Review: 43221 100 Years of Disney Animation Icons

Hey look, it's Bob Ross Mickey.

Okay, let's see how successful they were with these designs. Here's what I'm able to identify:

Base set: Elsa, Olaf, Belle, Dumbo, Jasmine, Snow White, Chip, Mulan, Maleficent, Mickey, poison apple, Disney 100 logo
Alt 1 (all Pixar): Nemo, ????? (Squirrel Girl's scooter?), Claw Alien, Miguel, Incredibles logo, Wall-E, Up house, Remy, Mike, Lightning McQueen, Turning Red panda, Pixar lamp
Alt 2: Mickey Mouse logo, Minnie Mouse logo, Disney 100 logo, "Hidden Mickey", Beast's rose, Alladin's lamp, ????? (generic candle? _Not_ Lumière), Moana's necklace, Cinderella's slipper, Sword in the Stone, Cinderella's carriage, Disney Castle logo
Alt 3 (classic characters): Daisy, Donald, Mickey, Minnie, Pluto, Goofy, Chip, Dale, "1", "0", "0", Scrooge McDuck
Alt 4 (Disney Princesses): Rapunzel, Ariel, Cinderella, Pocahontas, Jasmine, Snow White, Aurora, Tiana, Mulan, Merida, Belle, Moana
Alt 5: Elsa, Olaf, Anna, Lumière, Stitch, Mirabel? (never watched Encanto, Dumbo, Alice, Winnie the Pooh, Pua, Simba, Alladin's flying carpet
Alt 6 (villains): Cruella, ????? (obviously a green flame, but no context), Ursula, Hades, Queen of Hearts, Scar, poison apple, Wicked Stepmother? (Cinderella), Jafar, Hook's hook, Maleficent, Syndrome

I'm pretty sure that's not Squirrel Girl's scooter. They've leaned pretty heavily on Pixar (with 14 frames), but I see nothing from Lucasfilm or Marvel here. I think there's a Pixar film where the main character rides one, but it might be one of the three they never released to theaters (none of which I've seen yet). The candle I don't get. The presence of butterflies probably ties it to the frame that might be Mirabel, but I've never seen Encanto either. And the green flame is a mystery. There are several Disney villains who have weirdly-colored flames associated with them, but the only one I can think of with green is Maleficent, who's already pictured in the Villains set.

My only con for this set is that I wish the larger frame had a stand on the back like the little one.

Other than that, it was a great set.

@gunther_schnitzel said:
"Only 89 more reveals/reviews to go. Woo hoo."

To what?

It has been a good round of franchise.

@Huw said:
" @sjr60 said:
" Are the alternative instructions ONLY available in the Builder App? If so, I hope this isn't a sign of things to come, with alternative instructions not being available as standard PDFs at Lego.com."

Yes, I believe so. It's not really a problem in this case as they are all very simply reverse-engineered from the pictures in the printed instructions."
True... it will be if it becomes the norm though, as the the Builder App is dire!

@Modeltrainman said:
" @gunther_schnitzel said:
"Only 89 more reveals/reviews to go. Woo hoo."

To what?"

I think he's being sarcastic about the "89 more reveals"... at least, it reads that way to me. Feels like he doesn't like the Disney anniversary sets. IMO, I welcome them. We would have never got the UP house, Bambi, or Dumbo too, otherwise!

I need a Casey Jr. circus train (not the creepy new live-action one, though!) and Spirit of Adventure zeppelin from UP before this is all over, though.

@Murdoch17 said:
" @Modeltrainman said:
" @gunther_schnitzel said:
"Only 89 more reveals/reviews to go. Woo hoo."

To what?"

I think he's being sarcastic about the "89 more reveals"... at least, it reads that way to me. Feels like he doesn't like the Disney anniversary sets. IMO, I welcome them. We would have never got the UP house, Bambi, or Dumbo too, otherwise!

