Lego Friends facts for kids
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| Subject | Five best friends |
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| Licensed from | The Lego Group |
| Availability | 2012–present |
| Total sets | 406 |
| Characters | Andrea, Olivia, Stephanie, Mia, and Emma |
| Official website: https://www.lego.com/en-us/themes/friends | |
Lego Friends is a product range of Lego construction toys designed primarily for girls. Launched in 2012, the theme introduced "mini-doll" figures, which are about the same size as traditional Lego minifigures but are more detailed and realistic. The five main characters of the theme are Andrea, Olivia, Stephanie, Mia and Emma. The Lego Friends sets depict scenes from suburban life set in the fictional town of Heartlake City and usually include one of the character's names in the titles. The sets are complemented by an animated series that premiered in 2014. The Friends product range replaced Lego's previous female-oriented theme Belville, which had been in production since 1994, and featured dolls that were much larger than both the mini-dolls and minifigures. The launch of Lego Friends in 2012 was one of Lego's biggest successes, as it not only doubled sales expectations, but also extensively widened Lego's customer base within the girls' sector. Despite receiving initial criticism relating to its representation of girls and their interests, the line has consistently performed well and has been regularly listed as one of The Lego Group's best selling themes.
Contents
Overview
Lego Friends focuses on five characters named Andrea, Olivia, Stephanie, Mia and Emma who live in Heartlake City. Each of the characters has specific interests, such as animal-lover, beautician and pop star. The theme depicts their houses, hobbies, cars and favourite places to spend their free time. The line introduced the mini-doll figure in Lego Friends construction toy sets, replacing the traditional Lego minifigure. The mini-doll is slighter taller than a minifigure, thinner and curvier, and was an improvement on the Belville range, which did not have customisable figures. It is also compatible with the wider Lego product range. Lego Friends also introduced a range of new brick colours, including purple, lavender, teal and turquoise.
Characters
The Lego Friends theme focuses on five teenage girls who live in the fictional town of Heartlake City. Each character has a distinctive personality, which is illustrated by her favourite activities.
- Andrea - a confident and charismatic singer who loves to perform
- Emma - a creative and imaginative character who expresses herself through art
- Mia - an animal lover who enjoys being outdoors
- Olivia - a curious character with a passion for science
- Stephanie - a sporty character who loves health and fitness
Launch and release
Lego Friends was launched in January 2012 in North America (December 2011 in France), with the release of 14 sets. The first wave included 23 sets and featured five friends named Andrea, Olivia, Stephanie, Mia, and Emma in suburban settings. In the initial release the larger sets included the Heartlake Vet, City Park Cafe, and Butterfly Beauty Shop. Smaller sets included Stephanie's Cool Convertible, Andrea's Stage, Olivia's Invention Workshop and Emma's Splash Pool.
Lego Friends sets have been released in waves in the years following the initial launch, which have expanded on the various interests of the characters and their friends. These have included various vocational, recreational and academic interests, such as agriculture, equestrianism, wildlife animal rescue and rehabilitation, and pop stardom. The range also included suburbia-themed sets, as well as an amusement park and skiing theme. The largest sets since the original wave have been the Summer Riding Camp, Heartlake Shopping Mall and Heartlake Grand Hotel. According to Bricklink, there have been a total of 406 Lego Friends sets released since January 2012.
In 2018, the Lego Friends line announced some physical changes to the main characters, which according to The Lego Group, were made in response to feedback from children. The changes were made to make the characters "more diverse in their appearance" and add "more depth to their personality".
In 2020, The Lego Group partnered with National Geographic to release several construction sets that focused on environmental issues. The Lego Friends line launched construction sets that centred on animal protection. The sets included Baby Elephant Jungle Rescue, Jungle Rescue Base and Panda Jungle Tree House sets.
Animated series
An animated series based on the Lego Friends theme was released to accompany the product line. It follows the adventures of the five friends in their hometown of Heartlake City.
Series
Friends of Heartlake City
Friends of Heartlake City is an animated television series that premiered on 3 November 2013. Each episode had a runtime of 25 minutes.
Friends: The Power of Friendship
Lego Friends: The Power of Friendship aired on Netflix on 4 March 2016. The series includes two seasons with four episodes.
Friends: Girls on a Mission
Friends: Girls on a Mission is a 2018 television series on Family Channel in Canada, on KidsClick in the United States, Pop in the United Kingdom and Ireland, Super RTL in Germany, and TVNZ in New Zealand. The series premiered on 25 October 2018 and has continued for four seasons.
Other media
Books
In June 2012, two books based on the Friends theme were released. Lego Friends: Welcome to Heartlake City and Lego Friends: Perfect Pet Show were released on June 18, 2012 by DK. DK also released a Lego Brickmaster book based on the Friends theme on September 17, 2012.
Video games
Lego Friends is a Lego-themed life simulation video game developed by Hellbent Games and published by Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment, which is based on the Lego Friends theme. The game was first released for Nintendo 3DS systems on 12 November 2013, and for Nintendo DS systems on 8 April 2014. The game was later released for iOS devices on 31 July 2014.
Magazine
In July 2014, the Lego Friends brand launched a monthly children's magazine, published by Immediate Media. Editions of the magazine were regularly published over the course of six and a half years, until it was discontinued with Issue 78. According to the Audit Bureau of Circulations (ABC), the magazine had achieved an average circulation of 22,468 between January and June 2020, which was lower than the Lego City magazine at 33,677 and the Lego Ninjago magazine at 54,423. The magazine had also received some controversy over its content in 2019, when a comic strip was criticised for sexist characterisation.
Theme park attractions
In 2015, a Friends themed land was introduced to Legoland California, named Lego Friends Heartlake City, featuring a splash area, Lego models of the characters, a meet and greet area and a 15-minute live show. In the same year, a themed land was opened at Legoland Windsor Resort, featuring a live show and Heartlake City Express Train. Heartlake City also made its debut at Legoland Florida in May 2015, when a themed area of the park was launched featuring two attractions named Mia’s Riding Adventure and Heartlake Mall theater.
Film
On 2 February 2016, Warner Brothers released a Lego Friends film on Blu-ray titled Lego Friends: Girlz 4 Life. The 2016 American Direct-to-DVD computer-animated film follows the story of popstar, Livi, who comes to Heartlake City. The Friends characters are forced to devise a plan when Livi's manager steals their hit song called Girlz.
The Lego Friends line made a prominent appearance in the 2019 film The Lego Movie 2: The Second Part, during scenes set within the SyStar System.
See also
In Spanish: Lego Friends para niños
