Lego Elves Explained

Lego Elves
Subject:Elves
Licensedfrom:The Lego Group
From:2015
To:2018
Sets:41[1]
Characters:Emily Jones

Azari Firedancer

Farran Leafshade

Naida Riverheart

Aira Windwhistler

Sophie Jones

Website:https://www.lego.com/en-us/kids/search?q=Elves&filters=video
Tvseries:Lego Elves
Lego Elves: Secrets of ElvendaleLego Elves Webisodes

Lego Elves (stylised as LEGO Elves) was a Lego product line produced by The Lego Group that was launched in 2015.[2] [3] The product line was based on the storyline of accompanying animated series on Disney Channel, the Lego YouTube channel, and Netflix which follow the adventures of a character named Emily Jones who travels to a magical land called Elvendale. The theme aimed to introduce a fantasy element to girl-focused Lego products. It was discontinued in 2018.

Overview

The Lego Elves theme was underpinned by the storyline of its accompanying animated series. The Lego Elves animated television series began with a mini movie special titled Unite The Magic. An animated webisode series was released on the Lego YouTube channel. An animated series titled Lego Elves: Secrets of Elvendale was produced and aired by Netflix. Both the Lego toy line and the animated series targeted the girls market. The series focus on a human girl named Emily Jones, who inherits a magical amulet from her grandmother and travels through a portal to a magical realm called Elvendale. The storyline relates how she meets four elves with elemental powers (fire, earth, wind and water) with whom she fights against evil forces, and who help her to return home.[4] [5]

Development

Following the success of Lego Friends and Lego Disney Princess, The Lego Group aimed to launch another Lego theme targeted at the girls market. In contrast to the contemporary setting of Lego Friends, Lego Elves aimed to introduce a fantasy setting into girl-focused Lego toys. The theme was developed after testing several story ideas with girls around the world.[6]

Launch

The Lego Elves theme was announced on February 12, 2015 at the American International Toy Fair. The toy line began with the release of eight toy construction sets that introduced the four main elves and their home environments which began to launch in March 2015.[7] An official teaser for the animated series was released on the Lego YouTube channel on December 15, 2014. This was followed by the release of a trailer on February 19, 2015.

Characters

Main Five

Humans

The Five Sisters

Elves

Goblins

(voiced by Scott McNeil and Kathleen Barr)

Animals and Dragons

Fire

Earth

Wind

Water

Love and Light

Darkness

The Five Elemental Guardians

The Elemental Guardians are a group of giant, mystical creatures who protect the elemental diamonds of Elvendale. These jewels are the source of all elemental magic.

The Shadow Creature

The Shadow Creature is an entity of darkness who aids The Goblin King in his quest for power. It can drain the life-force from creatures and the environment. It is also a shapeshifter and has used the following forms:

Toy line

According to BrickLink, between 2015 and 2018 The Lego Group released 33 toy construction sets, two polybag sets and six foil pack sets for the Lego Elves theme .[34] The product line was discontinued in 2018.[35]

The construction sets released each year were developed around a different storyline (which were reflected in the four seasons of the webisodes). The printed clothing featured on the "main five" mini dolls changed with each storyline; storyline four featured an armored look with designs representing each Elemental Guardian.

2015 sets

In March 2015, eight playsets were announced for the 2015 waves. Wave One: Aira's Creative Workshop, Naida's Spa Secret, Naida's Epic Adventure Ship, Azari and the Magical Bakery, The Elves' Treetop Hideaway, Farran and the Crystal Hollow. Wave Two: Aira's Pegasus Sleigh and Skyra's Mysterious Sky Castle.[36] [37] In addition, Azari's Magic Fire polybag set was released as a promotion.

2016 sets

In March 2016, ten playsets were announced for the 2016 waves. Wave Three: Emily Jones and the Baby Wind Dragon, The Water Dragon Adventure, Elvendale School of Dragons, The Starlight Inn, Fire Dragon's Lava Cave, The Secret Market Place. Wave Four: The Precious Crystal Mine, The Dragon Sanctuary, Queen Dragon's Rescue and Ragana's Magic Shadow Castle.[38] [39] In addition, Sira's Adventurous Airglider polybag set was released as a promotion.

