Supriya Ghosh (Editor)

Lego Friends

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Availability
  
2012–present

Total sets
  
31

Characters
  
Andrea, Emma, Mia, Olivia and Stephanie

Lego Friends (stylized LEGO Friends) is a product range of the Lego construction toy designed primarily for girls. Introduced in 2012, the theme introduced the "mini-doll" figures, which are about the same size as the traditional minifigures but are more detailed and realistic. The sets include pieces in pink and purple color schemes and depict scenes from suburban life set in the fictional town of Heartlake City.

Contents

The Friends product range replaces Lego's previous female-oriented theme Lego Belville, which had been in production since 1994, and featured dolls that were much larger than both the mini-dolls and minifigures. Other related product ranges have included Homemaker (1971–1982), Paradisa (1991–1997) and Scala (1997–2001).

Background

Launched January 1, 2012 in North America (and December 15, 2011, in France), the line includes 23 sets and features five core characters—named Andrea, Emma, Mia, Olivia and Stephanie—in various suburban settings. In the initial wave of sets, the larger sets include bricks that can build a veterinary clinic, a malt-style café, a beauty salon and a suburban house; smaller sets included a "cool convertible," a design studio, an inventor's workshop and a swimming pool.

A description from Lego website stated: "The Lego Friends story centers on the everyday lives and personalities of five girls in a fictional hometown called Heartlake City. Each of the friends ... has a distinct personality and interests, such as animals, performing arts, invention and design, that are reflected in the models. Building sets reflect different parts of town where the girls' adventures take place—downtown, suburbs, beach, camping grounds and mountains."

The launch of Lego Friends came after a $40 million global marketing push, according to Bloomberg Businessweek. "This is the most significant strategic launch we've done in a decade," said Lego Group chief executive officer Jørgen Vig Knudstorp. "We want to reach the other 50 percent of the world's children." According to the company, boys comprised 90% of Lego's customers in 2011 before the launch of the Friends line.

Main characters

  • Stephanie is a confident natural leader. She is very social, creative and organized. She loves planning events, parties, and soccer. She also enjoys talking to people, writing stories and dancing ballet as well. Her signature colors are white, magenta and light pink, and her favorite food is cupcakes. She is seen to have a frenemy named Tanya. She is very down-to-earth, yet at times bossy. She is dating a boy named Nate, who's been a doorman at a lobby hotel in called the "Grand Hotel" in a CGI special called "LEGO Friends - The Grand Hotel", and marked as "the hotel's bus boy" in the webisodes lining. Stephanie's boyfriend Nate also makes appearances in the Netflix original series Netflix-show (not TV show) called "LEGO Friends: The Power of Friendship".
  • Olivia is an environmentalist who enjoys science, nature, and history. She also enjoys inventing, hiking, taking pictures, school and drawing. She is also a caretaker of a newborn foal. Her signature colors are pink, purple, and white. She is very intelligent and focused, yet at times clumsy. She also has a crush on Jacob.
  • Emma is the fashionista of the group, Emma is a very stylish and trendy girl who loves style. As shown in the sets she appears in, she enjoys fashion design, making jewelry, interior design, makeovers, English horseback jumping and karate. Her signature colors are purple and pink. She is very fashionable, yet sometimes forgetful and unable to speak up for herself. Emma has a crush on Matthew.
  • Mia is the animal lover of the group, Mia is also a vegetarian. She enjoys taking care of and spending time with animals. She also excels at sports, training animals and drumming, and enjoys riding horses, camping and magic tricks. Her signature colors are light blue, green, and purple. She is very caring and athletic, yet somewhat stubborn. She has a crush on Martin.
  • Andrea is the musician of the group. She is a talented singer and great at making up her own songs. She loves anything that pertains to music: singing, playing the piano, dancing, and drama/theater, and is also a great cook, as she works at a café, as well as a loving for bunnies. She is practical, yet at times overly dramatic. She is sometimes a little full of herself, but she normally learns her lesson.

