Review: 71023 The LEGO Movie 2 Collectable Minifigures (Part 1)
Posted by CapnRex101,
The LEGO Movie introduced a fantastic selection of exciting characters, many of whom have been updated and appear in 71023 The LEGO Movie 2 Collectable Minifigures. Furthermore, numerous brand new characters populate this latest series, including four minifigures from The Wizard of Oz which have garnered particular praise.
Several costumed minifigures also appear and they seem certain to prove popular following the overwhelmingly positive reception for 71021 Collectable Minifigures Series 18 from 2018. We have divided our review into two sections, the first of which concerns primary characters such as Vest Friend Rex, Gone Golfin' President Business and Apocalypseburg Benny!
Box Distribution
Each box contains a total of 60 minifigures which are distributed as follows:
- 3 - Awesome Remix Emmet
- 3 - Battle-Ready Lucy
- 3 - Vest Friend Rex
- 3 - Gone Golfin' President Business
- 3 - Apocalypseburg Benny
- 3 - Unikitty
- 3 - Apocalypseburg Abe
- 3 - Sherry Scratchen-Post & Scarfield
- 3 - Swamp Creature
- 3 - Crayon Girl
- 3 - Giraffe Guy
- 3 - Watermelon Dude
- 3 - Dorothy Gale & Toto
- 3 - Cowardly Lion
- 3 - Tin Man
- 3 - Scarecrow
- 3 - Flashback Lucy
- 3 - Hula Lula
- 3 - Kitty Pop
- 3 - Candy Rapper
I am delighted that three complete sets of minifigures are included and found that they were arranged in separate rows. However, I have only opened one box so am not certain whether this will be entirely consistent.
Minifigures
The destruction of Bricksburg has apparently had little impact upon Awesome Remix Emmet, whose enjoyment of Everything is Awesome and similar music has not abated. This minifigure appears in the first teaser trailer for the upcoming film and wears a pair of black headphones which are dual-moulded with the standard reddish brown hair piece, creating a crisp border between the two colours.
Emmet's head is decorated with two facial expressions, both of which appear extremely cheerful. His orange construction uniform is almost identical to that from the original film, distinguished only by a few scratches across the metallic silver reflective strips. I think it looks great and the identity card printed on Emmet's legs is a lovely detail.
This minifigure carries a white coffee cup from Coffee Unchained and a printed 1x2 tile, representing a mobile phone. Presumably the song playing is the 'Everything is Awesome' remix that appeared in the teaser trailer, although this design does not match that scene in the film exactly. Nevertheless, mobile phone accessories are always welcome and this is a good example.
Battle-Ready Lucy is dressed similarly to the minifigure that appears in some of the new sets, wearing a black shirt which is decorated with some medium azure and magenta graffiti. These fantastic designs continue on each arm, matching the original Wyldstyle minifigure. The tan highlights which form Lucy's hips seem slightly awkward in my opinion, although they are suitable for a dusty environment such as Apocalypseburg.
However, this hood element is unique and looks marvellous. It corresponds with the other minifigures who wear a reddish brown scarf and I love the red goggles. Two expressions are included, conveying surprising emotion using only the mouth, even when the eyes are concealed by Lucy's hood. The dual-moulded legs are excellent as well, including a belt across the front and a detailed pouch on one side.
Lucy wears a black quiver on her back but this minifigure does not include a crossbow. Instead, she is equipped with a pair of light bluish grey binoculars which are fine, although an unusual design like that featured in the trailer would have been preferable. Those binoculars only appear in 70840 Welcome to Apocalypseburg.
Rex Dangervest is an intriguing new character being introduced in The LEGO Movie 2: The Second Part and he is apparently obsessed with wearing vests, hence this minifigure is named Vest Friend Rex. His dark blue torso includes some pockets and metallic silver reflective strips so bears a notable resemblance to a certain construction worker, perhaps suggesting a deeper connection between them!
The bands around his wrists are splendid and I love the dark brown chaps worn over each trouser leg, although they are known as vests by Rex! A fedora hat is also included and even that is dressed in a dark brown vest. However, my favourite aspect of this minifigure is the double-sided head which includes two smiling expressions along with some stubble. These designs are reminiscent of the unusual Alpha Team minifigures and both look incredibly exaggerated, thereby reflecting Rex's extreme personality!
