Review: 71024 Disney Collectable Minifigures Series 2 (Part 3)
Posted by CapnRex101,
Numerous characters from Disney films occupy central positions within modern popular culture and several such minifigures appear in the third part of our Disney Collectable Minifigures Series 2 review. They were introduced in Hercules, The Nightmare Before Christmas and Incredibles 2 so I expect them to prove popular.
You can read the first section of our review here and part two here, or continue reading below for part three and my concluding opinion of this entire series...
Minifigures
Hercules is among the lesser known movies produced during the Disney Renaissance, although it did introduce a particularly popular villain. Hades controls the Underworld so is dominated by dark colours and resembles Ursula from The Little Mermaid. Black smoke surrounds the minifigure so his lower half appears somewhat unusual, consisting of tendril-like shapes. Nevertheless, this component will fit onto any studded surface.
The character wears a corresponding black robe which is fastened by a tiny skull-shaped brooch. I like the contrasting black and dark bluish grey colour scheme and the dual-moulded arms look magnificent, representing short sleeves. The head includes a confident smile and a trans-blue flame that cannot be disconnected is fixed on top, following the example of Ghost Rider from Marvel Super Heroes.
Hades can manipulate fire so the minifigure carries two trans-neon orange flames. These accessories seem rather bland but little else from the movie would be appropriate as the villain rarely interacts with physical objects, as one might expect given his divine status and resultant supernatural abilities.
Villains must always be accompanied by their respective heroic adversaries and Hercules is therefore found in this series of Collectable Minifigures. The mythological hero includes a wonderful orange hair piece which looks remarkably accurate to the source material, featuring a red headband and intricate textured detail. The double-sided head is decorated with smiling and angry expressions along with a prominent chin that looks superb.
The minifigure wears a dark orange breastplate and his legs are protected by leather strips, known as pteruges, which hang around his waist. I appreciate the continued printing on the sides of the legs and this design appears consistent when viewed from behind too. A blue cape fits around his neck and this really stands out beside the otherwise earthy tones that dominate the character.
Hercules comes with a pearl silver sword which looks reasonable, although the hilt should be golden. His shield, on the other hand, is absolutely perfect. I love the crenelated pattern around the edge and the distinctive lightning bolt emblem at its centre is outstanding, demonstrating the familial connection between Hercules and his father, Zeus.
The Nightmare Before Christmas was released during 1993 and has since developed an exceptionally strong following. Sally is certainly among the most important characters from the movie and this figure looks brilliant, consisting of medium dark flesh, sand green and teal elements that correspond with the source material's ragdoll appearance. The mismatched patterns are similarly accurate.
Moreover, the minifigure includes dual-moulded arms and legs which reveal her aqua skin tone. I think this is the best approximation of her onscreen design and the double-sided head looks great, including two smiles that appear to convey slightly different emotions. The dark red hair piece is also impressive and was produced specifically for Sally so its length and texture matches her original design exactly.
Sally frequently demonstrates her forlorn romantic feelings for Jack Skellington during The Nightmare Before Christmas, perhaps most memorably while picking the petals from a black flower. That flower is provided with this Collectable Minifigure, consisting of two pieces which have not been produced in this dark colour before. Relatively few real plants have black leaves or flowers but these might be useful as decorative elements.
Jack Skellington himself accompanies Sally and this minifigure is among the best from the series in my opinion. His skull includes a broad mouth and large eyes which look fantastic, although I am more impressed with the prominent bow tie worn around his neck. This new part closely resembles a bat so matches the film and provides some extra height to the figure, further reflecting his appearance during The Nightmare Before Christmas.
The black and white striped suit worn by the Pumpkin King looks wonderful too, featuring a continuous pattern which runs for almost its entire length. The stripes continue on both arms and either side of the legs, although they are partly obscured by the fabric component around Jack's waist. I love the ragged edge but a shorter design would have been more suitable when compared with the film.
The Nightmare Before Christmas is focused upon Jack's efforts to learn about Christmas and combine it with Hallowe'en. He is accordingly equipped with a wrapped present. This spiral design is not shown prominently during the film but looks great and it contains two unique snowflakes which are printed on trans-clear 1x1 round tiles. No two snowflakes are alike but the variation is still remarkable, especially since spares of both parts are included!
