10 Most Controversial LEGO Sets

WatchMojo

Welcome to WatchMojo and today we’re counting down our picks for the top 10 most controversial Lego sets.

Transcript

00:00 Welcome to WatchMojo, and today we're counting down our picks for the top 10 most controversial

00:06 Lego sets.

00:10 We're kicking things off with an entire range of Lego sets that's faced controversy

00:21 from the get-go when it was launched in 2014, and you might be surprised to know that it

00:25 revolves around one of America's most loved families, the Simpsons. Were there hugely

00:30 inappropriate or offensive Simpsons sets released? Well, no. Lego fans everywhere just had an

00:35 issue with the TV family being "Legoised", period. Some believed the Simpsons and some

00:44 of its mature topics were not appropriate for all age groups, and therefore not suitable

00:48 for Lego. Others simply thought the Simpsons was yesterday's news, and that a Lego set

00:53 based around their world wouldn't be fun. We've got to disagree with that second point

00:57 of view though. I mean, give us the Simpsons house to build any day.

01:08 A different realm of controversy in the Lego-verse is plain old disappointment, and arguably

01:13 one of the most lacklustre sets around is this "Star Wars Assault on Hoth" set.

01:18 Now on the surface, it probably looks pretty decent, but fans were quick to point out that

01:21 it was, well, rubbish. Launched in 2016, this set was ultimately aimed at adults, but received

01:27 flak for its mediocre design, attention to detail (or lack thereof), box artwork, and

01:32 the fact that its manual suggested combining the set with other sets that were already

01:36 discontinued. Basically, it was a mess, and felt like a rushed mishmash of off-cuts from

01:41 other Star Wars sets. And if all that wasn't bad enough, it was really expensive too. And

01:51 was it worth the money? Definitely Hoth. Thankfully, it was discontinued after about

01:55 a year.

02:02 When Lego releases its latest batch of minifigures, fans swarm to stores to collect them all.

02:07 But in 2013, Lego turned up the heat by adding a special minifig to the 10th anniversary

02:13 set, a 17th minifigure called "Mr. Gold", who was limited to just 5,000 examples. And

02:18 thus ensued the wonker golden ticket-like chaos, with people everywhere buying minifigures

02:23 en masse. Some might have seen this as playful and fun, but many simply saw it as a blatant

02:28 cash grab from the Danish brand, especially considering the Mr. Gold minifig is just,

02:32 well, a basic minifig, painted gold. Still, Mr. Gold remains one of the rarest minifigures

02:37 ever. I mean, look at that smile on his face and his pompous monocle over his eye. He is

02:43 full of it.

02:47 Lego has a strict no-fly policy on making models of realistic weapons, and that includes

02:52 any military sets like tanks. That's why there was controversy when the brand announced

02:57 they planned to release a detailed, technic version of the Bell Boeing V-22 Osprey. This

03:02 is a military aircraft, used exclusively by the military, for a variety of military-related

03:08 operations. Lego's plan, however, was to highlight the vehicle's importance as a

03:12 rescue aircraft, and add some appropriate rescue stickers to boot. But the German Peace

03:17 Society called them out, and accused Lego of being hypocrites. It even planned protests

03:22 outside its stores if the set was released. The set was indeed cancelled just before it

03:26 went to mass market, although some models, like this one nabbed by Oshpian Brickfan,

03:31 did slip through the cracks.

03:56 Although this was never the kind of Lego set you could buy in store, Lego is still heavily

04:00 linked to this set, and it carries a rather unbelievable story. Renowned Polish artist

04:05 and photographer, Zbigniew Libere, says he wants to make his 1996 art project out of

04:11 Lego. Lego says "OK, we'll supply the bricks", which Libere took as confirmation

04:15 that they were sponsoring his project. Libere then produces a concentration camp built from

04:20 Lego bricks, complete with barracks, watchtowers and skeleton prisoners. And it's all boxed

04:25 in what seems to be official Lego packaging.

04:28 Lego then threatens legal action. The controversial set is currently on display in the Museum

04:33 of Modern Art in Warsaw.

