Lego Friends

Lego Friends

Availability	2012–present
Total sets	258
Characters	Andrea, Emma, Mia, Olivia and Stephanie
Official website

Lego Friends (stylized LEGO Friends) is a product range of the Lego construction toys 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.

The Friends product range replaced 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^[1] 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.^[2]

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."^[2]

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."^[1] According to the company, boys comprised 90% of Lego's customers in 2011 before the launch of the Friends line.^[3]

In 2018, the LEGO Friends line releases showcased some minor changes to the main characters that may or may not be a reboot. Mia's eyes changed from brown to green while her hair was changed from an actual red to true orange-based red, Emma and Andrea's eyes changed from green to brown and Andrea's got earrings, Olivia's skin became slightly darker and she got glasses (specifically blue glasses) and also now wore her hair up in a ponytail braid, and Stephanie's smile was made a little bigger, and hair a lighter shade of blond, as it was dark blond in the original series. Alongside these appearance changes, Lego announced that they are giving the girls deeper personalities whilst making their world more realistic.

Main characters

The five main characters can be known as the "Friends" or the Lego Friends. The Friends go by the names Stephanie, Mia, Andrea, Emma and Olivia. Each of them has a unique personality that fits each and every one of them perfectly. Each of the girls are different in both appearances and personalities.

• Mia – An animal lover in the first franchise; in the beginning, she had "true" red hair; the color of a tomato rather than real red hair that can be called orange hair; hazel-brown eyes that appear more golden honey-colored in the regular computer animation such as "New Girl in Town" and the rest; and peach skin with slightly-noticeable freckles each under her eyes. She also wore her hair up in a low ponytail, and was very athletic. Mia, in the first series, is a kind and good-hearted friend. Her love interest was Martin, a boy who she grew up on the country farm area who Mia used to be neighbors with, and childhood friend. She also never saw him as a romantic interest until Stephanie took an interest in him, in "Country Girls (Mia's Ranch Romance)". Mia usually wore a light-blue halter top in the shape of a v-neck, with pink butterflies with white lining around them; slightly short, neon green pants with prints of purple butterflies on the left pant leg, also being the only Lego Friend to wear trousers while all the rest wore skirts; and bright purple flip-flops; also the only girl to do so. She has changed outfits throughout the first series, depending on the seasons. The old franchise also had Mia's hair straighter and less red. In the new franchise, Mia has orange-colored "true named red" hair, and matching eyebrows; with green eyes and lighter skin; but her freckles are gone. Mia is kind, generous, and animal-loving, in the first generation. She is also a good person in the reboot franchise. In the reboot series, Mia's red hair also has flashing lightning-yellow lowlights and her ponytail is now a high ponytail. In the first generation, her hair could also be thought of as auburn (a brownish red).

Mia has a dog named Toffee, who oddly enough, is male. But in truth, she loves all animals, so she doesn't seem to have a favorite. Even her old-franchise profile said she loves all animals. She also owns a horse named Bella. She has a talent for jumping, running, and beating anyone in any sport, the reason that Martin got unhappy with because his male friends were making fun of him for being beaten by a girl. Mia's favorite activity is horseback riding. She becomes a member of the super squad in the new version. She loves helping people and animals in need. Mia is into sports and horse training. She can take on anyone. But she is also shown to be afraid of rivalry conflict between Stephanie and Tanya, according to the episode "Roomies". She got jealous when she noticed that Stephanie had a crush on Martin. Mia gets a different voice actress in the new franchise.

• Olivia — She is very smart, as she loves anything to do with science. Olivia used to dress more in pink in the first franchise, but the new series had settled it down more. She wears eyeglasses in the new franchise, and has lighter-brown hair, but also has darker skin. Olivia has long hair tied into a braided ponytail, blue thick glasses, and dark brown eyes. Olivia loves the platypus as her favorite animal in the original series. She is unafraid to show her abilities and inventions. Olivia met the girls for the first time in the original series by being a new girl in town, just had moved to Heartlake City. She gets new friends afterward, but things still turn bad. Olivia has a "pet" robot named Zobo. She has lots of other robots as well. Olivia has a crush on Jacob. But Olivia tries not to show this. She is kind, loving, passionate, and a good friend. Olivia hates Tanya almost as much as Stephanie does.