2017 sets

In February 2017 at New York Toy Fair, eight playsets were announced for the 2017 waves. Wave Five: Naida’s Gondola and the Goblin Thief, The Capture of Sophie Jones, The Goblin King’s Evil Dragon, Aira’s Airship and the Amulet Chase, Magic Rescue from the Goblin Village. Wave Six: Azari and The Goblin Forest Escape, Rosalyn's Healing Hideout, Breakout from the Goblin King's Fortress.[40] [41]

2018 sets

In January 2018, seven playsets were announced as part of the 2018 waves. Wave Seven: Emily Jones and The Eagle Getaway, Naida and The Water Turtle Ambush, Azari and the Fire Lion Capture, Aira and the Song of the Wind Dragon, Noctura's Tower and the Earth Fox Rescue. Wave Eight: Emily and Noctura’s Showdown, The Elvenstar Tree Bat Attack.[42]

Polybag Sets

Azari's Magic Fire (2015) and Sira's Adventurous Airglider (2016).

Foil Pack Animal Collectable Sets

Six small limited edition LEGO sets were produced for inclusion with issues of the Lego Elves magazine. Each set included an animal figure from the Lego Elves toy line: Enki the panther, Flamy the Fox, Miku the baby dragon, Jynx the elven witch Ragana’s cat, Mr. Spry the squirrel, and Hidee the chameleon.

Other Merchandise

Animated series

Lego Elves (2015 - 2016)

Alt Name:Elves
Country:Denmark
Language:English
Company:Ja Film

An animated television series, Lego Elves, was produced by Ja Film in Aarhus, Denmark. In the United States, the first special titled Unite The Magic aired on March 8, 2015 on Disney Channel.[43] The second special titled Dragons To Save, Time To Be Brave aired on March 6, 2016 as a two part special on Disney Channel.[44] The third special titled Down a Dark Path (a sequel to Dragons to Save, Time to be Brave) aired on August 14, 2016 on Disney Channel.

These specials (also referred to as episodes or mini movies) were released in conjunction with the webisodes released on the Lego YouTube channel.

Critical reception

Jenny Nixon for Common Sense Media gave the series a three-star rating, commenting, "This series is jam-packed with little girl bait - sparkling rainbow oceans, a flowing-haired Pegasus or three - and though the plot has a similar amount of depth, there's still something kind of fun about it. The quests Emily and her elf friends go on can be a tad generic, sure, but it's always nice to see a show with a high percentage of female characters, most of whom jump right in on the action and don't need a boy (or boy elf) to lead the way."

Lego Elves - Webisodes (2015 - 2018)

The Lego Elves webisodes were released on the Lego YouTube channel. The webisodes are grouped into four seasons. Season 1: Unite the Magic consists of webisodes 1 - 5. Season 2: Save the Dragons consists of webisodes 6 - 17. Season 3: The Capture of Sophie Jones consists of webisodes 18 - 33 and includes an unnumbered promo webisode “Did You Miss Us?” before webisode 18. Season 4: Into the Shadows consists of webisodes 1 - 15 (webisode numbering restarted at 1 for this season).

The webisodes from seasons 1 to 3 were later combined into webisode compilations. Webisode compilation 1 - 8 was released on April 30, 2018.[45] Webisode compilation 9 - 17 was released on May 7, 2018. Webisode compilation 18 - 25 was released on May 14, 2018. Webisode compilation 26 - 33 was released on May 21, 2018. The 15 webisodes of Season 4 were released between March and August 2018, with a compilation of only webisodes 1 - 8 released on June 4, 2018.