Raptor training is one of Rex's many careers so he is accompanied by a baby dark blue Velociraptor. This element is identical to that produced for the Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom theme and it looks magnificent in my view, featuring yellow eyes and a series of blue stripes along its back which also appear on the adult Velociraptors in 70826 Rex's Rex-treme Offroader and 70835 Rex's Rexplorer.
After being narrowly defeated towards the end of The LEGO Movie, President Business has reformed and is now known as Gone Golfin' President Business. This minifigure features the same distinctive hair piece as the previous version and his single dark orange eyebrow remains intact, although he now wears golfing attire rather than a dark bluish grey suit. The lovely Argyle pattern looks excellent and this green colour scheme is attractive too.
President Business also includes a white glove and a pair of traditional tartan plus fours. The legs are dual-moulded and feature an intricate printed design which continues onto each side. The contrasting dark green boots are similarly impressive, completing a remarkably detailed minifigure that stands out across the entire series!
Golf has appeared in few LEGO sets so this pearl silver golf club has received considerable attention. I believe it is intended to represent a wood of some kind, featuring grooves in the striking face and some realistic texture around the grip. Hopefully a corresponding putter might be produced for another set in the future.
Apocalypse Benny has evidently suffered a terrible misfortune between the LEGO movies as his right arm has been replaced with a cybernetic piece. I appreciate the unison of Classic Space with a modern Space-themed component and Benny's grimace is ideal for this minifigure, although a smile appears on the other side of his head. I look forward to learning how Benny lost his original arm in the film.
The helmet, on the other hand, remains unchanged. I like the broken chin strap and the worn Classic Space emblem on Benny's torso looks wonderful too, giving an indication of his advanced age. A pair of blue air tanks are attached around the neck and these provide some welcome detail as the back of the torso is not printed, as one would expect of a Classic Space minifigure from the 1980s.
Absolutely anything that features the Classic Space logo seems to generate excitement and I am sure that Benny's toolbox will be no exception! This accessory looks good, although the emblem goes very close to the edge so a smaller design might have been more appropriate.
Only a few months have passed since 41775 Unikitty! Blind Bags Series 1 was released so the news that another Unikitty figure appeared in this series elicited disappointment. However, the character is very popular so I can understand why she is included. This design closely resembles that from 70803 Cloud Cuckoo Palace, even incorporating a 1x3 plate rather than a 1x3 inverted tile that was created for the Unikitty! theme. That results in a loose connection, unfortunately, but it does correspond with the film.
The LEGO Movie brought together an incredible range of fictional characters in 2014, along with some real historical figures such as Michelangelo and Abraham Lincoln. He presumably stayed in Bricksburg after its destruction, becoming Apocalypseburg Abe! This superb minifigure certainly takes inspiration from Steampunk designs, including a pair of goggles around his famed stove pipe hat and a belt buckle which is shaped like an engine.
I like how the cylinder heads on this belt buckle are designed to resemble the actual LEGO pieces and the skull at the centre seems suitably intimidating. Abraham Lincoln also wears a reddish brown jacket with two axes and a stove pipe hat decorating the back, reflecting the American president's traditional association with axes and the process of splitting rails.
Naturally, he is also equipped with an axe. This accessory consists of two pieces which is useful as it can be modified easily, although the specialised axe that was created for the Lumberjack from series five of the Collectable Minifigures would have been more suitable as that component appears on his torso, as shown above.
Sherry Scratchen-Post only appeared briefly during The LEGO Movie but was included in 71004 The LEGO Movie Collectable Minifigures so I am pleased to see her return, wearing post-apocalyptic attire on this occasion. Her pink knitted jumper has been replaced with a reddish brown uniform which most closely resembles Xena from Xena: Warrior Princess.
The bands around Mrs. Scratchen-Post's arms look wonderful and I like the metallic silver cat symbol on her torso. Similar metallic highlights appear on the legs and the layered armour continues on each side, although the legs are not dual-moulded which is somewhat disappointing. A second expression would also have improved this minifigure but her whisker war paint makes up for that in my opinion.
Mrs. Scratchen-Post is always accompanied by her cats and it would appear that even they have been affected by their apocalyptic environment. Scarfield is based upon the standard cat component but has been augmented with a dark red collar and a matching mohawk, helping to toughen his appearance. A couple of plasters are also printed on the head alongside an unfriendly snarling expression!
Many retired minifigures appeared as Master Builders during The LEGO Movie, including the Swamp Creature. The original animated character was based upon 9461 The Swamp Creature from Monster Fighters but the new minifigure is unique, featuring a bright green head accessory with flippers on the sides and a fin on top. The head underneath has also been updated very slightly so the printing looks more refined.
