LEGO Simpsons

[Black Six]

This is going to bomb, and be out of the stores within a year. Just like: SpongebobThe Lone RangerCarsToy StoryPrince of PersiaBen 10Avatar: The Last Airbender and almost every other licensed theme you can think of.

Most of those lines were designed to only be around for a year, as they were supporting a movie and were part of the marketing and licensing for that.Also, as discussed earlier in this topic, Spongebob sells really well and has had sets released in 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2011, and 2012. There's just only a couple of them each time.

[Makaru]

This is going to bomb, and be out of the stores within a year. Just like:

 

Spongebob

The Lone Ranger

Cars

Toy Story

Prince of Persia

Ben 10

Avatar: The Last Airbender

 

and almost every other licensed theme you can think of.

You mean like

 

Star Wars

Harry Potter

Lord of the Rings

Marvel/DC

Pirates of the Caribbean

 

 

EDIT: Oh Sixboss. Hi.

Edited August 19, 2013 by Makaru

[TheSkeletonMan939]

My point is that I doubt many of those lines turned much of a profit. The sets were poorly designed and the toy depended simply on the big "Ben 10" logo on the box to convince some kid to buy the thing.

 

If LEGO really intends to keep these on the shelves long, they've got to have the sets well-made (which I doubt, seeing as there's simply nothing to make a set about).

[Makaru]

I won't argue that the property is a rather dubious choice, but you can't discount it because it's a licensed product. I would argue that The Simpsons has just as much to offer in regards to set potential as the DC/Marvel line did.

[dviddy]

The issue here isn't necessarily that the LEGO Cuusoo moderators didn't know about Firefly's content. The issue is that the approval process for LEGO Cuusoo projects is not done by one monolithic entity. The LEGO Cuusoo moderators, whose job it is to congratulate project creators on their success and warn them about things that might present challenges during review, are not the only ones involved in making the final decision on whether the project fits with the LEGO Group's brand standards or is a viable business case. There are a lot of branches of the LEGO Group that have to weigh in before a LEGO Cuusoo project is approved for production, and they may not always have the same ideas on whether a franchise is appropriate for kids or for the company's brand image.

Before any of those other committees start the review process, there is actually a single TLG employee (the CUUSOO project manager) who can nix a project after it hits 10,000 and spare TLG the time and expense of research and development. In this instance, within the hour of the Firefly project hitting 10,000, the CUUSOO manager had wiki'd the series (because he knew absolutely nothing about it), discovered Inara was a prostitute, and rejected the project internally. The Firefly project never went any further.

 

Source: CUUSOO manager at Brickfair.

[Meiko]

 

The issue here isn't necessarily that the LEGO Cuusoo moderators didn't know about Firefly's content. The issue is that the approval process for LEGO Cuusoo projects is not done by one monolithic entity. The LEGO Cuusoo moderators, whose job it is to congratulate project creators on their success and warn them about things that might present challenges during review, are not the only ones involved in making the final decision on whether the project fits with the LEGO Group's brand standards or is a viable business case. There are a lot of branches of the LEGO Group that have to weigh in before a LEGO Cuusoo project is approved for production, and they may not always have the same ideas on whether a franchise is appropriate for kids or for the company's brand image.

Before any of those other committees start the review process, there is actually a single TLG employee (the CUUSOO project manager) who can nix a project after it hits 10,000 and spare TLG the time and expense of research and development. In this instance, within the hour of the Firefly project hitting 10,000, the CUUSOO manager had wiki'd the series (because he knew absolutely nothing about it), discovered Inara was a prostitute, and rejected the project internally. The Firefly project never went any further.

 

Source: CUUSOO manager at Brickfair.

 

Tim Courtney said that? When I talked to him when we met up one day 1 of BrickFair, he said that they don't go in-depth on their reasons for rejection. Although he may have said that regarding licensing...

 

Anyways, Firefly is off-topic for this thread.

Edited August 21, 2013 by Meiko

[Kopekemaster]

My point is that I doubt many of those lines turned much of a profit. The sets were poorly designed and the toy depended simply on the big "Ben 10" logo on the box to convince some kid to buy the thing.

 

If LEGO really intends to keep these on the shelves long, they've got to have the sets well-made (which I doubt, seeing as there's simply nothing to make a set about).

 

Yeah, really. I don't get what the sets are going to be.

[Lyichir]

What makes me wonder about The Simpsons is if the line may not be so popular in other countries, due to both the satire on American culture present throughout and the various questionable cultural and racial stereotypes.

You'd actually be surprised. From what I've read, The Simpsons is one of the most effectively localized American cartoons in many areas of the world. Because it's a cartoon, it's easy enough to overdub, and cultural references and jokes that wouldn't translate well are often changed to more relevant ones during the translation process. Moreover, the characters themselves are archetypical enough to be relatable to diverse audiences. The lazy dad, rebellious son, progressive daughter, etc. can resonate with audiences the world over, even if they originated in an American context.