Lego Elves Webisodes!No. overall!No. in season!Title!Original air date
Season 1 - Unite the Magic
11"Crushing It"July 6, 2015
22"Crib Notes"July 6, 2015
33"Elves Got Talent"July 8, 2015
44"Never Cave"August 6, 2015
55"Another Kind of Magic"November 3, 2015
Season 2 - Save the Dragons
66"Safety First"March 4, 2016
77"The Dragon Whisperer"March 4, 2016
88"Drag Race"May 5, 2016
99"Rumor Has It"May 7, 2016
1010"Born To Do It"May 9, 2016
1111"The Struggle Is Real"June 7, 2016
1212"No Pain Just Gain"June 13, 2016
1313"One Is More Fun"June 21, 2016
1414"Hairy Styles"June 21, 2016
1515"Point of View"July 27, 2016
1616"Crystal Clear"July 27, 2016
1717"Change From Within"July 27, 2016
Season 3 - The Capture of Sophie Jones
PromoDid You Miss Us?February 28, 2017
1818"Sophie's Capture"March 7, 2017
1919"Welcome to Elvendale"March 7, 2017
2020"Evil Apprentice"March 7, 2017
2121"How I Lost My Mother"March 7, 2017
2222"Goblin Talent Show"March 7, 2017
2323"How to Build a Sweet Ride"March 7, 2017
2424"Dragon Tale"March 7, 2017
2525"Teamwork"March 7, 2017
2626"Sophie's Point of View"August 10, 2017
2727"Queen of the Forest"August 10, 2017
2828"Potions in Motion"August 10, 2017
2929"Sizeable Refreshment"August 10, 2017
3030"Bring the Heat"August 10, 2017
3131"Goblin Intern"August 11, 2017
3232"The Confrontation"August 11, 2017
3333"The Final Battle"August 11, 2017
Season 4 - Into the Shadows
341"The Enemy"March 12, 2018
352"Toys in the Attic"March 12, 2018
363"Relight My Fire"March 12, 2018
374"The Light"April 9, 2018
385"Focus"April 9, 2018
396"In the Shadows"May 4, 2018
407"Chill"May 4, 2018
418"Making Waves"May 30, 2018
429"Worthy"May 31, 2018
4310"The Magic Within"June 14, 2018
4411"Lights Out"June 21, 2018
4512"Edge of Darkness"July 26, 2018
4613"The Shadow World – Part 1"August 3, 2018
4714"The Shadow World – Part 2"August 10, 2018
4815"The Shadow World – Part 3"August 16, 2018

Lego Elves: Secrets of Elvendale (2017)

Lego Elves: Secrets of Elvendale, a Netflix series produced by Studio Mir and animated by Production Reve, was released on September 1, 2017.[46] [47] [48] [49] The series is a more detailed retelling of the story featured in Season 3 of the webisodes (webisodes 18 - 33).

Critical reception

Joyce Slaton for Common Sense Media gave the series a three-star rating and commented on the "beautiful visuals, charming characters, heavy commercialism". The review also opined, "It's certainly lovely to look at -- the typical blocky Lego style has been abandoned for a rainbow-hued and glitter palette - and it goes down smoothly enough for young viewers who like mild antics lightened up with lots of jokes and friendly repartee between characters."[50]

Other media

Character spots

Several short character spots were released on the Lego YouTube channel to promote the Lego Elves series. Meet Aira, Meet Emily Jones, Meet Farran and Meet Naida were released on January 22, 2015. LEGO Elves - Azari was released on March 11, 2015. Introducing Tidus and Sira, Emily the Elves and the Dragons and The Baby Dragons were released on February 9, 2016. Ragana, Jynx and Dusti and Emily and the Queen Dragon were released on March 4, 2016.

Product Animations

Short (36 seconds to 89 seconds) computer-animated product videos were produced and released on the Lego Elves YouTube channel. The videos showed animation of each of the construction sets and mini-dolls in motion, showcasing the features of each set and what can be done with it.

Music Videos

Several music videos were released on the Lego YouTube channel in 2016 and 2017. They include If You Dare to Believe, Think Twice, and Let’s Do This.