04:41 Lego has a bit of a patchy track record with releasing insensitive sets, and by that we

04:45 mean sets based on violent scenes from movies. The kind of sets you probably don't want

04:50 your kids recreating. Hello, "Tusken Raider" encounter from "Attack of the Clones".

04:54 Hello, "Fire Ant Attack" from "Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull".

04:57 If you know, you know. But the set we want to talk about is "Palpatine's Arrest",

05:02 a set that recreates a rather dramatic, heart-wrenching and somewhat terrifying scene from "Star

05:07 Wars Episode III - Revenge of the Sith". Basically, this scene depicts good guys being

05:11 slaughtered and bad guys prevailing. It's a pretty cool set, I guess, but there's

05:16 no denying that a dark cloud looms over it.

05:21 Shell Oil and Lego have become somewhat synonymous with each other. The two brands had a partnership

05:25 for over 50 years. A tonne of their sets feature things like gas stations and oil rigs, and

05:30 Shell-branded Lego sets were sold in gas stations. But in 2014, Greenpeace said they'd had

05:35 enough, and accused Lego of putting "cash before kids". They turned up the heat on

05:40 the toymaker, and urged them to end their long partnership with Shell. And they did,

05:44 and after Greenpeace released this rather spectacular viral video, all set to a melancholic

05:49 rendition of "Everything is Awesome", Lego didn't really have a choice. So, the

06:01 dramatic ending of the Shell and Lego relationship kind of makes all the previous Shell-related

06:05 Lego sets controversial in their own right.

06:15 Lego doesn't have a particularly long history of product recalls, but the "Super Truck"

06:18 from 2002 is pretty notable. This toy was recalled because there were reports of kids

06:23 removing the wheels from it, revealing a dangerous spike-like axle. Reportedly, around 358,000

06:32 of these trucks were recalled, after several injuries were reported. Although Lego did

06:36 only refund for the truck, not the Duplo bricks that were included, because they didn't

06:40 have spikes in them. But you know what? At least Lego owns the mistake. It has a dedicated

06:45 page on its website detailing recalls from its past, including this one.

06:51 No, not the Chandler, Monaco and Joey kind of friends. This range of Lego toys was launched

06:55 in 2012, clearly aimed towards the female market. But women's groups in both the UK

07:00 and the US took umbrage with the range's use of pink and skinny figures, and said that

07:05 its fun, cupcake party theming was reinforcing gender stereotypes. A petition urging Lego

07:17 to rethink its marketing strategy was started, and it received a whopping 50,000 signatures.

07:23 And the Lego Friends toyline even received a "TODY" award for worst toy from Fair

07:27 Play - TODY standing for "Toys Oppressive and Destructive to Young Children". Ouch.

07:33 Despite all of this, Lego continues to sell the Lego Friends range, and it's been a

07:36 huge success for the brand. When defending its decision to keep the Friends range, Lego

07:40 said that the creation of the toyline was actually fuelled by questioning 3,000 girls

07:45 who said they wanted to find relevance in Lego construction sets.

08:13 Ah yes, "Star Wars Strikes Back", again. This time with a set that was set to reinforce

08:19 negative Muslim stereotypes. The set in question is Jabba's Palace, a location immortalised

08:24 in "Return of the Jedi". The problem with this set, however, is that its exterior resembles

08:28 the mosque of Haya Sofya, located in Istanbul, Turkey. Combine this resemblance with the diabolical

08:34 character of Jabba the Hutt, and many saw this set as insensitive commentary on the

08:38 Islamic religion, with the Turkish cultural community hitting out at Lego. An apology

08:43 was demanded, but what Lego gave was more of an explanation as to how any apparent likeness

08:48 to the holy building was merely a coincidence. The Turkish cultural community was not happy

08:52 with this response, and both they and Lego went back and forth before the set was retired

08:57 just a year and a half after launch.

09:04 And that's our list. Which set do you think was the most risque? Let us know in the comments

09:08 below. Did you enjoy this video? Check out these other clips from WatchMojo and be sure

09:15 to subscribe and ring the bell to be notified about our latest videos.

09:19 [music]

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