However, the most notable change is definitely that the Swamp Creature is now wearing some clothes and has a large tattoo on its chest. The scales on both sides of the torso look magnificent and the blue tattoo is visually striking, although it does not feel entirely suitable for this minifigure in my opinion. The reddish brown straps are excellent though and the scavenged metal armour looks superb.
A reddish brown whip is included with the Swamp Creature. This does not appear in the original film and may be a reference to the novelisation of Creature from the Black Lagoon, in which the monster possesses a tail that is likened to a whip. Alternatively, the Swamp Creature might simply use a whip during the upcoming movie!
Overall
Recent series of Collectable Minifigures have been fantastic, offering numerous interesting characters and innovative new elements. 71023 The LEGO Movie 2 Collectable Minifigures is similarly appealing from my perspective. The updated versions of existing characters look wonderful and I am particularly impressed with Vest Friend Rex and Gone Golfin' President Business, both of whom are exceptionally detailed. Unikitty is probably my least favourite figure in this series but I understand why she is included given her popularity.
I hope you have found the first part of this review informative. Let us know by liking this article and share your thoughts on the minifigures in the comments below. You can read the second part of our review here.
This set was provided for review by The LEGO Group but the review is an expression of my own opinions.
You can pre-order a complete box of 60 figures at Minifigure Maddness for just €184.99 (approximately £166.50 / $212) until the end of February. Enter code Brickset50 at checkout.
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46 comments on this article
Finally we get a golf club!! Have been wanting that for forever. Now to get a minifigure that can hold it correctly with good form... or even a ball to hit that would be proportionate...
I love the blue baby Dino, but do his eyes look a little high to anyone else? Maybe it’s just me. Compared to my Jurassic World version they seem higher. I wonder why they would make it different. Can’t wait for review part 2!
Really happy to have such an even split this time.
I'm going today to the grand opening of a new LEGO brand store in my area. I hope the minifigures will be there.
brilliant that there's a complete set is in each row. hopefully more people can confirm. saves feeling the bags for ages (and getting it wrong).
Toolbox has been printed before: https://www.toypro.com/no/product/7887/minifig-utensil-toolbox-with-property-of-ned-flanders-pattern/red
Yay distribution!
In for Abraham Lincoln, Vampire hunter and the Cat with the mohawk.
Something seems off about Lucy's face.
@Your future president Compared to the JW Blue the dinosaur (baby version), the eyes are higher on TLM2 dino. They also don't have any contrasting shading around the eyes.
And with this you've concluded all of the minifigures for this series I'm interested in, apart from the Wizard of Oz ones.. and I only want those simply because its Wizard of Oz and will be sought after.
My favs are definitely Abe and Mrs Scratchen.
Smash dat Like button if you be real glad there ain't no more stinkin' chase figures, homies!
I don't know if it's just the colour contrast between the minifig & the background but Battle-ready Lucy's figure seems more accentuated than normal
This is the first time I have ever wanted to collect an entire minifigure series. Even Unikitty, as I somehow managed to not have her yet.
So is Unikitty using the new neck joint build or the original one? You kind of glossed over that fact, other than that pretty decent review.
@Your future president:
Yes, I am also very excited to finally get a true golf club accessory. Quite a few different times of done MOCs, and had to resort to using a regular black axe piece, or bar...can’t wait to see it used in other sets as well.
Are they actually arranged so each row has all characters? So I can just open a new box in a shop and grab a whole row to get them all without duplicates?
If only Abe's arms both had a brown band, they'd be perfect for an upgraded Stormbreaker Thor...
@Odeinoichus It's the old falls-off-easily connection, unfortunately.
I watched just2good's opening of the series, and it seems like this series has extra pieces in it, which is an unexpected plus.
Disappointing series. Lots of it wasted on Wizard of Oz characters (why...???), a full girl band line-up, a completely plain Unikitty (why...???) that doesn't even use the updated design (why...???). So many really random characters that feel like they could be in any regular CMF series.
Very weak series - it gets 3/10, because there are only 6 figures I want and I think are great.
Maybe a dumb question, but are the polybags now same material as the unikitty series, or it hasn't changed? (Haven't seen them here in sweden yet, that's why I'm asking)
The serie is.... mixed. Half of these are ok or great. But why wizard of oz... I don't even know what it is! And what about the kids, of course they won't have a clue. It would've been fine with only 16 figs. As in the beginning.