Edna Mode was among the most memorable characters to emerge from The Incredibles, despite her limited screen time. The eccentric fashion designer returned in the sequel last year and this minifigure looks fantastic, representing a significant improvement over 30615 Edna Mode which did not feature a new hair piece and wore attire based upon the original movie. This example, on the other hand, sports a dark blue dress from Incredibles 2.
The most distinctive feature of this minifigure is certainly its new hair piece though. This black element looks great and matches the design from the LEGO The Incredibles video game, featuring a large pair of glasses and simple texture. The printed eyes appear slightly odd but I imagine including trans-clear lenses would have been extremely difficult. Her double-sided head is decorated with a surly expression and a smile
The minifigure includes a white teacup which was originally introduced with Professor Trelawney from the Wizarding World Collectable Minifigures last year. In addition, Edna carries a white shopping bag which displays her famed fashion brand and appeared briefly during Incredibles 2 when Robert Parr collected Jack-Jack from Edna's house. The character often appears with a cigarette holder but this was understandably excluded.
LEGO produced four sets based upon Incredibles 2 last year but Frozone did not appear so I am sure this minifigure will prove popular. He sports a white and medium azure super suit that consists of basic colour blocks and appears faithful to the movies, making excellent use of dual-moulded arms and legs which represent his long gloves and boots.
Frozone's head features a blue visor which is subtly decorated with a series of vertical lines. His facial hair appears faithful to the movies and I like this confident expression, reflecting the hero's personality. An alternative head without a mask would have been lovely but is not a necessity because he already includes a generous selection of accessories, as exhibited below.
Two trans-clear Power Blasts are provided with the hero, representing his ice powers from the movies. However, I am more impressed with the light bluish grey component which fits beneath Frozone's feet and matches the disc that can emerge from his boots in the movies. This element originally appeared with Polka Dot Man from 70917 The Ultimate Batmobile and a white 1x2 jumper plate provides slight elevation.
Overall
71012 Disney Collectable Minifigures was released in 2016 and introduced an impressive selection of characters from across the history of Disney animation. 71024 Disney Collectable Minifigures Series 2 offers a similarly appealing range, dividing its attention almost evenly between minifigures from classic animated films and modern examples. The latter figures are particularly outstanding in my opinion and those from Frozen, Hercules and The Nightmare Before Christmas are probably my favourites.
The selection of older characters could be improved though. Goofy and Pluto remain absent from the series and may have been more appealing than Donald Duck's nephews, whose similar appearances reduce my interest in those minifigures. Even so, I am delighted with this series of Disney Collectable Minifigures on the whole and would certainly recommend adding them to your collection.
I hope you have found this review informative. Let us know by liking this article and share your opinion about the minifigures in the comments below.
This set was provided for review by The LEGO Group but the review is an expression of my own opinions.
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23 comments on this article
I was scared that we wouldn’t get a frozone. Whew! Also, I want more medium sized legs.
And how does this article not mention Clikits? It should be banned for irrelevancy. Sorry Huw, CaptnRex101, et al, but I miss the days of Huwbot’s complete domination and dominion.
Well I guess it was only one day.
*Let’s start a petition: put Huwbot back in charge!!*
^^Huwbot for president! He'll run on an anti-corruption platform, and by corruption, I mean all sets that are not Clikits!
I suspect that about 60% of these comments will not even pertain to the actual article. But just so mine does...
Good review...
When are these available?
May.
I’d like to see:
- Marsupilami, Bonkers with cop hat, Gummi Bears, Sultan (Aladdin)
Other wants would be good for one off sets. Gargoyles, Darkwing, Tale Spin.
I was hoping for a Lilo minifigure if they ever made a series 2. Looks like I’ll have to hold out hope for another series. That being said, this series looks fantastic and I hope to get many of the minifigures contained herein.
Edna's smile will give me nightmares.
Really like several of these that I can either repurpose or use for parts. That said...
Disappointed that there is a line around Hades’ waist. The printing on the torso should really have come all the way down.