Publications

Magazine

A quarterly Lego Elves magazine targeted at girls and published by Immediate Media was launched from 2015 to accompany the toy line.[51]

Chapter Books

Two 128-page chapter books were published by Scholastic Inc. Quest for the Keys was released in August 2015, and The Dragon Queen was released in January 2016.

Activity Books

Several activity books were produced during the run of the toy line and the webisodes. A Magical Adventure/A Magical Journey, A Mysterious Book (in Polish), Dragon Adventures, To the Rescue!, The Elf Witches Revenge (in Polish), and The Power of Dark Magic. The books came with items such as a bracelet to be assembled, stickers, or a small LEGO build set with an animal figure from the Lego Elves toy line.

Games

An app game titled Lego Elves - Unite The Magic was developed by The Lego Group for iOS and released on March 1, 2015.[52]

Reception

In September 2015, The Lego Group reported that the Lego Elves line and Lego Jurassic World, "were received very positively by children all over the world", and that these themes had helped to push revenue up by 23%.[53]

See also

References

Bibliography

Notes and References

  1. Web site: BrickLink Reference Catalog - Sets - Category Lego Elves. 2021-04-12. www.bricklink.com.
  2. News: Lego Bucks Industry Trend With Profit Growth. Hansegard. Jens. 25 February 2015. The Wall Street Journal. 12 April 2015.
  3. News: Lego Seeks Some Help From Elf Friends to Reignite Franchise. Gustafsson. Katarina. 6 March 2015. Bloomberg L.P.. 12 April 2015.
  4. Web site: 2017-06-19. Lego Elves - TV Review. 2021-06-15. www.commonsensemedia.org. en.
  5. Web site: A Look At LEGO…. Elves. 25 February 2018. Brickfanz.com.
  6. Web site: Gustafsson. Katarina. 2015-03-06. Lego seeks help from elves to fuel franchise. 2021-06-15. The Sydney Morning Herald. en.
  7. Web site: 12 February 2015. New LEGO Elves Building Sets Introduce Fantasy Adventure. 2021-06-17. www.prnewswire.com. en.
  8. Web site: Emily Jones. 2021-06-15. Behind The Voice Actors. en-US.
  9. Web site: Emily Jones - LEGO Elves Characters - LEGO.com for kids - GB. 2021-01-31. www.lego.com.
  10. Web site: Azari Firedancer. 2021-06-15. Behind The Voice Actors. en-US.
  11. Web site: Azari the fire elf - LEGO Elves Characters - LEGO.com for kids - GB. 2021-01-31. www.lego.com.
  12. Web site: Farran Leafshade. 2021-06-15. Behind The Voice Actors. en-US.
  13. Web site: Farran the earth elf - LEGO Elves Characters - LEGO.com for kids - GB. 2021-01-31. www.lego.com.
  14. Web site: Aira Windwhistler. 2021-06-15. Behind The Voice Actors. en-US.
  15. Web site: Aira the wind elf - LEGO Elves Characters - LEGO.com for kids - GB. 2021-01-31. www.lego.com.
  16. Web site: Naida Riverheart. 2021-06-15. Behind The Voice Actors. en-US.
  17. Web site: Naida the water elf - LEGO Elves Characters - LEGO.com for kids - GB. 2021-01-31. www.lego.com.
  18. Web site: Sophie Jones. 2021-06-16. Behind The Voice Actors. en-US.
  19. Web site: Naida the water elf - LEGO Elves Characters - LEGO.com for kids - GB. 2021-01-31. www.lego.com.
  20. Web site: Mrs. Jones. 2021-06-16. Behind The Voice Actors. en-US.
  21. Web site: Skyra. 2021-06-16. Behind The Voice Actors. en-US.