I need a Casey Jr. circus train (not the creepy new live-action one, though!) and Spirit of Adventure zeppelin from UP before this is all over, though."

Oh, right. Sarcasm is hard via text. Also, I agree with you about Casey Jr. and the Spirit of Adventure.(If they want to start from my Casey Jr., they just have to say so! ;))

@PurpleDave said:
"Okay, let's see how successful they were with these designs. Here's what I'm able to identify:

Base set: Elsa, Olaf, Belle, Dumbo, Jasmine, Snow White, Chip, Mulan, Maleficent, Mickey, poison apple, Disney 100 logo
Alt 1 (all Pixar): Nemo, ????? (Squirrel Girl's scooter?), Claw Alien, Miguel, Incredibles logo, Wall-E, Up house, Remy, Mike, Lightning McQueen, Turning Red panda, Pixar lamp
Alt 2: Mickey Mouse logo, Minnie Mouse logo, Disney 100 logo, "Hidden Mickey", Beast's rose, Alladin's lamp, ????? (generic candle? _Not_ Lumière), Moana's necklace, Cinderella's slipper, Sword in the Stone, Cinderella's carriage, Disney Castle logo
Alt 3 (classic characters): Daisy, Donald, Mickey, Minnie, Pluto, Goofy, Chip, Dale, "1", "0", "0", Scrooge McDuck
Alt 4 (Disney Princesses): Rapunzel, Ariel, Cinderella, Pocahontas, Jasmine, Snow White, Aurora, Tiana, Mulan, Merida, Belle, Moana
Alt 5: Elsa, Olaf, Anna, Lumière, Stitch, Mirabel? (never watched Encanto, Dumbo, Alice, Winnie the Pooh, Pua, Simba, Alladin's flying carpet
Alt 6 (villains): Cruella, ????? (obviously a green flame, but no context), Ursula, Hades, Queen of Hearts, Scar, poison apple, Wicked Stepmother? (Cinderella), Jafar, Hook's hook, Maleficent, Syndrome

I'm pretty sure that's not Squirrel Girl's scooter. They've leaned pretty heavily on Pixar (with 14 frames), but I see nothing from Lucasfilm or Marvel here. I think there's a Pixar film where the main character rides one, but it might be one of the three they never released to theaters (none of which I've seen yet). The candle I don't get. The presence of butterflies probably ties it to the frame that might be Mirabel, but I've never seen Encanto either. And the green flame is a mystery. There are several Disney villains who have weirdly-colored flames associated with them, but the only one I can think of with green is Maleficent, who's already pictured in the Villains set."

You are correct that two of the ones you don't recognize are from Disney+ movies. The butterfly/moth candle is Encanto and the Vespa is Luca. The green flame means nothing to me though.

@PhantomBricks:
Encanto did have a 30-day theatrical run in the US. I pointedly skipped it in protest over the fact that the three Pixar films released after Onward were all dumped to basic streaming. While I own copies of all three, I haven't yet opened them. Generally speaking, I like Pixar more than basic-Disney, and for years there was only one Pixar film (Toy Story) that I'd never seen on the big screen (first one I watched was A Bug's Life, after they added the outtakes late in the run). When Toy Story 4 came out, a handful of theaters in the area ran a sneak preview/marathon of all four, and I was able to spend a day doing that. I then watched Onward on opening day, so I went into the pandemic all caught up. And now I would probably have to do a private rental of a theater for six hours to see the three missing films the way they were intended.

For green flames, I found a source that lists Sleeping Beauty, The Little Mermaid, The Lion King, Hercules, Brave, and Tangled as films that feature green flames. The Princess & The Frog also features green flames, and I wouldn't be surprised if there are more. There's just too many possibilities for that to be identified as any specific instance, so maybe it's just a catch-all for the long tradition of using green flames to signify evil/magic in Disney animation.

@PurpleDave said:
" @PhantomBricks:
And now I would probably have to do a private rental of a theater for six hours to see the three missing films the way they were intended."

