As far as LEGO builds are concerned, the new Piranha Plant is just about perfect—vibrantly colored, well-proportioned and sized, and reasonably priced. Whether you're new to bricks or you're a dedicated hobbyist, this set captures that signature Mario franchise whimsy—cute but not too cute, menacing but not too menacing, and imbued with lots of personality.
It's impressive how LEGO made this thing so lovable. My nine-year-old son has already given it a name: Chompy. And whenever I see Chompy or walk by Chompy in my house, he makes me smile. You can't ask for more than that.
Hopefully, this latest addition to the Nintendo/LEGO partnership is indicative of what's to come. Last year—around the same time, come to think of it—the company released a massive 2,807-piece LEGO Mighty Bowser model (see it at Amazon). At the time, I hoped they would follow it with additional models of Mario baddies, because the Bowser was so well-realized. Nintendo characters, owing to their 8-bit origins, have a chunky appearance, a by-product of creating digital characters that would visually read well, even in pixelated form. And the LEGO Bowser perfectly captured this simple, yet instantly recognizable visual aesthetic.
The LEGO Piranha Plant accomplishes the same look and feel that the LEGO Bowser did, albeit on a smaller scale. The build is divided into six distinct steps. For the first two steps, you build the green pipe that the Piranha resides in. Then the stem. Then the leaves. Then the LEGO Technic mechanism that allows the Piranha Plant's mouth to open and close. And finally, the head itself, which is a shell around the mechanism. It's an entertaining layering effect—that as the builder, we get to see the secret of how the thing works—something that another person would not know, unless he or she also built it.
The LEGO Piranha Plant is articulable. It has full movement, via ball socket, at the connection points between the leaves and the stem, and also between the head and the stem. You can actually tilt the head to the side, which gives the Piranha Plant an adorable, inquisitive look. I know I've mentioned its cuteness several times already. But it really is cute. It looks like it's smiling if you look at it from the right angle.
Two additional ball sockets allow you to move the entire Piranha Plant backward and forward in the pipe. The leaves also have hinges, which allows them to bend similarly to arms. There's a hinge mechanism that opens and closes the mouth.
And lastly, as a minor spoiler, there's a hidden hinged door, under the pipe on its bottom. The Piranha Plant is secretly a piggy bank—there's a slot on top of the pipe, and there's a trigger mechanism that opens the secret door. You even get two printed Mario "coins" to get you started.
The LEGO Piranha Plant is approximately the size of a small potted plant. This feels appropriate, and after looking at it for a while, I even started thinking of its pipe as a pot of dirt. The head is oversized, which gives it a nice visual pop despite its size. It is portable enough that it can fit on a desk or a shelf, or on a coffee table as a conversation piece.
As for me, I'll be putting Chompy on my window sill, where he can get lots of sun and watch the people walking by.
The LEGO Piranha Plant, Set #1426, retails for $59.99, and it is composed of 540 pieces. It is available now at Target and LEGO Store. For more, you can take a look at the LEGO sets available in the IGN Store, or check out our picks for the best Nintendo LEGO sets, as well as our favorite LEGO sets for adults and LEGO sets for kids broken down by age.
