Make something! Numerous licenses have entered (and exited) the LEGO stable over the years, and returning will be Marvel and DC, previously sold by LEGO under Spider-Man and Batman lines... to varying degrees of success. Mini-figures were on display, as were new large constructible figures of Batman, the Hulk, Iron Man, and Green Lantern which seemed to have a lot more in common with Hero Factory or Bionicle than their other wares. These will probably hit in 2012. The Star Wars Advent Calendar was on sale early in a special outer box, and other new sets were on display too. Many of these are in stores as of late July, so rather than take pictures to show you, you can consult our Toy Fair coverage or go to the store.
Numerous figures were distributed-- good luck getting them-- including a young Han Solo (scroll down) at a press event for the TV special LEGO Star Wars: The Padawan Menace. The gag-filled CG short features some talent from The Clone Wars, like Tom Kane as Yoda/Narrator and Anthony Daniels as C-3PO. While a cliche, it was really a pretty good family special. If you've seen Robot Chicken, picture that but with kid-friendly gags. There's still barfing and a fair amount of violence, but it's closer in tone to a Warner Bros. cartoon.
I really dug it-- they also gave me food, so yeah, biased? Bought out? Maybe. But it was a fun special and well worth seeing if you have a change to check it out. It would make a great series, were they so inclined, but right now it's probably a one-off 30ish-minute episode with no real interest in continuity. I won't spoil the many cameos-- aside from the obvious one with Han-- but you'll probably have a good time if you can get past the strangeness entertainment becoming toys becoming entertainment again. It's a pop-culture funhouse mirror that does a nice job twisting your expectations in term of the movie timeline, which is funny for the older fans but probably not quite as amusing for the tiny tots. Still, there's enough going on here that your average Star Wars fan should really enjoy it. Were it not LEGO it would still be a pretty solid special.
We were told-- often-- that the special will be on DVD and Blu-Ray in September and we were told it should be a Wal-Mart exclusive.
--Adam Pawlus
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