The Time of the LEGO Doctor
November 12, 2014 12:29 PM Subscribe
You've seen the Eleventh Doctor regenerate into the Twelfth. But you haven't seen it done in LEGO, until now.
LEGO previously. Doctor Who previously.
LEGO previously. Doctor Who previously.
I may be alone in this, but I think I've reached peak LEGO.
I miss the old, non-market-tested-and-super-branded LEGO. Now it's all Harry Potter this and Star Wars that. I know it makes them more money, but it turns what was fairly open-ended play into a more rigidly structured play.
I'm basically with the little red-headed girl. "In 1981, LEGOs were simple and gender-neutral, and the creativity of the child produced the message," Giordano told her. " In 2014, it’s the reverse: the toy delivers a message to the child, and this message is weirdly about gender.”
posted by leotrotsky at 12:47 PM on November 12, 2014 [8 favorites]
I miss the old, non-market-tested-and-super-branded LEGO. Now it's all Harry Potter this and Star Wars that. I know it makes them more money, but it turns what was fairly open-ended play into a more rigidly structured play.
I'm basically with the little red-headed girl. "In 1981, LEGOs were simple and gender-neutral, and the creativity of the child produced the message," Giordano told her. " In 2014, it’s the reverse: the toy delivers a message to the child, and this message is weirdly about gender.”
posted by leotrotsky at 12:47 PM on November 12, 2014 [8 favorites]
To be clear, this is a fan video not affiliated with LEGO, done in the style of computer-animated LEGO stuff (The LEGO Movie, bunch of TV shows/video games, etc.).
posted by jbickers at 12:49 PM on November 12, 2014 [1 favorite]
posted by jbickers at 12:49 PM on November 12, 2014 [1 favorite]
I may be alone in this, but I think I've reached peak LEGO.
You are not alone in this. I get that it's not really the LEGO people doing this one and all, but the LEGO movie stuff (which I admit to not having seen, though I hear some of it is really good) and the full-on branding of all LEGO stuff seems to have opened the door to LEGO everything. Redoing a scene from any movie/TV show in the LEGO style is a nice portfolio piece for an animator, but it's past the point of being novel or particularly interesting.
posted by immlass at 12:56 PM on November 12, 2014
You are not alone in this. I get that it's not really the LEGO people doing this one and all, but the LEGO movie stuff (which I admit to not having seen, though I hear some of it is really good) and the full-on branding of all LEGO stuff seems to have opened the door to LEGO everything. Redoing a scene from any movie/TV show in the LEGO style is a nice portfolio piece for an animator, but it's past the point of being novel or particularly interesting.
posted by immlass at 12:56 PM on November 12, 2014
This isn't done in the style of the Lego movie at all . The Lego movie made a point of only moving their animated Lego pieces in ways that the real equivalents could actually be moved whereas this animation bends and warps the figures in ways that no real Lego is capable of. It's much more like the animation in the cutscenes for the Lego computer games.
posted by pharm at 1:00 PM on November 12, 2014 [3 favorites]
posted by pharm at 1:00 PM on November 12, 2014 [3 favorites]
What's the joke with The Doctor pulling out a drumstick?
posted by Ian A.T. at 1:01 PM on November 12, 2014 [2 favorites]
posted by Ian A.T. at 1:01 PM on November 12, 2014 [2 favorites]
Now it's all Harry Potter this and Star Wars that.
Just as a gut check, the first Star Wars Lego set was released in 1999. 15 years ago. (Harry Potter, 2001.)
posted by smackfu at 1:06 PM on November 12, 2014 [1 favorite]
Just as a gut check, the first Star Wars Lego set was released in 1999. 15 years ago. (Harry Potter, 2001.)
posted by smackfu at 1:06 PM on November 12, 2014 [1 favorite]
The computer cutscenes and all of the tv shows like Ninjago
posted by boo_radley at 1:13 PM on November 12, 2014
posted by boo_radley at 1:13 PM on November 12, 2014
I miss the old, non-market-tested-and-super-branded LEGO. Now it's all Harry Potter this and Star Wars that.
