The LEGO Ideas line celebrates the creativity and ambition of LEGO fans around the globe. Builders submit ideas and proofs of concept to LEGO. Fans vote for their favorites, and if a proposed set makes it to the end of the screening process, the designers turn it into an official set and give the original builder a cut of the profits.
The brilliance of the concept is twofold. It directly invests the fans via a common goal, making them feel like they are a part of a LEGO community larger than themselves. And it guarantees an audience of potential buyers, who voted en masse to get the set made in the first place.
Some of LEGO's most popular, acclaimed sets are the fruits of this initiative. LEGO Ideas The Office. LEGO Ideas Dungeons & Dragons. LEGO Ideas Jaws. LEGO Ideas Home Alone. I've noticed that a high percentage of these sets involve third-party creative properties. Perhaps knowing there's a proven audience waiting for it mitigates LEGO's risk of entering into a costly partnership.
The new LEGO Disney Tim Burton's The Nightmare Before Christmas, exclusively available at the LEGO Store, began as a LEGO Ideas concept, but the end result more than exceeds those humble beginnings. You build three set locations from the film: the Halloween Town Hall, Jack Skellington's House, and Spiral Hill, which dominated the film's posters and trailers before it hit theaters in 1993.
You get three instruction booklets – one for each miniature set – which would allow a LEGO family or LEGO couple to build simultaneously. But if you're flying solo, you start with the Town Hall. Then the House. And then finally, Spiral Hill, which overlooks a wry cemetery.
The set comes with six minifigures – Jack Skellington, Sally, Lock, Shock, Barrel, and "Sandy Claws." – and you build the walking bathtub that Lock, Shock, and Barrel use to kidnap Santa. You get an accessory-sized model of ghost-dog Zero. And lastly, you build the Mayor using conical brick pieces, and he comes with a reversible face, just like in the film.
Most LEGO sets look fantastic once they're put together, and this one is no exception. But there is a smaller subgroup of LEGO sets that are just as fun to put together as they are to look at. This set falls into that exclusive, special category.
I'm a fan of sets that give you little benchmarks and rewards along the way – where you build a single element to completion and then you build another single element to completion, rather than slowly building everything to a half-done state. This set's individual elements are pleasantly "chunky"; they have weight and shape to them, and it feels good to fit the numerous rooms and floors together to form a bigger house. The printed elements, like the blackboard with the mathematical equation for Christmas on it, are well-made and easily recognizable.
I build a lot of LEGO sets, both for work and for pleasure. Construct enough of them, and you start noticing patterns and architectural tropes. That makes sense; the strongest, most reliable building techniques are necessary to create the strongest, most reliable builds.
But my greatest pleasure is when I see a unique problem or a unique feature that the designers solve in a new, clever way; it's innovation by necessity. Sometimes, it's the recontextualizing of a piece in a prior build, to serve a different function in a current one.
But occasionally, it's an optical illusion of sorts. And that's especially true in a set like this one, in which the inspiring film, The Nightmare Before Christmas, received numerous accolades for its visual language and whimsical flair.
Everything in this set is curved, bent, or off-kilter – from the walls of the buildings to the trees that dot the landscape. The designers attached these elements at angles, via clamps and hinges, to make them appear load-bearing even though they're not. And so, the model looks more fragile and ramshackled than it is.
It appears that everything is stacked precariously, ready to teeter and topple over at a nudge. But it's all underpinned by strong, fundamental building techniques. The same is true for the decorative elements. The brick wall looks uncared for, as do the flowers and the tombstones and the trees. The stairs are crumbling. But to paraphrase Dolly Parton, it takes a lot of effort – and a meticulous, thoughtful design – to look this dilapidated.
LEGO Nightmare Before Christmas, Set #21351, retails for $199.99, and it is composed of 2193 pieces. It is available exclusively at the LEGO Store.
For more, check out our picks for the best LEGO Disney sets, as well as the best LEGO car sets.
Kevin Wong is a contributing freelancer for IGN, specializing in LEGO. He's also been published in Complex, Engadget, Gamespot, Kotaku, and more. Follow him on Twitter at @kevinjameswong.
