We Build LEGO Beauty and the Beast Castle, a Tribute to a Disney Renaissance Classic

This acceptable is simply a portion of an adult-focused rebrand for LEGO Disney, which began with the Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs' Cottage successful 2024. Prior to these sets, the immense bulk of Disney sets were pitched arsenic LEGO sets for kids. A 'castle' would beryllium small much than a colorful partition. The Princess and Prince minifigure builds were derived from the tween girl-targeted LEGO Friends line. The intended assemblage was clear.

LEGO inactive sells these smaller, much kid-centric sets. But the new, further absorption connected the 18+ assemblage begs immoderate absorbing questions. Has the archetypal LEGO Friends assemblage grown up and demanded more? Are dedicated Disney fans – not needfully dedicated LEGO fans – driving this reprioritization? Or is it a spot of each? Regardless, arsenic a instrumentality of LEGO and a instrumentality of Disney (I projected to my woman astatine Disneyland), I tin accidental that the cottage and the caller castle win some arsenic LEGO builds and arsenic homages to 2 Disney classics.

From a physique perspective, LEGO Beauty and the Beast Castle is simply a prime modular physique that relies connected established brick-building tactics – layering bladed bricks to stabilize the base, crossing agelong bricks to stabilize the walls, and spare transportation points to marque those layers easy detachable from another.

The exterior of the castle is airy purple and grey, and it incorporates occasional lined pieces to make the content of a ceramic facade. The spires are dark, royal red. The windows are constrictive archways, with achromatic crosshatches covering them. The exemplary castle is much colorful than its movie counterpart, which is successful its 'cursed,' shadowy authorities for the bulk of the film's runtime. Instead the LEGO exemplary derives its look from the Tokyo Disneyland castle, which opened arsenic portion of the park's New Fantasyland enlargement successful 2020.

The castle uses beige pieces arsenic buttresses and pillars to opposition with and interruption up the colour scheme. The statues that adorn the castle are suggestive, contempt their minimalism. One half-circle tile comprises a wing, and 2 of them, tilted guardant astatine a 45-degree angle, springiness the content of a perched griffin, guarding its entryway. There are 2 monolithic lions flanking the main entranceway –perfect for recreating the tense country wherever Maurice approaches the castle for the archetypal time.

The acceptable comes with 5 minifigures: Belle, Maurice, Beast, Gaston, and LeFou. Even better, the acceptable besides comes with eight(!) enchanted household objects: Lumière (candlestick), Cogworth (clock), Mrs. Potts (teapot), Chip (teacup), Fifi (featherduster), Sultan (footstool), Wardrobe (wardrobe), and Chef Bouche (stove).

Two of the minifigures person swappable elements. Belle has some 'standing' and 'sitting' legs, and the Beast tin either beryllium successful his archetypal Beast signifier oregon his quality form. When not utilizing them, you tin store leftover minifigure elements successful 2 locations: wrong a hidden compartment adjacent the West Wing, and down the Wardrobe successful Belle's room. Any longtime LEGO instrumentality volition admit this foresight. There's thing much irritating than having escaped elements with obscurity to enactment them.

The set's interior details callback the movie's classical scenes. The topmost level is the West Wing, with the enchanted roseate and the torn coating of the Beast successful his Prince form.

Below that is Belle's country and a hybrid abstraction that contains elements of the Study – wherever Belle tends to Beast's wounds aft the wolf combat – and the Library, which Beast gifts to Belle adjacent the extremity of the film. Below that is the room – which includes a stove, sink, and crockery furniture – and the eating room, which contains a agelong array with 3 plates of food. Interlocking gears let you to rotate the plates and utensils to 'dance' and recreate the "Be Our Guest" sequence.

The final, bottommost level is the champion one: a recreation of the reddish staircase from the opening of the "Beauty and the Beast" sequence. There are rails connected the sides of this room, which means you tin descent it retired of the castle and show it separately. To the close is simply a recreation of the ballroom, implicit with a aureate chandelier. Though it's tightly fixed to the ceiling, the chandelier has capable wiggle country to 'swing' if you bump it with your hand.

The level spins, and if you spot Belle and Beast upon it, they tin rotate and 'dance' together. Disney nostalgia is simply a almighty happening (as illustrated by the champion Disney LEGO sets), truthful erstwhile you replicate this country for the archetypal time, don't beryllium amazed if you perceive Angela Lansbury's dependable successful your head. You'll retrieve that cinematic shot, which swoops down from the chandelier to the dancing couple. And if you're thing similar me, you'll get your camera and commencement taking photos.

I emotion staging scenes with my LEGO sets. And the caller LEGO Beauty and the Beast Castle is an unthinkable accidental for impromptu photo-ops and cinematic re-enactments, particularly connected this bottommost floor. The set's elaborate interiors invitation the builder to replicate the close angle, astatine the close distance, with the close characters, to marque the cleanable shot.

LEGO Beauty and the Beast Castle, Set #43263, retails for $279.99, and it is composed of 2,916 pieces. It is disposable exclusively astatine the LEGO Store opening connected April 4.

Kevin Wong is simply a contributing freelancer for IGN, specializing successful LEGO. He's besides been published successful Complex, Engadget, Gamespot, Kotaku, and more. Follow him connected Twitter astatine @kevinjameswong.