Review: Goofy, Pluto and Donald Duck BrickHeadz
Posted by Huw,Thankfully, rather than bombard us with so many BrickHeadz that it's impossible to keep up, as was the case in 2018, LEGO is releasing them at a much slower pace this year.
The first of the year's licensed ones are 40377 Donald Duck and 40378 Goofy and Pluto, which will be released on February 1st.
Find out if they are the perfect companions to 41624 Mickey Mouse and 41625 Minnie Mouse after the break...
40377 Donald Duck
Donald is depicted in his usual attire of a sailor's shirt and cap. Two printed parts provide bow tie details for the front and yellow piping at the back.
His head is very plain but then it's pretty much devoid of detail in his cartoon appearances so there's not much more the designer could have done round the back and sides.
40378 Goofy and Pluto
Goofy is a tall and lanky character so doesn't really translate well to the short and stubby BrickHeadz format and to be honest I am not entirely convinced by it at all. It looks like Mickey Mouse with a Frisbee in his month...
The anthropomorphic dog often wears a lime green hat and something resembling one is perched on top of his head here. However, if you didn't know that was what it's supposed to be you probably wouldn't have guessed: it looks a bit awkward to me.
Pluto, Mickey Mouse's pet, has been replicated in the compact 3x3x3 BrickHeadz format and looks quite cute and recognisable as the hound.
A minifigure whip has been used for his tail, which is not ideal, but I suppose there was nothing else suitable.
Mickey Mouse and Friends
Despite my reservations about Goofy, the five classic Disney BrickHeadz do look great together and if you have Minnie and Mickey you will probably want to get these two sets, too.
Thanks to LEGO for providing these sets for review. All opinions expressed are my own.
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36 comments on this article
Pluto looks a bit sad. Probably because he's no longer a planet.
not the best BH that TLG has produced. A bit stale now
I think they look great, the format distorts and exaggerates/simplifies their features so it’s important to remember that their likenesses will never be perfect. I especially like seeing them in that ensemble picture. I’m surprised they didn’t give Donald Duck his companion Daisy in this release, hopefully she’ll come in another wave soon.
What HAVE they done to poor Pluto...?
The enthusiasm of the review matches the lacklustreness of these sets.
Do they actually look great together, though? Only because they're broadly recognisable as the characters, perhaps, but I really disagree with your conclusion here, Huw! Poor printing (compare the photo to the box, almost criminal) and basically no detail on Donald, Goofy is a mess, and Pluto just barely works imho. Not that Mickey and Minnie were much better... it's so surprising that many other Brickheadz are really good (Kylo, Dumbledore, Yoda) and they dropped the ball so badly on the original Disney characters.
Definitely day one purchases.
I was lucky enough to get both Mickey and Minnie and don't wanna miss out on these three fine figures. Might even buy two of each.
Gooby pls
So they packaged the anthropomorphic dog and the regular dog together, huh?
They be nicer if Mickey and Minnie weren’t so difficult to get. :/
I’m not really into the BrickHeadz but Donald Duck is practically perfect so KFOLs will love Mickey along side him. Pluto does look very depressed and Goofy just doesn’t retain his cartoon look. It might be better to have added some extra plates to his legs, but that would put up the price. His white stud teeth just don’t fit in. The Minnie looks inhuman (or should I say ‘inmouseun’) with her bow and the ears together. The only thing to complain about with Mickey is his eyes: they just don’t compliment his personality. Minnie and Pluto, yes, but not the star of the show. Lots of room for improvements.
These make great mini mechs with their respective CMFs.
Flogging two dead horses at the same time... old school Disney characters and Brickheadz. They have no shame. I genuinely think that this theme has no redeeming features - I used to think 'well, at least it's a source of recolours' but I'm not even sure that's true anymore. I doubt this theme has anything unique except the printed pieces - which leads me onto my biggest annoyances - these crap £10 sets get prints whereas the £200+ sets get sheets of stickers. Honestly think Lego have lost the plot sometimes.
They could have made Goofy a bit taller and a more compact mouth but these look cool.
They look fine. I think a lot of you just hate BrickHeadz.
I admit I am no friend of BrickHeadz per se and never have been, but these at least look OK to me. My only gripe is that Goofy's proportions look totally wrong in the ensemble picture as he is so much taller than the others in "real life".
The Pluto one is cute. That's a good rendition and is also adorable.
