Review: 41149 Moana's Island Adventure
Posted by MeganL,The latest hit to come from the Disney animation studios is Moana, as any parent of a young child obviously knows. LEGO has released two sets to coincide with the film. We'll review both in the next few days. Today we'll look at the smaller of the two, 41149 Moana's Island Adventure. Is this worth picking up as a last minute Christmas gift for the child in your life? Read on to find out…..
The box art shows Moana surrounded by different features of the set. It looks like she's on an island shore, which makes sense considering the name of the set. In the background we can see some tropical mountains, as you would expect to see in Polynesia. On the lower left of the front of the box there is an inset with the name of the film as well as picture of the two main characters, Moana and Maui. The back of the box shows the assembled set from the rear as well as a scene that shows the two main characters from the movie in a boat, which is built in 41150 Moana's Ocean Voyage.
The box is shaped similar to Elves and Friends sets and has sloped side edges on the front side. The predominant colour is blue with decorations that appear to be air bubbles plus sparkles that could represent magic. Inside the box we find two numbered bags, two folded instruction booklets and a sticker sheet.
The minidolls in the set is the titular Moana. Moana is wearing a tank top with a sarong. The tank top has nice printed details on the front but unfortunately none on the back. Her sarong is a style that we've seen before on Elves sets and looks nice in beige with a bright red overlay. Her hair is long, back and wavy. All parts of Moana (torso, head, legs and hair) are new to this set. She has a snowy white flower in her hair. Full props to Huw for all the pictures in this review!
The pig Pua is very cute, as I think it's a requirement for Disney and LEGO animals. Pua also has printed detail with a pink nose and grey spots printed on her eye, forehead and back.
The build
The first bag starts the build with a rotisserie that features a spit that can be turned to let Moana cook some fish for herself and Pua.
A cave portion of the island is built next. The cave is represented by several dark and light grey sloped pieces, including one that has a sticker representing some history of the island. The cave is additionally furnished with a torch and drums. I don't believe the drums are referenced in the movie.
Adjacent to the cave is a waterfall that has a moving function that allows part of the waterfall to slide forward. The hidden compartment contains the heart of Te Fiti, a key item in the film (also a new piece to this set). The cave is finished with a rather inventive palm tree, thanks to a new bended part in brown.
The second bag builds Moana's house. It's a straightforward build. The first floor has a grassy doorway that is decorated with flowering palm fronds on either side. Inside the living area there are furnishings as well as healthy food. We see the pineapple make a reappearance in this set (aka a minifig head with pineapple printing) plus a banana. There are a couple small tables and a long table adorned with a sticker that gives it a tropical pattern.
A narrow ladder leads to the upstairs and Moana's bedroom, which is open to the stars. Here we find a comfortable bed and stool plus a perching place (2x2 plate with jumper) for Pua to hang out. Finishing the details of the room are a table with coconut milk and a torch (not shown in the picture).
The entire house is adorned with greenery, giving the whole house a treehouse kind of feel. Outside we find storage places for a paddle and a fish (on the other side of the building).
Overall thoughts
It's not a bad little set, and I imagine a must for any children who have seen the movie and must have a Moana of their own. The price is a little high for the pieces you get (205 pieces, $24.99, £24.99, 29.99€), but that's undoubtedly due to the Disney licensing.
I found the house portion fo the set to be somewhat unremarkable and liked the cave portion much more. The sliding function for the waterfall is a very nice touch as the hiding spot for the heart of Te Fiti. Pua the pig is very cute.
I think this would be a good set to use to introduce a child to LEGO if they haven't previously shown an interest and they've seen the movie. The build is not complicated and there are plenty of references to the movie throughout the set. For the child who loves LEGO and love Moana, this would be a great gift.
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11 comments on this article
The drums definitely represent an important scene from the movie—by beating the drums Moana reveals the history of her people as seafarers (as represented on the stickered tapestry beside the drums in the set). They aren't quite a match for those in the movie, though.
The curved part used for the palm tree isn't new, but is rather an old dinosaur tail piece that has been used for trees in several Ninjago sets.
All in all I find this set less impressive than the other Moana set, but it's still nice looking and it's neat that we get two different mini-doll versions of Moana.
Lego really needs to reintroduce the farm sets in a futuristic setting.
The drums don't look like this in the film but play a significant role! I love this set and went out to get it after having seen the film! Can't wait to pick up the boat set as well.
I bought this one for a nine year old who has her birthday on 15th December, just had a text from her mum to say daughter was delighted and Mum had no idea daughter really, really wanted the set. Now hoping for more presents with the distinctive lego rattle next week.
The design may be unremarkable but it's certainly a good parts pack which redeems some of the price, and it looks very playable with plenty of activities and areas to use. Not so keen on the 'sticker over multiple bricks' aspect of the hut though. Let's be thankful the price isn't as high as that Angry Birds treehouse set!
@The Rancor: Not sure what you mean "sticker across multiple bricks"? There are none of those on the hut. Unless you just mean the feel of having one stickered piece representing three different parts/materials of the hut.
This is a great set IMO. The price per piece isn't phenomenal, but it's not awful either. Moana and Pua both feel very authentic, and Pua's mold could probably be recolored as a generic LEGO Friends pig. The drums don't feel totally accurate, but they're probably more recognizable as drums this way. Overall I quite like how many scenes from the movie's exposition were worked into this one set, as well as how much additional play value was added (although, pineapples aren't actually endemic to Oceania).
It'll be nice if there are more Moana sets in the future so some of these little "vignettes" might be able to be developed into bigger and more complete sets.
@Lordmoral: That could be interesting, but what does it have to do with this review?
certainly some useful bits if adding a Tiki Bar to your LEGO city...
The pig is cute, but not so cute it can't mix with ordinary Lego pigs as well as with animals from Friends and Elves, which I appreciate as a collector of Lego creatures who grits her teeth over most of the Friends animals!
Actually, the film and title character are called Vaiana, not Moana. Same goes for the name of the sets.
Oh wait, you are from the US? In that case, nevermind ;-)
(I always find it strange when for some unknown reasons films with a made-up-name title have different versions in different countries. Like with Zoomania too, which I believe is called Zootopia in the US - and even Zootropolis in Russia. Why can't they just call it Zootopia or Moana everywhere? And if it's for some naming copyright conflict reason, why couldn't the Disney legal department have checked that beforehand?).
And about the price tag: considering this set will be just as heavily discounted as all the others in the near future, just wait a little and the price per part will drop to "normal" levels. I bet I can see this for 19,99 Euro very soon.
@AustinPowers: From what I've read, it's primarily because in Europe the names "Zootopia" and "Moana" are already associated with other things. ("Zootopia" with a zoo in Denmark and a collection with children's songs in the UK, and "Moana" with an Italian adult film actress). It would probably still have been legal for Disney to release the films under the same title globally, but it could have resulted in brand confusion and negative PR.
This is something international companies have been doing for a long, long time, so it's not as though Disney isn't aware the consequences of having different film titles in different parts of the world. But seemingly it just isn't a big issue in the grand scheme of things.
@Aanchir the stickers on the front of the hut aren't layered over multiple bricks? Must be having an effect akin to an optical illusion for me because I was certain those materials were different bricks, but I've taken a look at the instructions and they are indeed actually 1x2 pillars. Good spot though, and good use of the brown edges by the designers.