And yet, the best Lego game is unbranded.
posted by JHarris at 1:18 PM on November 12, 2014
And yet, the best Lego game is unbranded.
posted by JHarris at 1:18 PM on November 12, 2014
Now it's all Harry Potter this and Star Wars that.
Just as a gut check, the first Star Wars Lego set was released in 1999. 15 years ago. (Harry Potter, 2001.)
I'm old-ish, now. My first browser was Mosaic. I remember record stores; I bought cassettes there. The first two CDs I bought were "Ice Ice Baby" and "Please Hammer Don't Hurt 'Em".
posted by leotrotsky at 1:20 PM on November 12, 2014 [1 favorite]
What's the joke with The Doctor pulling out a drumstick?
Drumstick... or fishstick?
posted by Joey Michaels at 1:28 PM on November 12, 2014 [1 favorite]
Drumstick... or fishstick?
posted by Joey Michaels at 1:28 PM on November 12, 2014 [1 favorite]
The Lego branding is both the best and worst thing to happen to lego. Honestly, the old lego sets are still there, but with amped-up branding to look at home alongside Harry Potter and Star Wars.
As long as kids, of either gender, can still make a lego set to look at for 5 minutes before smashing it to build something of their own with the peices there is hope in the world.
posted by Mr.Encyclopedia at 1:36 PM on November 12, 2014 [1 favorite]
As long as kids, of either gender, can still make a lego set to look at for 5 minutes before smashing it to build something of their own with the peices there is hope in the world.
posted by Mr.Encyclopedia at 1:36 PM on November 12, 2014 [1 favorite]
Well, the branding saved the company, so there's that.
leotrotsky's comment reminded me of this clip from Community.
posted by LooseFilter at 1:40 PM on November 12, 2014 [1 favorite]
leotrotsky's comment reminded me of this clip from Community.
posted by LooseFilter at 1:40 PM on November 12, 2014 [1 favorite]
/wonders if he should mention that the latest Lego Ideas set is a Big Bang Theory set.
posted by Artw at 1:45 PM on November 12, 2014
posted by Artw at 1:45 PM on November 12, 2014
OMG. I even quoted the same examples in the same order.
"LEGO don't have no owners, only builders."
posted by leotrotsky at 1:46 PM on November 12, 2014 [1 favorite]
"LEGO don't have no owners, only builders."
posted by leotrotsky at 1:46 PM on November 12, 2014 [1 favorite]
It's much more like the animation in the cutscenes for the Lego computer games.
Perhaps that's what I'm seeing (emulated) on youtube, but I've seen a bunch of videos in this style, with the full motion instead of the LEGO-people motions.
posted by immlass at 2:22 PM on November 12, 2014
Perhaps that's what I'm seeing (emulated) on youtube, but I've seen a bunch of videos in this style, with the full motion instead of the LEGO-people motions.
posted by immlass at 2:22 PM on November 12, 2014
I'm glad Lego is swallowing up all the fancy brands so other parents don't have to deal with the frustration of expensive sets full of cheap bricks that don't quite fit together right (ie the C3 Batcave that would explode and fall apart any time my daughter tried to play with it).
If she ever has kids I'm going to do my best to recreate the thing with real Lego bricks.
posted by The Hamms Bear at 2:38 PM on November 12, 2014
If she ever has kids I'm going to do my best to recreate the thing with real Lego bricks.
posted by The Hamms Bear at 2:38 PM on November 12, 2014
"Normal" Lego sets are still available, and still sell well, and their pieces work with the branded sets. And if anything, i think the branded sets are Lego infecting the other properties, instead of the other way around. When you see Lego Batman, which is the most prominent part of the figure in your mind, the Batman part, or the Lego part?
posted by JHarris at 2:53 PM on November 12, 2014
posted by JHarris at 2:53 PM on November 12, 2014
For those wishing to kick it old school.
posted by Artw at 3:20 PM on November 12, 2014 [2 favorites]
posted by Artw at 3:20 PM on November 12, 2014 [2 favorites]
the Batman part, or the Lego part?