Excuse me, but the way films are intended to be watched is now in the comfort of your own home where the popcorn is cheap and plentiful, they pause the movie for bathroom breaks, there’s no screaming kids that don’t belong to you. I gotta say, I built a home theater in my basement last year and it is so much more enjoyable than going to a movie theater. 120” screen with 4K laser projection, 7.1.2 ATMOS sound, reclining seats. I’m telling you, it’s the way to go. The movie starts when you want it to, if you fall asleep you can just stay asleep. The only time I’ve been to a movie theater since the pandemic was for the Mario movie because when the kids learned it would be a few months before we can watch at home, they just couldn’t wait. But we did buy it the day it came out and have probably watched it at least 10 times since.

I highly recommend everyone sets aside their Lego budget for a year and build a home theater (out of lumber and drywall, not Lego). Trust me, you’ll thank me.

Glad I am not the only one puzzled by the green flame tile. Thought it might represent Maleficent but she appears in person in the bottom row. It’s otherwise too generic, could be any number of villains. Also not helped by how much it reminds me of the Fire Nation symbol from ATLA…

i was very unimpressed at first but this review changed my mind. Really well done and the variety of icons is pretty impressive. My only gripe is the visible hanger but that's probably a necessity(?). In any case, not for me personally, but i may end up buying a couple for Christmas or birthday gifts.

@alfred_the_buttler:
I’ve got a small condo. It would take a significant chunk out of my annual LEGO budget for the rest of my life just to pay the property taxes on a house big enough to accommodate an in-home theater. There’s also always something to do, or some form of distraction when watching at home. When I go to the theater, it’s just me, and the movie, and heated recliner seats.

@PurpleDave said:
" @PhantomBricks:

For green flames, I found a source that lists Sleeping Beauty, The Little Mermaid, The Lion King, Hercules, Brave, and Tangled as films that feature green flames. The Princess & The Frog also features green flames, and I wouldn't be surprised if there are more. There's just too many possibilities for that to be identified as any specific instance, so maybe it's just a catch-all for the long tradition of using green flames to signify evil/magic in Disney animation."

All the villains are from earlier Disney, Syndrome is the latest, So I would say it is not Brave or Tangled. All the other films have representation already. Maybe the Black Cauldron? A quick google search shows green mist/smoke but not flame specifically.

@Miyakan:
I wouldn't rule out any film on the basis that it's already represented. I can see Jasmine, Jafar, the lamp, and the flying carpet from Aladdin; Cinderella, Lady Tremaine, the glass slipper, and the pumpkin carriage from Cinderella; Belle, Lumière, and the rose from Beauty & the Beast; Moana, Pua, and the necklace from Moana; Anna, Elsa, and Olaf from Frozen; Simba and Scar from The Lion King; Syndrome and the Incredibles logo from The Incredibles; Ariel and Ursula from The Little Mermaid; Snow White and the apple from Snow White; Alice and the Queen of Hearts from Alice in Wonderland; Mirabel and some candle from Encanto; Aurora and Maleficent from Sleeping Beauty; and five depictions of Mickey, three of Minnie, plus seven other core characters. Oh, and technically that's Tink flying over the castle, to pair up with Hook's hook.

@PurpleDave said:
" @Miyakan:
I wouldn't rule out any film on the basis that it's already represented. I can see Jasmine, Jafar, the lamp, and the flying carpet from Aladdin; Cinderella, Lady Tremaine, the glass slipper, and the pumpkin carriage from Cinderella; Belle, Lumière, and the rose from Beauty & the Beast; Moana, Pua, and the necklace from Moana; Anna, Elsa, and Olaf from Frozen; Simba and Scar from The Lion King; Syndrome and the Incredibles logo from The Incredibles; Ariel and Ursula from The Little Mermaid; Snow White and the apple from Snow White; Alice and the Queen of Hearts from Alice in Wonderland; Mirabel and some candle from Encanto; Aurora and Maleficent from Sleeping Beauty; and five depictions of Mickey, three of Minnie, plus seven other core characters. Oh, and technically that's Tink flying over the castle, to pair up with Hook's hook."