I think obly Donald looks decend
@aleydita said:
"Flogging two dead horses at the same time... old school Disney characters and Brickheadz. They have no shame. I genuinely think that this theme has no redeeming features - I used to think 'well, at least it's a source of recolours' but I'm not even sure that's true anymore. I doubt this theme has anything unique except the printed pieces - which leads me onto my biggest annoyances - these crap £10 sets get prints whereas the £200+ sets get sheets of stickers. Honestly think Lego have lost the plot sometimes."
I think the thing with cheaper sets getting prints is with the production cost. LEGO will be able to sell cheaper sets in larger quantities than the larger ones in general. Therefore including the same print would be much economical in cheaper sets.
I like Donald's feet.
The Pluto one looks great to me. It's a caricature of a cartoon character, squashed into a fixed format, yes. But it looks really good on its own merits.
Literally the first brickheadz I am tempted to buy...
Pluto is the best of the three new ones (maybe overall), but the rest look a little off to me. I may see if I can get Pluto individually rather than as a 2-pack (maybe Bricks Cascade will have some next month). The one thing that Pluto is missing is his tongue, but that's a simple fix.
These just reinforce my belief that the Brickheadz line is good for parts if you can get them on sale. The only ones that remotely interest me are some of the seasonal ones & that's usually because of some of the accessory parts they include with them. But if they ever make a Stitch one I will need to buy it.
I don't like Funko Pop figures and that's really all these are, why Lego ever started with these things is beyond me but hey, plenty of people like them so what do I know. We haven't seen a seasonal vignette since 2017 thanks to Brick Headz so I guess that's my main beef with them. Well that and they're just plain fugly.
Ok but is no one going to talk about how Goofy's eyeballs look more like facial patterns?
No offense, but I feel like this review was really phoned in.
I own a few Brickheadz, but I find most poorly done rip-offs of Funko Pop vinyl dolls (and I REALLY don't like those). So I'd have to give these a C at best.
@Huw , Marcos Bessa identified the smaller BrickHeadz which now include Pluto as "Buddiez" during an Inside Tour presentation. If you interview him or another BrickHeadz designer in the future, I would be interested to find out why that terminology didn't become part of the official Lego lexicon. Thanks! (I'm also still holding out hope for Drax.)
@derek314 said:
"I don't like Funko Pop figures and that's really all these are, why Lego ever started with these things is beyond me but hey, plenty of people like them so what do I know. We haven't seen a seasonal vignette since 2017 thanks to Brick Headz so I guess that's my main beef with them. Well that and they're just plain fugly."
A thousand times THIS.
Well said, Derek.
I think Pluto is really cute. But I’m fine with just Mickey. I just think Pluto is one of the very few brickheadz that turned out nice
i dunno ...
Donald might have been better with his beak pulled further back on the heads sides, and maybe build that tie instead of a print? he's still the most okay of the three though.
Goofie does not go along with the brickheadz format ... he has to be larger non the less – break the pattern as done before. this would even help with his mouth.
And poor Pluto neither does look like the happy dynamic character (but like a pup), nor does he fit into the brickheadz scheme at all ...
when brickheadz started, i was considering to get into the theme, as i saw the potential of great characters ... instead we get mediocre implementations and primarily merchandising stuff. kind of glad i didn't start collecting them in retrospect ...
Put me in the other corner. I love the Brickheadz. I wish I had known about them when they first started coming out. I don't buy all of them by any stretch, but I like them FAR better than any of the $9 sets (Star Wars) that are out there. They are perfect for a casual collector like me that doesn't want to drop $60+ on a set more than one or 2 times a year.
Goofy can be made taller wsth coulpe of blue 1x2 bricks. Of the five characters, the onyl one I want is Donald. Looks very fresh.
I know Brickheadz aren't for everyone, but I still prefer them to Funko POPs....
I really don't get the negativity towards these. They're great, and as Disney and Lego fan I cant wait to purchase them to go along side Mickey and Minnie.
As for Goofy being taller? Since when have Lego set height ratios with Brickheadz? Jack Skellington is the same height as Sally, the Hulk is the same height as Ironman. Height rules do not apply.
Will Lego come up with anything interesting this year??
Personally, I think they're great. And I'll never understand all of the negative comments delivered on these and other sets. I'll admit that I'm a lover of Lego and, as such, find little fault with any set. But the Brickheadz, in particular, are not meant to be actual photographic copes of people or things. They are, after all, toys. Serious toys for me, but toys none the less. Relax and enjoy them for what they are. I have the entire collection and eagerly await more. Thanks, Lego!