Maybe it’s because I am not a huge fan of Disney animation and not familiar with all the characters, but am I alone in thinking that Sally looks more like a female Frankenstein’s monster and less like a rag doll? I realise that in TNBC she is supposed to be both, but to my mind the minifigure vears much more towards the gothic monster.
Edna's minifigure does look spectacular; particularly when compared to the previous version of her. These all look like outstanding minifigures though, in all honestly... if I'm disappointed about one thing, it's that Hades' hair isn't a detachable piece - especially since he does indeed get it put out in one scene of the movie. Still a most impressive wave, nonetheless.
Thanks, as always, for the detailed reviews! :D
@Zander, the line on Hades is an unfortunate consequence of the bottom piece connecting to the torso. Plus, the black contrasts with the overall gray color, so it’s noticeable.
I can see what you mean by Sally not seeming much like a rag doll, but that’s more to do with it not translating well to minifigure form. She’s much more skinny and lanky in the movie, which doesn’t reflect well on a minifigure body. But overall I think these are really well done.
A real pity that Jack Skellington doesn't have the extra long legs from the Woody minifig from the Toy Story sets :-( Would've fitted really well, I think.
Thanks @lordofdragons!
Jack and Sally are awesome, for those who have loved the movie, like I did. And Frozone was so hoped-for and expected! I am not deceived, as even if it's even among the more simple, his minifig is one of my favorite. Not a CFM collectioner but I will get a few of this serie, as I did with Tlm2, for Oz characters. Edna is delightful too. With Huey, Dewey and Louie, Chip and Dale, it's almost and already 9 to purchase! Thanks for the review.
I think we have to accept that long minifigure legs are never coming back. It seems most likely that the mold was decomissioned a while ago, because otherwise they would have been reused several times by now.
Is Hades' flame actually trans-medium blue? If so, I bet he'll look fantastic under UV light.
@Purple Dave
I see it as orange... unless you're talking about the flame on his head.
Frozone, Hades, and Jack were some of my favorites from the roster, so it's great seeing them all in one place! My only real problem with this set is Jack would've looked much better using Woody/Jessie's bodies from the old Toy Story 3 sets, though perhaps those were retired.
Another Slight issue is Hades hair. I didn't realize it wasn't detachable, but thinking back, I do remember hearing similar complaints for Ghost Rider in the past. I wonder why LEGO has to mold the flames into the head?
On the note of Edna's cigarette holder, of course LEGO Would never make an official one, but I'd imagine a pure black lipstick piece would get the job done!
I think molding the flames onto the head has to do with the transparent plastic and not gripping minifig heads well. Minifig hair and hats can often spring off of their heads, and I think the transparent plastic had a similar problem (or honestly it may have been the opposite problem, that its clutch power was too strong - I can't seem to find the place where I read it!)
I just realized that Samuel L. Jackson picks up a third minifig from this wave. Mace Windu was his first, followed by the MCU version of Nick Fury that came with the Helicarrier (but not the first Nick Fury, which was based on an animated series with someone else providing the voice). Russi Taylor also skips directly from one (Simpsons' Martin Prince) to four (Ducktales' Huey, Dewey, and Louie). I don't think any of the other actors represented by these minifigs have any previous minifigs to their names, though.
@Trigger_:
Well, the blue part, so yeah. Flames...on the sides of his face...
@vinternet:
Making the flames separate from the head likely would have forced them to make the flame bit more robust to avoid risk of breaking it. Due to the pointy shape, safety may have also been a factor. What's probably not common knowledge (I've never seen mention of it before) is that the flames aren't glued to the head at all. It's a dual-molded element, which you can tell because there's a small ledge formed into the interior of the head.
Yes you can actually see the ledge if you look into the flame head piece from the bottom, its visible at the end of the hole the neck enters. Its slightly visible from the sides to.
Is it just me, or do the eyes on Edna’s hairpiece look WAY too far apart?
Jack is probably the best of this entire series (Scrooge is close behind) mainly because that gift box is stunning.
They should have used the extra long minifig legs used in previous Toy Story sets for Jack and Sally.