[Makuta Almanax]

Also, when people say they don't think there's much they could do, let us look at possibilities;

Sector 7-G & Mr Burns' OfficeKrusty BurgerThe Simpson's House (possible as a half-building or even a dollhouse format like the Haunted House set)The Monorail (I wouldn't be surprised if some sets referenced one-off episodes)Moe's Tavern (may not be done, but could if they remove alcholic references to settle their own ridiculous standard of family-safeness)

The Flanders' House/LeftoriumSpringfield Town Square (with Jebidiah statue, head removable)

The Springfield Dog TrackCapital City (possibly the baseball stadium)

Springfield Hospital (it must be done! We need a hospital, I don't care if Nick Riviera is running it!)The Church (VERY unlikely, if not impossible)

Cletus' House (random choice) Googolplex TheatreSpringfield Aztec TheatreKent Brockman's news station

Krusty's Stage

 

Just among a load of others. Some are more likely than others based on their content, but considering the simpsons has over 23 seasons of episodes, there's not exactly a limited amount of options on who or what they include.

Edited August 22, 2013 by Makuta Almanax

[Sir Kohran]

Also, when people say they don't think there's much they could do, let us look at possibilities;

Sector 7-G & Mr Burns' OfficeKrusty BurgerThe Simpson's House (possible as a half-building or even a dollhouse format like the Haunted House set)The Monorail (I wouldn't be surprised if some sets referenced one-off episodes)Moe's Tavern (may not be done, but could if they remove alcholic references to settle their own ridiculous standard of family-safeness)

The Flanders' House/LeftoriumSpringfield Town Square (with Jebidiah statue, head removable)

The Springfield Dog TrackCapital City (possibly the baseball stadium)

Springfield Hospital (it must be done! We need a hospital, I don't care if Nick Riviera is running it!)The Church (VERY unlikely, if not impossible)

Cletus' House (random choice) Googolplex TheatreSpringfield Aztec TheatreKent Brockman's news station

Krusty's Stage

 

Just among a load of others. Some are more likely than others based on their content, but considering the simpsons has over 23 seasons of episodes, there's not exactly a limited amount of options on who or what they include.

 

That's a good analysis, though a number of those sound like they'd be interchangeable with City sets.

[Lenny7092]

I like the Simpsons, both the TV series and the movie. It is a great and funny franchise. Hmm... It looks like that the Simpsons franchise is going to the next level, which is Lego. Anyway, I wonder what's next. Transformers? The Total Drama TV series? Any other Nickelodeon shows? Any other Cartoon Network shows? Any Disney Channel shows? Any The Hub shows? Any Dreamworks Animation Studios movies? Any other Disney movies? Any other Disney Pixar movies? Any Blue Sky Animation Studios movies? Any Sony movies? I said these things because I hope that Lego would try to make themes based on any of these things.

Edited August 23, 2013 by Lenny7092

[Aanchir]

I like the Simpsons, both the TV series and the movie. It is a great and funny franchise. Hmm... It looks like that the Simpsons franchise is going to the next level, which is Lego. :)Anyway, I wonder what's next. Transformers? The Total Drama TV series? Any other Nickelodeon shows? Any other Cartoon Network shows? Any Disney Channel shows? Any The Hub shows? Any Dreamworks Animation Studios movies? Any other Disney movies? Any other Disney Pixar movies? Any Blue Sky Animation Studios movies? Any Sony movies? I said these things because I hope that Lego would try to make themes based on any of these things.

Transformers and most Hub shows are probably out because they tend to be Hasbro properties. Hasbro and the LEGO Group are pretty fierce competitors, and now that Hasbro has their own LEGO clone brand (Kre-O, manufactured by Korean building toy company Oxford), it's unlikely they'll ever be likely to partner with the LEGO Group.Disney and Disney Pixar movies are a pretty viable possibility because LEGO has a good working relationship with Disney, but they will probably have to be tied to a franchise that has a current movie release out (like the Cars and Toy Story sets) and one that has proven its strength as far as merchandising is concerned.Blue Sky and Dreamworks features are completely up in the air as the LEGO Group has never had a licensing agreement with either of those studios.Cartoon Network has worked well together with LEGO lately, but overall it currently seems Cartoon Network is more interested in getting LEGO-related programming than LEGO is interested in gaining Cartoon Network products.Nickelodeon licenses, like all others, tend to follow things that have a huge merchandising presence... so for instance, Spongebob Squarepants and TMNT have had LEGO themes, but Danny Phantom and Fairly Odd Parents did not.Sony has not been a reliable partner with the LEGO Group, licensing Spider-Man 3 and The Amazing Spider-Man out to Mega Bloks.Of course, any LEGO licensed theme will also depend on whether it meets the LEGO Group's brand standards and whether it looks like a strong business case. So it's never an easy thing to predict.