  22. Web site: Skyra - LEGO Elves Characters - LEGO.com for kids - GB. 2021-01-31. www.lego.com.
  23. Web site: Johnny Baker. 2021-06-16. Behind The Voice Actors. en-US.
  24. Web site: Tidus Stormsurfer. 2021-06-16. Behind The Voice Actors. en-US.
  25. Web site: Tidus - LEGO Elves Characters - LEGO.com for kids - GB. 2021-01-31. lego.com.
  26. Web site: Sira. 2021-06-16. Behind The Voice Actors. en-US.
  27. Web site: Sira - LEGO Elves Characters - LEGO.com for kids - GB. 2021-01-31. www.lego.com.
  28. Web site: Cronan Darkroot / The Goblin King. 2021-06-16. Behind The Voice Actors. en-US.
  29. Web site: Rosalyn Nightshade. 2021-06-16. Behind The Voice Actors. en-US.
  30. Web site: Ragana. 2021-06-16. Behind The Voice Actors. en-US.
  31. Web site: Ragana - LEGO Elves Characters - LEGO.com for kids - GB. 2021-01-31. www.lego.com.
  32. Web site: Lumia, Guardian of Light - LEGO Elves Characters - LEGO.com for kids - GB. 2021-01-31. www.lego.com.
  33. Web site: Noctura, evil elf witch - LEGO Elves Characters - LEGO.com for kids - GB. 2021-01-31. www.lego.com.
  34. Web site: BrickLink Reference Catalog - Sets - Category Elves. 2021-06-15. www.bricklink.com.
  35. Web site: Elves LEGO Sets. 2021-06-15. BrickEconomy. en.
  36. Web site: LEGO Elves 2015 Set Descriptions Revealed. 15 January 2015. thebrickfan.com.
  37. Web site: Video Run Down Of LEGO's 300 New Sets . . 18 February 2015.
  38. Web site: LEGO Elves welcomes six new builds to 2016 line-up. 2021-06-24. ToyNews. en-GB.
  39. Web site: Five 2016 Lego Sets That Wouldn't Exist Without Video Games . . 28 January 2016.
  40. Web site: Graham. 2017-02-19. LEGO Elves Summer 2017 sets officially revealed. 2021-06-24. Brick Fanatics. en-GB.
  41. Book: Farshtey. Gregory. LEGO Minifigure A Visual History New Edition. Lipkowitz. Daniel. Hugo. Simon. 2020-10-01. Dorling Kindersley Limited. 978-0-241-50202-0. 221. en.
  42. Web site: Graham. 2018-03-01. Five new LEGO Elves sets available now. 2021-06-24. Brick Fanatics. en-GB.
  43. Web site: LEGO Elves: Unite the Magic – full episode . thebrickblogger.com . 12 April 2015.
  44. Web site: LEGO Elves: Dragons to Save – mini-movie . thebrickblogger.com . 17 November 2016.
  45. Web site: Watch the LEGO Elves webisodes! . thebrickblogger.com . 31 August 2015.
  46. Web site: Netflix Orders Six More Kids' Shows Including New Lego Cartoon and Avi Arad's 'Super Monsters' . . 6 October 2016.
  47. Web site: Lego's New Netflix Series Isn't Very Lego, And That's A Good Thing. Mike. Fahey. Kotaku.com. 18 July 2018.
  48. Web site: LEGO Elves: Secrets of Elvendale Netflix series . thebrickblogger.com . 30 August 2017.
  49. Web site: LEGO Elves: Secrets of Elvendale Trailers & Toy Sets. 24 August 2017. Screenrant.com. 18 July 2018.
  50. Web site: 2017-08-31. Lego Elves: Secrets of Elvendale - TV Review. 2021-06-15. www.commonsensemedia.org. en.
  51. Web site: Rich. 2016-04-19. LEGO Elves magazine issue 3. 2021-06-16. Brick Fanatics. en-GB.
  52. Web site: LEGO Elves - Unite The Magic. 2021-06-21. Metacritic. en.
  53. Web site: Bourke. Joanna. 2015-09-02. Lego comes roaring back thanks to Jurassic World success. 2021-06-18. www.standard.co.uk. en.