@Graysmith: There's only 4 Wizard of Oz characters, so that still leaves 16 non-licensed characters in the series. And as far as random/non-movie-specific characters go, the original LEGO Movie series had six figures that felt like they could have just as easily been released as generic, non-branded collectible minifigures: Larry the Barista, Gail the Construction Worker, Marsha Queen of the Mermaids, Taco Tuesday Guy, Panda Guy, and Mrs. Scratchen-Post. Same can be said for this one, only this time it's Hula Lula, Kitty Pop, Candy Rapper, Crayon Girl, Giraffe Guy, and Watermelon Dude.
Overall I'm pretty impressed with this series, all things considered! It definitely has a nice range of both major and minor characters and some nifty new pieces. Plus, like the theme as a whole, it's really got some real variety in terms of gender presentation, with several figures featuring very bright, cheery, and feminine-coded designs, several more with gritty, aggressive, and masculine-coded designs, and others that fall somewhere in between. I definitely look forward to seeing what context the various characters will show up in in the movie itself!
Benny says spaceship spaceship SPACESHIP is say white baseplates white baseplates WHITE BASEPLATES
Love the inclusion of white baseplates, apart from that I love parts of the series and the fact of extra pieces. my favourite 10 are the Wizard Of Oz characters and Emmet, Giraffe Guy, Benny and Watermelon Guy, President Business, Wildstyle. My least favs in order of least to 5th least, Swamp Monster, everyone of the music characters.
I guess abe needs that axe for all the vampires. =)
Great review and great photos .
Nice one.
The quality of printing continues to astound baby!
@Brickmasterboy- Wizard of Oz is a classic film and extremely popular in the United States. It's ingrained in the public consciousness to a high degree. Kids definitely know what it is, even if they don't like it, and Wizard of Oz characters previously appeared in The Lego Batman Movie so there's a precedent for them being in Lego Movies.
I want all of them....especially all of them. I hope my local lego store has some unadulterated boxes so I can grab a complete row/set all at once without guessing.
The idea of a Xena Warrior Princess custom minifig is awfully tempting, isn't it?
The rest of it (giraffe and watermelon guys notwithstanding) is a hard pass.
This series is SOOOOO much better than the costume series. That was an easy pass. These I have already bought a complete set on eBay so can’t wait to dive in. And now I’ll need extras of Oz characters for my daughter. I can’t even count how many times I’ve seen that movie.
Out of this part of the review, I’d say my favorite is Abe or Golfing Business. I like the steampunk idea even though you’ll have the beard. I’d like that hat without the beard in a future mold.
Those brown things on Rex’s pants are supposed to be chaps unless they are called vests elsewhere in the world.
Thanks for the review!
This is definitely a below average series :S
Awesome Remix Emmet are in many sets looking more or less the same
Battle-Ready Lucy are in many sets looking more or less the same
Vest Friend Rex are in many sets looking more or less the same
Gone Golfin' President Business has some very good parts, but not for me
Apocalypseburg Benny are in many sets looking more or less the same
Unikitty not a minifig and we just got a series of her :S
Apocalypseburg Abe has some good parts, but not for me
Sherry Scratchen-Post & Scarfield that cat hurts my eyes, it is a waste of a animal mould :(
Swamp Creature looks like something we have got already from the monster theme
I do like this series, but can someone explain the wizard of oz characters? Do they appear in the film? If they do, that’s great. If not, then I can’t get my head around the point and would question collecting future series
Firmly on my buy list is Golfing President Biz. The torso and legs is beautiful. The golf club is a bonus should an MOC calls for it.
Next is Alice ... not because I like the minifig ... but for the parts. The fact that she has light flesh skin is a plus for me. I don't collect yellow minifigs. Her headpiece and dual-molded arms with white sleeves is useful. Her arms will most likely end up in President Biz minifig. The skirt I'll use it with other minifigs.
Emmet, Tinman and Rex are minifigs I might buy for the accessories - dual molded headphones+hair piece, funnel and dual molded fedora+hair piece.
I was hoping Emmet would have come with the green scarf piece he wore in one of the promo video clip. Would have given more reason for me to buy him ... coz my gawd he's such a boring character and plain awful looking minifig.
Strange that people are having issues with the Wizard of Oz characters, when to me they are the most desirable of the series.
Also I can't begin to fathom someone not knowing what Wizard of Oz is...