• Emma - The member of the Friends with great artistic skills and skills in karate. She has long black hair in waves, and green eyes, and white skin. In the reboot, her eyes are changed to brown, and are almond-shaped. Emma is the best karate student in her class. She has long wavy black hair, green eyes (brown in reboot), and light skin. Emma seems very close with Olivia and Stephanie in particular. Emma has a different voice in the reboot LEGO Friends. She still seems like a good and innocent person, though. She is very nice and kind. She is friendly and lovable. Her favorite color is purple.

• Stephanie – Stephanie is the blond-haired friend with a white tank top with pink flowers on it in the original series. She is smart and clever, but also likes to be competitive. Stephanie has blond hair, blue eyes, and pale skin. Her smile was made a little bit bigger in the reboot. She is very organized, but is a rival to Tanya Boutaire. Sometimes Stephanie can be very bossy. Stephanie has wanted to be better than Tanya for a very long time (in the original series). She seems to be very kind, and the only ones that hate her are Tanya and her friends (Tanya's friends). Though Stephanie has a rivalry with Tanya, she tries to be nice throughout the way. Her mother's name is Alicia, and Alicia calls her "Steffi" as a nickname. She is giving and caring. Stephanie seems to like the colors white and pink, according to her attire. She is the only Friend to wear sneakers in the first generation.
• Andrea — The singer of the group, she is a musical genius with an amazing voice. Andrea has dark skin, green eyes (brown in reboot), and brown hair. She wears earrings in the reboot. She is known to be dramatic and likes to yell. Andrea is kind, cool, polite, and a good person. She just has problems in keeping her "drama" in check. Her hair is braided in the new series.

Andrea even said "I pick star!" when Olivia's uncle named Henry asked her if she wanted to be a star or a team player in "Slam Dunk" while practicing basketball. Though Henry corrected her on this, so that Andrea can get an idea of what is truly important. In the first series, Andrea's skin was darker in the computer animation than it was in the webisodes. It is unknown why this is, though. She is the only Friend in the series without a love interest or crush, besides Tad in "Dive In". Andrea hates being told what to do, and doesn't really see when people are just trying to help her. She, out of all the Friends, is most similar to Stephanie. She's very dramatic, much to her friends' annoyance and chagrin. Andrea loves yellow, orange, strapless dresses, music, and food. She has a large appetite but never gets overweight as it seems that she has a fast metabolism. Her favorite food is ice cream. Andrea's favorite animal is her pet rabbit named Jazz. She has an aunt named Susan and a grandmother who she calls Grandma Jean, but her mother's first name is never revealed, though Andrea's mother did appear once in "Our Special Day". Andrea is a huge fan of Livi, the popstar. She wants to be just like her, not so much to Livi's knowledge. Andrea's name has some different pronunciations throughout the first franchise, but her main pronunciation is Ahn-dray-uh. Andrea can sing power ballads, and is a really great dancer. In the Japanese dub, Andrea's voice is more of a husky sounding voice compared to the more of high-pitched her voice is in the English version. This voice in the dub might be to show in hearing more of how her personality is. Andrea also thinks Mia could "loosen up a bit".

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 Blocks to introduce girl dolls.^[3]

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.^[4]

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, as well as an Amusement park and skiing theme. 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.^[4]

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 Publishing. Both books consist of 48 pages and are published in paperback.^[5][6] DK Publishing have also released a Lego Brickmaster book based on the Friends theme on September 17, 2012.^[7]

Animated series

Film

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

References

External links

• Official website
• http://brickset.com/sets/theme-Friends