I was more thinking they are on that set of builds specifically.

@Miyakan:
Six of the villains are from films released before I was born. Five from my late teens or later. I wouldn't exactly call any of those "early Disney". I do see your point about the flame probably not being a repeat on the villains set. Most of the films I mentioned do indeed already have a villain plate. Brave I'd rule out just because it's not associated with any villain. Tangled and The Princess & the Frog are both possibilities. The Black Cauldron is a film they have largely distanced themselves from these days, so I'm not sure I'd go with that. The problem is, out of their entire library of films, Sleeping Beauty's Maleficent is by far the most famous use of green flames, if only because they've featured her dragon form in Fantasmic, a nighttime finale event at some Disney parks. Night on Bald Mountain from Fantasia features green flame, but also several other colors of flame. I'm kinda torn between, "oh, everyone will know exactly what this refers to," and, "eh, they used a crapton of green fire, and that's all we can figure out with the remaining parts."

@PurpleDave said:
" @Miyakan:
Six of the villains are from films released before I was born. Five from my late teens or later. I wouldn't exactly call any of those "early Disney". I do see your point about the flame probably not being a repeat on the villains set. Most of the films I mentioned do indeed already have a villain plate. Brave I'd rule out just because it's not associated with any villain. Tangled and The Princess & the Frog are both possibilities. The Black Cauldron is a film they have largely distanced themselves from these days, so I'm not sure I'd go with that. The problem is, out of their entire library of films, Sleeping Beauty's Maleficent is by far the most famous use of green flames, if only because they've featured her dragon form in Fantasmic, a nighttime finale event at some Disney parks. Night on Bald Mountain from Fantasia features green flame, but also several other colors of flame. I'm kinda torn between, "oh, everyone will know exactly what this refers to," and, "eh, they used a crapton of green fire, and that's all we can figure out with the remaining parts.""

I tend to think of earlier Disney as pre 2000. (Roughly) Probably because that is the point where I go from, 'oh I saw that when I was a kid', to 'I remember that coming out'
And weird that out of the 72 panels, there is just one that is too ambiguous to say what movie it is from. This is going to bug me now.

@Miyakan:
There have been several eras of Disney animation, but generally speaking, when you say “early Disney”, anything Walt wasn’t involved in (and Frozen doesn’t count) is excluded out of hand. There’s really only five films he was directly “hands-on” involved in, which are considered the “Golden Age” of Disney animation. Of these, only Snow White is represented. The “Wartime Era” seems to be wholly absent of representation across all of these groups of plates. He had gotten more absorbed in the live-action side, but still had a cursory involvement in the post-WWII “Silver Age”, which is when the next five represented films were released, concluding with 101 Dalmatians in 1961. The “Bronze Age”, or “Dark Age” followed Walt’s passing, and consisted of low-cost animation. And The Little Mermaid is the first film of the “Disney Renaissance”. This is the point when Disney finally regained their footing, and in no way is that “early Disney”. Four of the plates come from this era, with the 11th being a Pixar villain.

Of the Disney studio’s animated features that are represented here, I see some from the Golden Age, Silver Age, Disney Renaissance, and the Revival Era, but I don’t recognize anything from the Wartime Era, Bronze Age, or New Millennium, while Encanto might be from an as-yet-untitled 8th age brought on by the pandemic taking a toll on the box office. If the green flame represents a specific film, I’d guess you can start out by excluding the possibility of any Wartime Era, Bronze Age, or New Millennium films, since they don’t seem that interested in promoting them anymore.

@Huw
Thank you for this Review. As always I enjoyed the reading a lot.
Of all the Disney 100 LEGO Sets of this Year this is my favourite Set togehter with 43227 Villain Icons.
I am 50 Years of Age but I had Buiulding Fun for Hours with this Set