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LEGO CUUSOO Rejects Firefly Set Proposal


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Once again, the poor television series <em>Firefly</em>, arguably one of the best productions of the previous decade, gets smacked down by the powers that be. Disappointingly, the LEGO CUUSOO program <a href='http://lego.cuusoo.com/ideas/view/12902' target='offsite'>has rejected</a> a proposal for <em>Firefly</em>-themed sets, such as the <em>Serenity</em> spaceship. The series was deemed inappropriate for the core LEGO age group of 6-11 year-olds; read on for commentary on the inconsistency of this decision.

 

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I think it's a bit unfair to peg a movie as being PG-13 without explaining why. LOTR got the rating soley due to epic fantasy violence, while Star Wars had similar rating with the addition of the Anakin/Padme plot. Jurassic Park and Inidiana Jones are better examples, mainly due to the more mature nature of those movies.I'm not too surprised they rejected a Firefly proposal, though, mainly due to the public apathy to it; it has a large fanbase but no real outside support, similar to how Chuck fared in its TV run. LEGO is a company and their main goal is profit; they aren't going to try something that probably won't make much money.-TN05

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Hear hear!I can understand some of their reasoning for not wanting to produce Serenity. Yes, the Reavers were pretty scary looking, and there were plenty of Chinese curse words. But it was not nearly as bad as Shaun of the Dead. What really irks me is the people who decided to nitpick all the bad things about Serenity and then pretend that all their arguments couldn't apply to other licenses, like Star Wars, Indiana Jones, or LotR. Frankly, although I love the story, I'm surprised Lego picked up LotRs because it IS super violent and everything. I think some of the harsh negativity provided by some of the AFOLs on Cuusoo and other sites really darkened what is a cool project, and it's cool we have an article in support of it. :):music:

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Okay, here's a test.Firefly contains references to things that cannot be discussed on BZP. Not violence, sexual content. One character being a "companion" and all. I can't elaborate on what that means because I would almost certainly lose proto if I did.Now, if something can't be discussed here on BZP, I think that makes it pretty clear on whether it's appropriate for LEGO or not. Violence has absolutely nothing to do with this.The unfortunate thing is that LEGO didn't actually specify why they rejected it, which has lead to all these silly assumptions about violence.

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The unfortunate thing is that LEGO didn't actually specify why they rejected it, which has lead to all these silly assumptions about violence.

Actually they did, it just wasn't on Cuusoo's site itself but on a site that BZP can't link to... Yeah, man, keeping everything child friendly does limit stuff here, doesn't it?But basically, it was because of Inara's profession that you mentioned.:music:
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Unsurprising due to the reasons given above (particularly Inara and the limited customer base), but still a little disappointing. It's hard to imagine anything more swag than a LEGO Serenity set.

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See, the argument about Inara is pretty unjustified IMO. Sure, that may have been going further than it should have, but didn't Indiana Jones have similar themes at some times within the movies? What about Prince of Persia? There was a pretty big romance between the Prince (he's not Dastan >:o) and the Princess.I might be wrong on this, though, so please correct me if my argument is unfounded.

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See, the argument about Inara is pretty unjustified IMO. Sure, that may have been going further than it should have, but didn't Indiana Jones have similar themes at some times within the movies? What about Prince of Persia? There was a pretty big romance between the Prince (he's not Dastan > :o) and the Princess.

Romance =/= Prostitution.I'm glad this got rejected. Not out of any hate for Firefly, but perhaps it'll encourage people to start voting for original ideas rather than licensed themes. Most people seem to view CUUSOO as a method of making X TV show/videogame into Lego sets. Edited by Kumata
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Yeah, they got, uh, merchandise (for lack of a better word) in Star Wars, too. Lego just doesn't want to do it because the customers will be all AFOLs.

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I sort of expected this, and I wasn't that excited about the project in the first place...

