shows have alternative versions of the costumes and settings. Personally, I would love to see a model of the magnificent train to Emerald City.
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24 comments on this article
All together now...
DEFYYYYYYYYYIIIIIIIIIIING GRRRAAAAAVITYYYYYYYYYYYYY!
For what it’s worth I’m happy with the set we got as an adult; there’s a great mix of scenes and points of interactivity, although I think the Wizard’s audience chamber has enough source material (both in front of and behind the curtain) to warrant its own set.
9 year olds love stickers.
How long did it take to build? Could it be built in "One Short Day"?
"Personally, I would love to see a model of the magnificent train to Emerald City." I will second that! It' looks amazing!
@KotZ said:
"How long did it take to build? Could it be built in "One Short Day"?"
Yes, but there’s so much that’s exquisite you’ll want to visit before the day’s through, which tends to slow down the assembly process.
I bet a lot of these set parts could be used to make a Lego version of the stage facade the play uses!
Nice set but iyts really weirdly designed.
Like they run out of pieces in the middle of designing.
"the original version of Glinda had a much duskier and warmer-toned pale pink dress, which would have suited light nougat or even Paradisa pink for its LEGO version"
i feel we are overlooking the new Warm Pink here
In the story it is the character that later becomes the Wizard who give's Elphaba's mother the potion that she drinks while pregnant and thus has a daughter with green skin. So I believe the cart is a reference to the younger Wizard who was peddling goods/drinks.
@JulieHD said:
""the original version of Glinda had a much duskier and warmer-toned pale pink dress, which would have suited light nougat or even Paradisa pink for its LEGO version"
i feel we are overlooking the new Warm Pink here"
I agree it would’ve been a better fit than bright light pink - but at the time of release/reveiw it didn’t exist yet! I wonder if the designers wished it had been ready in time, or they always planned to stick with standard pink.
Until now I thought this was a Lego specific theme, haha.
My Lego Batman wants that Green Hat for a Mad Hatter to take down! Hope that appears on Pick a Brick.
@KotZ said:
"How long did it take to build? Could it be built in "One Short Day"?"
Apparently 14 months. :o)
My daughter adores Wicked and loves this set.
@markisnot said:
"My Lego Batman wants that Green Hat for a Mad Hatter to take down! Hope that appears on Pick a Brick. "
This post made me realize that LEGO has NEVER released a Mad Hatter minifigure. Does anyone know why? I can't think of any other high-profile Batman villains that have NEVER been done.
As a playset I think it's quite cool. I like how it's not just the tower, but a bit of the city below. That's just good set design. However, I feel like an actual audience room you can place figs in is missing. And in terms of minifigs the flying monkey captain is missing to complete the scene.
@WokePope said:
" @markisnot said:
"My Lego Batman wants that Green Hat for a Mad Hatter to take down! Hope that appears on Pick a Brick. "
This post made me realize that LEGO has NEVER released a Mad Hatter minifigure. Does anyone know why? I can't think of any other high-profile Batman villains that have NEVER been done."
Technically we never had a Clayface minifigure. Only brick-built ones. The Mad Hatter would be really nice but right now lego only does batmobiles appartenly, outside of the magazine gifts. Idk why though.
@WokePope said:
" @markisnot said:
"My Lego Batman wants that Green Hat for a Mad Hatter to take down! Hope that appears on Pick a Brick. "
This post made me realize that LEGO has NEVER released a Mad Hatter minifigure. Does anyone know why? I can't think of any other high-profile Batman villains that have NEVER been done."
Come to think of it, it's a bit surprising that TLBM didn't give us one. Some of the ones it *did* give us were much deeper cuts.
Is the big steampunk clock above the right-hand side of the set what various characters in the second film were referring to when they kept saying "in a clock-tick"
@WokePope said:
" @markisnot said:
"My Lego Batman wants that Green Hat for a Mad Hatter to take down! Hope that appears on Pick a Brick. "
This post made me realize that LEGO has NEVER released a Mad Hatter minifigure. Does anyone know why? I can't think of any other high-profile Batman villains that have NEVER been done."
It is very likely due to the comic villain's penchant for Child Abduction. Not very Lego friendly. This has always been my assumption.
