Review: LEGO Monkie Kid Chang'e Moon Cake Factory

LEGO 80032 – Monkie Kid – Chang’e Moon Cake Factory

RRP AUD $79.99 – CA $89.99 – EUR €49.99 – UK £44.99 – USA $69.99
609 pieces
Available from LEGO.com and LEGO Stores from 26th Dec 2021 for China and 1st Jan 2022 everyone else.

General LEGO Monkie Kid 2022 Overview

LEGO Monkie Kid is back and ready for action! A new year means a new wave of sets and stories to be told. But the question is, is this theme stagnating? Is the idea stretched too thin? Well, admittedly I was thinking this before we got our hands on the Monkie Kid 2022 sets, and this may very well be one of the strongest waves yet.

We’ve got a multitude of sets to rip through and talk about, so over the next few days we are going to be reviewing these bad boys one-by-one, with the links to all other reviews at the end of the article. We’re gonna start our way small and build up. So follow us along for the journey as well delve back into the world of Chinese mythos and explore Monkie Kid 2022.

It’s worth noting that a few parts will be copied/pasted for Minifigures if the characters overlap numerous sets of this wave.

Introduction

…HehehahahahAHAHA!

What the absolute heck is this?

I cannot stop laughing thinking about how this is the most bizarre and the most unique set I have had the chance to review. This set is on a completely different level, that you could almost say that it is… out of this world!

Come with me as I take us on a journey with LEGO’s wackiest and funniest set I have seen in a long time.

Chang’e’s Live Streaming Platform

Chang’e, stealer of immortality, a convict forced to hide on the moon, a keeper of lunar rabbits and the creator of Mooncakes, is a twitch streamer.

Yes, up there, on the moon, someone is getting, somehow, better broadband internet service than I could ever find in suburban Australia. Chang’e’s Live Streaming Platform is not only a high tech piece of equipment to run games upon games of Fortnite, but is also a floating platform for her to fly around on!

Why give yourself a weird green-screened Zoom call background when you can show people the actual stars? If anyone can give you out-of-this-world streaming content, it’s Chang’e.

Moon Cake Factory Production Line

Our interstellar streamer from the stars has looked toward the future of horticulture and found that the best way to solve world hunger is to create Mooncakes with the assistance of rabbits.

What?

Yes, Chang’e’s entire lunar base is a bunny-themed space station with references to classic space, all existing as a manufacturing line of mooncakes made on the moon. I have no idea what the significance of these mooncakes are, and whether or not that they are poisoned or not, but somethings up.

Our Lunar base may not seem like a lot at first glance, but it’s the central feature that holds most of the build together. It’s the attachment point of the streaming station to the carrot rocket, as well as giving copious amounts of mooncakes.

Carrot Rocket

Yes, that’s a carrot rocket. I love it! It’s so whacky and so different that I am stunned that it exists in the first place.

Although the build is simple, this rocket is loaded and ready to go with mooncakes to blast off wherever in the stars Chang’e plans to send it.

Bunny Mech

What do you get when you mix D.Va from Overwatch with Pacific Rim? A dual-operated and controlled giant Bunny Mech suit. That’s what!

This thing is one of the biggest things that come in the set, and it’s only piloted by two bunny rabbits. Loaded with the new stud launchers and ready to bounce and crush, this is one big boy you don’t want to get in the way of.

It’s so aggressively retro spaced themed, and even with classic space logo on the back, and it really works well. I do wish that there was a bit more playability in the rabbit to be honest, otherwise there isn’t that much to interact with.

Minifigures

Chang’e

Chang’e sports a new hair mould for 2022. It’s such a unique and stunning new mould that quickly defines the character. Her outfit continues to show her passion for her little hopping friends, with a bunny brooch on her back and her colour palette still reminiscent of the carrot orange on the rest of the build.

Her two faces show the two different sides of Chang’e, the online persona of fun and ditzy, and then the angry and frustrated side as well. These two emotions convey Chang’e’s personality very quickly, and the use of the coloured lipstick and eye shadow makes her one of my favourite figs of the series so far.

Lunar Rabbit Robot

Do you like the company of rabbits, but sometimes find yourself without a helping hand? Evil space robot rabbit will do the trick! The Lunar Rabbit Robot first might look like a handy helper. But is quick to instil the fear of technology that the Terminator franchise warned us about all along.

The Lunar Rabbit Robot’s torso uses a mix of jumbled wires across the front and back to give a really scrappy vibe to the figure, but with the golden trimmed plating over the top makes it once again more modern. What we end up with is a really unique robotic torso for the rabbit that reminds me of a mix of Wall-E and Eve.

I do have a little gripe of the printing not continuing down to the legs of the bunny, but the clean white aesthetic doesn’t make this a glaringly obvious denomination. But I do wish we had at least a second one of these guys.

Pigsy

Pigsy is ready for his out-of-this-world cooking adventure, fighting off against another cooking rival in the battle for culinary supremacy!

Pigsy’s torso is an older vintage styled space suite with copper and teal colours and humorously has it so that Pigsy’s waist belt is unclipped. Most likely in response to a bulging belly.

To be honest, there isn’t much to say about Pigsy except for his white midi-legs and torso. Pigsy has been using the same face and hat for as long as the character has existed, and I really wish that there was something new to be added with this figure.

Mo The Cat

Mo the Cat once again makes a reappearance in the Monkie Kid line, but doesn’t look anything different than some of the previous iterations of him. But this is a nice way to pick him up if you haven’t got him before.

Verdict

This set is whack. I don’t think I’ve enjoyed reviewing a set like this in a long time.

LEGO really went for something outside of the box with this one, and I feel like that on a commercial front, most people will react exactly how I did when I first saw the set.

I’m so glad that I was able to build it however, the set is just something else entirely. This is what LEGO’s Easter sets should be from now on.

If you like LEGO, and you like bunnies, get this set. I don’t carrot all if this is your thing or not, it’s gold.