Batman, but that's just because Lego Batman is the best Batman.
posted by Joey Michaels at 4:01 PM on November 12, 2014 [2 favorites]
Batman, but that's just because Lego Batman is the best Batman.
posted by Joey Michaels at 4:01 PM on November 12, 2014 [2 favorites]
I admit, he is.
posted by JHarris at 4:45 PM on November 12, 2014 [1 favorite]
posted by JHarris at 4:45 PM on November 12, 2014 [1 favorite]
I miss the old, non-market-tested-and-super-branded LEGO. Now it's all Harry Potter this and Star Wars that. I know it makes them more money, but it turns what was fairly open-ended play into a more rigidly structured play.
I grew up half-in, half out of the era of branded LEGO - maybe more out, mostly I remember them having a whole bunch of their own sub-brands/settings, but if I didn't have Star Wars stuff my little brother did. Anyway, it's not like we built the models according to the instructions and left them that way. More often than not we *never* built the things you were "supposed to," actually. "Structured play" my ass - that's not how kids work. I do find it annoying when they use too many special pieces that resist being repurposed though. And the old underwater/arctic/space bases were just *cooler* than Star Wars.
posted by atoxyl at 4:57 PM on November 12, 2014
I grew up half-in, half out of the era of branded LEGO - maybe more out, mostly I remember them having a whole bunch of their own sub-brands/settings, but if I didn't have Star Wars stuff my little brother did. Anyway, it's not like we built the models according to the instructions and left them that way. More often than not we *never* built the things you were "supposed to," actually. "Structured play" my ass - that's not how kids work. I do find it annoying when they use too many special pieces that resist being repurposed though. And the old underwater/arctic/space bases were just *cooler* than Star Wars.
posted by atoxyl at 4:57 PM on November 12, 2014
I forgot how terrible the regeneration scenes are in the new series. Could we not have farewell speeches from the actors? Why can't he just stagger into or out of the TARDIS full of spider poison or psychic radiation and collapse, maybe make a witty comment then pass-out only to sit up moments later with a new face.
posted by MrBobaFett at 7:26 PM on November 12, 2014 [1 favorite]
posted by MrBobaFett at 7:26 PM on November 12, 2014 [1 favorite]
It's computer animation that looks like LEGO.
It's the LEGO uncanny valley, is what it is.
posted by flabdablet at 8:17 PM on November 12, 2014 [2 favorites]
It's the LEGO uncanny valley, is what it is.
posted by flabdablet at 8:17 PM on November 12, 2014 [2 favorites]
As far as I'm concerned, LEGO is a well-worn cardboard box of red, white, and blue bricks and plates (and the prized and rare clear block) that can be anything. I have no idea what the fuck this nonsense is.
posted by sonascope at 4:10 AM on November 13, 2014
posted by sonascope at 4:10 AM on November 13, 2014
Minifigs were added in 1974 so really Leho has been ruined since before I was even born.
posted by Artw at 11:20 AM on November 13, 2014
posted by Artw at 11:20 AM on November 13, 2014
Are we talking about Leho now? I thought those were ruined when they started selling Galaxy Fights sets. I admit that Leho Mike Sunrunner and Bor Plural were cute though, with their little orange faces.
posted by JHarris at 1:55 PM on November 13, 2014
posted by JHarris at 1:55 PM on November 13, 2014
I am twisting my head around to the :( face.
posted by Artw at 1:58 PM on November 13, 2014 [1 favorite]
posted by Artw at 1:58 PM on November 13, 2014 [1 favorite]
Aww, I'm just kiddin' ya.
posted by JHarris at 3:53 AM on November 15, 2014 [1 favorite]
posted by JHarris at 3:53 AM on November 15, 2014 [1 favorite]
Could we not have farewell speeches from the actors? Why can't he just stagger into or out of the TARDIS full of spider poison or psychic radiation and collapse, maybe make a witty comment then pass-out only to sit up moments later with a new face.
I like the special effects. However, if they want to say the moment has been prepared for, departing Doctors will be allowed to get that much out.
posted by immlass at 12:17 PM on November 15, 2014
I like the special effects. However, if they want to say the moment has been prepared for, departing Doctors will be allowed to get that much out.
posted by immlass at 12:17 PM on November 15, 2014
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posted by Shepherd at 12:43 PM on November 12, 2014 [3 favorites]