A Disney Mad Hatter on the other hand, would be expected.
@markisnot said:
" @WokePope said:
" @markisnot said:
"My Lego Batman wants that Green Hat for a Mad Hatter to take down! Hope that appears on Pick a Brick. "
This post made me realize that LEGO has NEVER released a Mad Hatter minifigure. Does anyone know why? I can't think of any other high-profile Batman villains that have NEVER been done."
It is very likely due to the comic villain's penchant for Child Abduction. Not very Lego friendly. This has always been my assumption.
A Disney Mad Hatter on the other hand, would be expected. "
Good point regarding DC Mad hatter. As for the Disney Mad Hatter, they *did* give us Alice and the Cheshire Cat in 71012-19, and they've revisited that particular IP a few times since (https://brickset.com/sets/tag-Alice-In-Wonderland), so we might get him some day... There was also a Bricktober set that referenced the Hatter, 6384694-4.
@TheOtherMike said:
" @markisnot said:
" @WokePope said:
" @markisnot said:
"My Lego Batman wants that Green Hat for a Mad Hatter to take down! Hope that appears on Pick a Brick. "
This post made me realize that LEGO has NEVER released a Mad Hatter minifigure. Does anyone know why? I can't think of any other high-profile Batman villains that have NEVER been done."
It is very likely due to the comic villain's penchant for Child Abduction. Not very Lego friendly. This has always been my assumption.
A Disney Mad Hatter on the other hand, would be expected. "
Good point regarding DC Mad hatter. As for the Disney Mad Hatter, they *did* give us Alice and the Cheshire Cat in 71012-19, and they've revisited that particular IP a few times since (https://brickset.com/sets/tag-Alice-In-Wonderland), so we might get him some day... There was also a Bricktober set that referenced the Hatter, 6384694-4."
I could be wrong about this, and things may have even changed, but- when other games wanted to use the character (in particular a board game that involves CLIXing HEROes), they could only use the name ‘Jervis Tetch’, and from what had been explained is that Disney has weird ownership over the rights to depictions that are explicitly ‘The Mad Hatter’ (in a similar way, they could use the Billy Batson character, but had to call him Shazam instead of Captain Marvel, and eventually it really has just shifted over to that even in the comics). So, if I remember correctly AND the situation hasn’t changed, it’s likely a rights issue, similar to how we can’t get Star Wars CMF lines at this time
@Jraptor said:
"I could be wrong about this, and things may have even changed, but- when other games wanted to use the character (in particular a board game that involves CLIXing HEROes), they could only use the name ‘Jervis Tetch’, and from what had been explained is that Disney has weird ownership over the rights to depictions that are explicitly ‘The Mad Hatter’ (in a similar way, they could use the Billy Batson character, but had to call him Shazam instead of Captain Marvel, and eventually it really has just shifted over to that even in the comics). So, if I remember correctly AND the situation hasn’t changed, it’s likely a rights issue, similar to how we can’t get Star Wars CMF lines at this time "
It could be. I know Alice in Wonderland is Public Domain, and as long as you base your depiction of the character on the source material and not on anyone's particular artistic expression of the character, you are ok. But the Clixing Hero this is not anything I have heard.
Captain Marvel/Shazam is a funny case to read about ownerships and companies purchasing characters and timing of trademarks/copywrites. Good read about the weird world that exists in legal land.
Either way, I am happy I can finally MOC a version, with a nice head that has serious mutton chops! https://brickset.com/parts/6122911/mini-head-no-1758
@Jraptor said:"...it’s likely a rights issue, similar to how we can’t get Star Wars CMF lines at this time"
I'm not sure that's a rights issue. I mean, what characters/character versions haven't they already done in regular sets that people would care about buying if done as a CMF? Even if we're just talking ones they haven't done in a long time and could use an update, there still aren't a lot of options. Remember, the CMFs have to appeal to the general public, too.
TAKE ME DOWN TO THE EMERALD CITY WHERE THE GRASS IS GREEN AND THE GIRLS ARE GREEN AND THE TREES ARE GREEN AND THE WALLS ARE GREEN AND AND THE BIKES ARE GREEN AND THE DRINKS ARE GREEN AND THE oh, I guess they were just green glasses. Hm.