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It is a shame that this proposal couldn't make it through, but at the same time I think it's silly that so many people think the only reason is that it wouldn't be as profitable as many of TLG's existing licenses. There are ways you could look at the content in Firefly in which it could be considered more objectionable than TLG's existing licenses.Even TLG's existing licenses tend to play it safe as far as content is concerned before taking great risks. The Harry Potter theme went on hiatus for the sixth film out of concerns that it would be too dark for kids and TLG didn't want to associate their brand image with that film (later, they did include material from the sixth film in the final two years of Harry Potter sets). When LEGO Indiana Jones came out, TLG didn't include any sets from Temple of Doom in the first wave of sets. It wasn't until later that they created sets based on that film. Clearly, there's some value in taking risks in small stages rather than all at once. Cuusoo, which is designed to produce single products, doesn't offer TLG that liberty.Another thing people need to consider is that TLG can't necessarily afford to look at potentially-offensive content objectively, because that's not how parents are necessarily going to look at it. Parents are going to feel more threatened by something they're totally unfamiliar with than a "classic" they grew up with. It can't be ignored that one of the reasons Firefly has a more niche audience than classics like Indiana Jones is that parents have already shared these older franchises with their kids and created a new generation of fans. Sure, Star Wars sets would probably sell better than a Firefly sets, but part of the reason for this is that Star Wars doesn't alienate the core audience of ages 6-11 quite so much.So maybe TLG thinks that the licenses they have previously taken on offer more than enough "kid-friendly" messages and content to balance out the moments of more mature content. Maybe they don't want the Cuusoo program to get a reputation for creating sets based on less-than-child-appropriate content. Or maybe they really are just willing to compromise their brand standards when a lot of money is involved. No matter what the case, the sets they produce are entirely at their discretion. Cuusoo is a tool for making suggestions, not for out-and-out controlling TLG's product range.

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I'm not familiar with the content of Firefly, but I'm glad they turned it down. They can't do everything CUUSO suggests, after all. Beyond the PG-13, Firefly doesn't seem to have many younger fans, as all the licensed themes Lego does do.

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I don't understand way people keep trying to get licensed sets through, anyway. The Minecraft set happened because the actual company that made it created the Cuusoo Project, while most of this other stuff wasn't. You never heat off any non-existing-IP projects getting 2,000 supporters, do you?Granted, Firefly sets would have been pretty cool. . .

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Okay, here's a test.Firefly contains references to things that cannot be discussed on BZP. Not violence, sexual content. One character being a "companion" and all. I can't elaborate on what that means because I would almost certainly lose proto if I did.Now, if something can't be discussed here on BZP, I think that makes it pretty clear on whether it's appropriate for LEGO or not. Violence has absolutely nothing to do with this.

I agree; there's really no other reason for turning down such a set.
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As I said in the other CUUSOO thread, I think marketability had more to do with the decision than content, mature or otherwise. As for Inara, the movie Serenity contains none of the references that some people are concerned about. It's never explained or elaborated upon. A Serenity-themed set can stay within the confines of the film without expanding out into the television show.

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... and yet they gladly designed, produced, and marketed Indiana Jones sets, whose constituent movies contain language that most sane people consider too mature for, say, a six-year-old - plus, Temple of Doom was violent, creepy, disturbing, and otherwise overly gory for any movie even remotely considered "for kids." (It was the one that led to the creation of the PG-13 rating.) Speaking of which, I never understood why the Last Crusade was rated PG-13, but that is a superfluous digression.Star Wars is not a very good example, as the only movie of the six rated higher than PG was Revenge of the Sith, and that was due Anakin's immolation, if I recall correctly. The closest thing that even comes close to that are a couple of decapitations, de-limbings, and deaths, but any six-year-old will tell you that the worst part about that is the blood.If it's due to other forms of mature content, then LEGO should have said so - but LEGO knows full well that violence is not the deciding issue here.