    • Other characters

  • Andrew is one of Mia's friends that is the captain and comes with the dolphin cruiser.
  • Anna is Olivia's mother and wife of Peter. She is kind, caring, and loves Olivia.
  • Chloe is one of Mia's friends.
  • Christina is a lover of Christmas who seems to be Olivia's friend.
  • Danielle is the daughter of the owners of Heartlake's Downtown Bakery.
  • Ella is one of the campers/students of the Summer Riding Camp.
  • Ewa is a lover of Christmas who seems to be Mia's friend.
  • Isabella likes ice cream and hanging out at the swimming pool, and she is a friend of Andrea.
  • Jacob is mainly only in the webisodes. Jacob is a friend with all of the girls, but seems closer to Olivia.
  • Joanna is the owner and worker at the Pet Salon who attends to Emma's white poodle, Lady.
  • Kate has a water scooter and when she goes to the dock, she rides it around Heartlake City. She likes exploring the ocean. She is also a friend of Olivia, Stephanie, and Mia.
  • Katharina practices horseback riding with her friend, Mia, as they both seem to like to compete competitive English horseback riding.
  • Lily is seen celebrating Christmas with Stephanie.
  • Liza takes care of animals living in the Sunshine Ranch. She enjoys horse riding with her friend Mia.
  • Matthew goes to school at Heartlake High along with Emma, he also likes painting. Emma appears to have a crush on him.
  • Marie is the owner of the City Park Café and boss and co-worker of Andrea. She is a hard-working and sensible cook and baker.
  • Martin is the boy who lives next to Mia's grandparents. He appears to have a crush on Mia.
  • Maya is a guest on the dolphin cruiser and Mia and Andrew's friend.
  • Ms Stephens is the science teacher who works at Heartlake High.
  • Natasha – She's a hairdresser.
  • Nate works at the Grand Hotel, and he appears to have a crush on Stephanie.
  • Naya is a bar attendant working in the Heartlake Juice Bar.
  • Nicole is one of Olivia's friends.
  • Noah comes with Andrea in the hot air balloon.
  • Peter is Olivia's father and Anna's husband. Like Anna, he is kind, caring, and loving to Olivia.
  • Robert attends horses preparing for the Heartlake Horse Show.
  • Sarah is a hairdresser owning/working at the Butterfly Beauty Salon, and also seems to be a proficient saleswoman as well. She is a very practical girl who knows how to beautify.
  • Sophie is a veterinarian who works at the Animal Center and an aunt to Olivia. She cares for various types of animals.
  • Theresa is the instructor and teacher of the Summer Riding Camp.
  • Livi is a famous popstar. Andrea is her biggest fan. She is mentioned in many sets ranging from the end of 2015 to 2016.
  • Daniel works in the Heartlake Supermarket. Daniel first appears in the episode, "Is This a Date?"

    • Sales

    According to NPR, Lego Friends are "one of the biggest successes in Lego's history ... The line doubled sales expectations in 2012, the year it launched. Sales to girls tripled in just that year." The success has caused other construction-set companies such as Mega Bloks to introduce girl dolls.

    Sets

    The first wave was released in January 2012 with 14 sets being released. The largest of the sets was "Olivia's House" which included 695 pieces and three mini-doll figures. In addition to the first sets six polypag sets have been released as promotions. In February Toys 'R' Us in the United States released an exclusive in-store build set called "Lemonade Stand" and in March Lego brand stores released an exclusive in-store build set called "Ice Cream Stand". Lego announced a further nine sets that would be released later in 2012.

    Subsequent waves were released in future years, expanding on various interests of the characters and their friends. Specific themes have ranged from various vocational, recreational and academic interests to agriculture, equestrianism, wildlife animal rescue and rehabilitation, and pop stardom, all complementing suburbia-themed sets. The largest sets since the original wave have included Summer Riding Camp, Heartlake Shopping Mall and Heartlake Grand Hotel.

    Lego has also released accompanying products branded under the Friends theme. These include a picture frame which includes 49 Lego elements which is available from Lego brand stores and a display stand which includes 17 elements that was released as a promotional polybag.

    Books

    In June 2012, two books are set for release based on the Friends theme. Lego Friends: Welcome to Heartlake City and Lego Friends: Perfect Pet Show are set for release on June 18, 2012 by DK Publishing. Both books consist of 48 pages and are being published in paperback. DK Publishing have also announced that they will release a Lego Brickmaster book based on the Friends theme on September 17, 2012.

    Episodes

    1. New Girl in Town
    2. Stephanie's Surprise Party
    3. Dolphin Cruise
    4. Mia's Ranch Romance
    5. Emma's Dilemma
    6. Friends of the Jungle
    7. Andrea's Big Moment
    8. Kate's Island
    9. The Grand Hotel

    Film

    Lego Friends: Girlz 4 Life is a 2016 American Direct-to-DVD computer-animated film.

    Animated series

    An animated series titled Lego Friends: The Power of Friendship will air on Netflix in 2016.

    Episodes

    1. Camp wild Hearts (March 4, 2016)
    2. Slam Dunk (March 4, 2016)
    3. Keepin' It Real
    4. Roomies
    5. Getting out the Vote
    6. Getting the Message
    7. The Grateful Dud

    References

    Lego Friends Wikipedia
    (Text) CC BY-SA