LEGO Introduce Popular Disney Duos As Brick-Built Characters

LEGO Disney Duos; Dazzling Displays or Deserving Disappointment?

LEGO have broken up the trend of brick-built characters of Brickheadz and decided to dip their toe in making duos. Disney style! Hitting a lot of notes from classic films for their 100-year celebration, LEGO has taken to making brick versions of iconic Disney characters and bundled them up into a set for fans alike.

But are the duos all they are dreamed up to be? Read on!

LEGO® Disney™ Duos (43226)
RRP AUD $72.99 – CA $59.99 – EUR €47.99 – UK £42.99 – USA $44.99
553 pieces
Available from LEGO.com and LEGO Stores from 1st June 2023.

Beauty and the Beast – Lumiere and Cogsworth

Cogsworth and Lumiere are hands down my favourite duo from the lineup in this set. I’m extremely happy with the facial printing on each of the characters, as well as being able to convey the cartoony side of each character. The choice to put Lumiere’s grin on the 2×2 elbow join piece was an extremely good call. The use of the 1×1 with bar pieces on each of them to help convey movement and motion is fantastic.

The parts used in these two are great also. With the cake elements for dripping wax, and the gold ingots for Cogsworth base to provide more definition.

Easy big tick here.

Moana – Pua and Hei Hei

Pua and Hei Hei get a new LEGO iteration of themselves in this new brick-built form, and I’m almost 100% on board.

I love the choice for Hei Hei to have a rock, and Pua’s pose is reminiscent of almost every scene they appear in. My issue with the duo is Pua’s eyes, they are a little too cartoony for my liking.

From currently available LEGO elements, this was probably the best choice, but the eyes remind me more of a character from Shaun the Sheep than from Moana.

Finding Nemo – Nemo and Squirt

It seems like it was all too overdue for Finding Nemo to have its own LEGO set. This is a nice introduction. Out of the two of them, Squirt is undeniably my favourite. Sporting a speckled colour palette, nice printing, and new printing for the shoulder element used as his back. Nemo is an okay figure; having quite a small body and a relatively simplistic design surely didn’t do the LEGO group any favours.

What is important here is how instantly iconic these two characters are, given away by the ‘lucky fin’ on Nemo. I don’t really have any gripes with these two, but I wish there was a cheap way to get multiples of Squirt. They’re a cute office desk ornament.

Pocahontas – Meeko and Percy

Okay, this is where it gets rough. This is a duo that is a bit of a comparative mess.

I hate being overly critical of things people spent a lot of time on, but this Meeko feels incredibly out of place. Percy looks really on par with the source material, and a big aspect of that is the use of printed elements and stickers. But by having none of that for Meeko and instead having an incorrect eye shape, Meeko detracts extensively.

It almost looks like it was done by two designers who just were not on the same page. My five-year-old daughter also couldn’t identify who Meeko was, even after watching Pocahontas. Each of the duos complements the other as a nice set, but this looks like Percy and a Creator 3-in-1 raccoon rather than Meeko. Sorry.

Verdict

The Disney Duos are a set that I feel like a lot of fans will love, and hate. Some of the figures are absolutely strong contenders here, whereas others detract from the set overall.

The whole thing sort of leaves me with a muddly feeling about it all.

I know that I plan to have a few of these dotted around my house for display, but there are some that are either going to be MOC’d by myself or straight to parts.

This is a set with potential, but I really think it could of had a bit, more. Take that how you will.