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... and yet they gladly designed, produced, and marketed Indiana Jones sets, whose constituent movies contain language that most sane people consider too mature for, say, a six-year-old - plus, Temple of Doom was violent, creepy, disturbing, and otherwise overly gory for any movie even remotely considered "for kids." (It was the one that led to the creation of the PG-13 rating.) Speaking of which, I never understood why the Last Crusade was rated PG-13, but that is a superfluous digression.Star Wars is not a very good example, as the only movie of the six rated higher than PG was Revenge of the Sith, and that was due Anakin's immolation, if I recall correctly. The closest thing that even comes close to that are a couple of decapitations, de-limbings, and deaths, but any six-year-old will tell you that the worst part about that is the blood.If it's due to other forms of mature content, then LEGO should have said so - but LEGO knows full well that violence is not the deciding issue here.

Did they ever even say violence was the deciding issue? Their concern as described in the blog was with inappropriate content-- and as their blog entry on the LEGO brand standards makes clear, violence is just one of many factors they have to consider.
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... and yet they gladly designed, produced, and marketed Indiana Jones sets, whose constituent movies contain language that most sane people consider too mature for, say, a six-year-old - plus, Temple of Doom was violent, creepy, disturbing, and otherwise overly gory for any movie even remotely considered "for kids." (It was the one that led to the creation of the PG-13 rating.) Speaking of which, I never understood why the Last Crusade was rated PG-13, but that is a superfluous digression.Star Wars is not a very good example, as the only movie of the six rated higher than PG was Revenge of the Sith, and that was due Anakin's immolation, if I recall correctly. The closest thing that even comes close to that are a couple of decapitations, de-limbings, and deaths, but any six-year-old will tell you that the worst part about that is the blood.If it's due to other forms of mature content, then LEGO should have said so - but LEGO knows full well that violence is not the deciding issue here.

Did they ever even say violence was the deciding issue? Their concern as described in the blog was with inappropriate content-- and as their blog entry on the LEGO brand standards makes clear, violence is just one of many factors they have to consider.
I think you are right. Lego just said "Inappropriate content". They never actually said violence was the reason.

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I'm not sure it was just Inara and her job that inspired the rejection, since that was done pretty discreetly. It's also likely that that first episode with Saffron added to it. Not just that one scene, but also the things the characters said to Mal regarding her. There was probably other stuff too, and yeah, it could've been stuff that showed up in their current licensed lines.

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Well, it's only to be expected with an edgy show like "Firefly" that is full of themes that the LEGO Group likes to avoid. Like the show's overhanging "war" theme. Not to mention it's cult status, which would most likely prevent the set(s) from being profitable.

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Another thing people keep forgetting is that there is a whole lot of variation within the PG-13 rating. There are honestly some PG -13 movies that are arguably less apropriate for teenagers than some R rated ones. And keep in mind that "appropriateness" doesn't necessarily just refer to content, but also whether enough kids even know about Firefly to warrant such a theme. Judging by the fact that the show couldn't even survive its first season, I think this is a lot more about nerd dissapointment than anything else. :P

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Well, it's only to be expected with an edgy show like "Firefly" that is full of themes that the LEGO Group likes to avoid. Like the show's overhanging "war" theme. Not to mention it's cult status, which would most likely prevent the set(s) from being profitable.

A quality set will always make profit. Plus, kids might look at it and say, "Hey, that looks cool. I wanna buy it." And, you never know, it might serve as a gateway into the series for future fans, thought I'm still not expecting a second season. It sounds like Joss is just gonna let it die. But in all seriousness, the thing that makes me mad more than anything is how hypocritical their refusal really was. It's okay to make sets based on movies where a lot of people get eaten and mutilated by dinosaurs in a theme park, or an archaeologist who fights dictatorships whilst looking for ancient artifacts and having affairs with multiple women, but a space western with some of the deepest characters I've ever seen on TV is "too mature." I'll admit there were a couple of firefights here and there, but it wasn't like anyone exploded into a gory mess. The worst that could be done is they'd make Inara's pod into a set, which doesn't need to happen. Just make Jayne (hat included) and Mal minifigures, LEGO. The worst that could happen is some shrew complains in an angry E-mail about it. Otherwise, you won't get much bad press over it. Edited by renaldohoek
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Haha wow, somebody's got an opinion.But yeah, I really do wish people would stop using Cuusoo to push X Brand as Lego. Much prefer the sweet original or historical stuff that's hanging out there in the less voted upon sections.