You mention in the review that Rex's face print seems reminiscent of Alpha Team. From the moment he came on screen he reminded me of LEGO Agents. I wonder if that's a coincidence...
When the series was first revealed I wasn't happy about Benny's inclusion, given that he is in so many sets anyway, but that printed toolbox has changed my attitude! I need a hundred of them!
Unikitty is without a doubt the weakest entry. We already have so many of her, did they really need to spend a CMF slot on her? They could've just put it in one of the smaller sets.
The Swamp Creature was my favorite character from the Monster Fighters line, and to this day one of my favorite Minifigs ever made. When I heard they were making post apocalyptic versions of characters from the first movie I was really looking forward to him! Unfortunately, the final product didn't deliver. Why is his torso lime green now? Why does he have human muscles? It just looks so... odd! Was the green on the original a jacket of moss or something? I always assumed it was it's skin given it was the same color as his fins, and even then it should at least be amphibious underneath. All around a disappointment of what could've been an exciting figure.
Some people seem confused about the Wizard of Oz's inclusion, so I'll give my two cents based on what I've seen in comment sections and reviews in the past.
In 2015 LEGO Dimensions came out. The crossover featured Wizard of Oz in it's first year, but only as a single fun pack containing the Wicked Witch. One of the top criticisms I saw about it's inclusion is they didn't make packs for Dorothy or any of the heroes.
In 2017 the LEGO Batman Movie came out. In the Ultimate Batmobile set (and the ending act of the film) it featured the Wicked Witch and Flying Monkeys. Another criticsm that popped up at the time was that we still hadn't gotten any of the heroes in sets.
Fast forward to 2019 and LEGO has a license to make Wizard of Oz characters, have established that the characters exist in the LEGO Cinematic Universe, and have fans demanding the four main protagonists be made into sets. What would you do?
It also surprises me that people don't seem to know what it is. With stuff like Adventure Time or Overwatch I get it since they are kind of new properties and a lot of the people here are ol' geezers who only ever bother with LEGO news, but Wizard of Oz? Really! I've never even seen the film but I know the entire plot and all of the main characters because it's just that big of a public presence! It went down in history as one of the first colored movies, some form of remake or short film tends to come out for it pretty much every year, they launched a prequel series a while back, and it even has it's own Broadway show. I've never met someone who's heard "yellow" and "brick" in the same sentence and hasn't burst into song, whether they're five or forty. It's inescapable!
I´ am so hyped about this minifig series! Can´ not wait to buy them! :-) Sadly I havn´´´´´´´´´´e not seen the box in retail yet (wanna buy offline).
Also on Wizard of Oz: the IP is owned by Warner Bros, whose animation studio makes the LEGO movies, whose games studio makes the LEGO games, and who owns many of the other IP that have appeared in those two things (film and game rights for DC Comics characters, for example).
There's just a close network of partnerships there and they're trying to leverage all that IP in new ways. I'm sure WB thinks that including Wizard of Oz characters in the LEGO movies is helping keep that film and brand relevant for a newer generation.
The whole line is great, but other than President Business, Vest Friend Rex and Abe Lincoln I don't have any other pnes I am interested.
@boneheadhh1 - Indeed, but Rex himself refers to them as vests for his trousers!
Great review! Thanks!
I need to find Emmet, Prez. Business, Benny, and Unikitty (because I don't have one yet and the Ultracatty is unappealing to me).
Just wondering if anyone else has had an issue with the clutch power on Apocalypse Abe's Hat/Beard piece. I managed to pick up all but Unikitty, Kitty Pop & Battle Ready Lucy (Ended up with three Flashback Lucy's) and they all go together fine. However, the connection between the hat/beard piece and Abe's head is ridiculously loose. Also, Toto doesn't seem to connect very tightly either, with his front or back legs. It's an okay series of figures overall but I'm very surprised that there are a few that have the clutch power issues. Also, not a fan of the new material that the packets are made of. They seem easier to rip.
Bought a sealed box and didn't get 3 complete sets. Had 60 packets but had 1x additional Scarecrow and was missing 1x President business. Also they were not arranged as complete sets in each row as suggested, so beware if looking to buy a complete line of 20 figures from a fresh box.
How does benny get his cyborg arm?
There should have NOT been a Unikitty. They wasted a space that could've been given to another new character. Grrrrr
Has anyone else noticed there seems to be a lot of extra pieces. For the tin man he has 3 ties. Also why are some minifigs bagged in clear plastic bags. It seems random.