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Okay, here's a test.Firefly contains references to things that cannot be discussed on BZP. Not violence, sexual content. One character being a "companion" and all. I can't elaborate on what that means because I would almost certainly lose proto if I did.Now, if something can't be discussed here on BZP, I think that makes it pretty clear on whether it's appropriate for LEGO or not. Violence has absolutely nothing to do with this.The unfortunate thing is that LEGO didn't actually specify why they rejected it, which has lead to all these silly assumptions about violence.

It is a shame that this proposal couldn't make it through, but at the same time I think it's silly that so many people think the only reason is that it wouldn't be as profitable as many of TLG's existing licenses. There are ways you could look at the content in Firefly in which it could be considered more objectionable than TLG's existing licenses.Even TLG's existing licenses tend to play it safe as far as content is concerned before taking great risks. The Harry Potter theme went on hiatus for the sixth film out of concerns that it would be too dark for kids and TLG didn't want to associate their brand image with that film (later, they did include material from the sixth film in the final two years of Harry Potter sets). When LEGO Indiana Jones came out, TLG didn't include any sets from Temple of Doom in the first wave of sets. It wasn't until later that they created sets based on that film. Clearly, there's some value in taking risks in small stages rather than all at once. Cuusoo, which is designed to produce single products, doesn't offer TLG that liberty.Another thing people need to consider is that TLG can't necessarily afford to look at potentially-offensive content objectively, because that's not how parents are necessarily going to look at it. Parents are going to feel more threatened by something they're totally unfamiliar with than a "classic" they grew up with. It can't be ignored that one of the reasons Firefly has a more niche audience than classics like Indiana Jones is that parents have already shared these older franchises with their kids and created a new generation of fans. Sure, Star Wars sets would probably sell better than a Firefly sets, but part of the reason for this is that Star Wars doesn't alienate the core audience of ages 6-11 quite so much.So maybe TLG thinks that the licenses they have previously taken on offer more than enough "kid-friendly" messages and content to balance out the moments of more mature content. Maybe they don't want the Cuusoo program to get a reputation for creating sets based on less-than-child-appropriate content. Or maybe they really are just willing to compromise their brand standards when a lot of money is involved. No matter what the case, the sets they produce are entirely at their discretion. Cuusoo is a tool for making suggestions, not for out-and-out controlling TLG's product range.

I'll have to agree with both Aanchir and Alyska on this one. As much as I enjoyed "Serenity" and would have liked to watch the show Firefly, I do recognize that there are certain things that would be objectionable to both TLC and parents. In addition, it would only appeal to fans or former fans of the series (not sure how big that group is), so the profit margin, despite not being a primary reason, will not be high. Also, I think it would be slightly difficult to bring in new fans without Joss Whedon bringing the show back. And yes, I supported the project.

Haha wow, somebody's got an opinion.But yeah, I really do wish people would stop using Cuusoo to push X Brand as Lego. Much prefer the sweet original or historical stuff that's hanging out there in the less voted upon sections.

Well, there have been some really great X Brand as Lego projects out there, such as the Legend of Zelda one, or the My Little Pony one (all Hasbro vs. Lego arguments aside). And there are continuations of old lines as well, such as Bionicle: The Legend Continues. Still, there are some really great original projects out there who deserve just as much attention. Edited by MakutaKlak

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