Lego Friends is a product range of the Lego construction toy designed for girls and boys. Introduced in 2012, the theme includes unique "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 replaces 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 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.
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."
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." According to the company, boys comprised 90% of Lego's customers in 2011 before the launch of the Friends line.
Main characters
- Olivia (chestnut hair, amber brown eyes, light-tone skin) - Olivia is the primary protagonist of the series. She is an environmentalist, for she enjoys science, nature, and history. She also enjoys inventing, hiking, taking pictures, school and drawing. She is also a caretaker of a newborn foal. Her signature colors are pink, purple, and white. She wears a pink tank top, purple skirt, and pink ballet flats. She is very intelligent and focused, yet at times clumsy. She also has a crush on Jacob.
- Stephanie (blonde hair, blue eyes, light tone skin) - A confident natural leader, Stephanie is very social, creative and organized. She loves planning events, parties, and soccer. She also enjoys talking to people, writing stories and dancing ballet as well. Her signature colors are white, magenta and light pink, and her favorite food is cupcakes. She wears a white shirt, magenta skirt, and matching sneakers. She is seen to have a frenemy named Tanya. She is very down-to-earth, yet at times bossy.
- Emma (black hair, green eyes, light tone skin) - The fashionista of the group, Emma is a very stylish and trendy girl who loves style. As shown in the sets she appears in, she enjoys fashion design, making jewelry, interior design, makeovers, English horseback jumping and karate. Her main signature color is purple, but is seen wearing shades of pink as well. She wears a purple shirt, navy blue skirt, and lilac ankle flats. She is very fashionable, yet sometimes forgetful and unable to speak up for herself.
- Mia (red hair, amber brown eyes, light tone skin, freckles) - The animal lover of the group, Mia is also a vegetarian. She enjoys taking care of and spending time with animals. She also excels at sports, training animals and drumming, and enjoys English horse riding, camping and magic tricks. Her signature colors are light blue, green, and purple. She wears a blue shirt, green cargo pants, and purple flip-flops. She is very caring and athletic, yet somewhat stubborn.
- Andrea (dark brown hair, green eyes, dark tone skin) - The musician of the group, Andrea is a talented singer and great at making up her own songs. She loves anything that pertains to music: singing, playing the piano, dancing, and drama/theater, but is also a great cook, as she works at a café, as well as a loving for bunnies. She typically wears light-colored clothes. She wears a yellow shirt, light blue skirt, and red-violet ankle flats. She is seen practical, yet at times overly dramatic.
Other characters
- Andrew (blond hair, light blue eyes, light tone skin) - One of Mia's friends that is the captain and comes with the dolphin cruiser. He comes in a light blue shirt and navy blue pants with blue and white shoes.
- Anna (dark brown hair, light blue eyes, light tone skin) - Olivia's mother and wife of Peter. She wears an indigo shirt with a lilac collar, red long skirt, and red open-toe flats. She is kind, caring, and loves Olivia.
- Chloe (black hair, green eyes, dark tone skin) - one of Mia's friends.
- Christina (blonde hair, dark green eyes, light tone skin) - a lover of Christmas who seems to be Olivia's friend. Her winter outfit consists of a red turtleneck with a white puffy collar, matching red skirt and leggings, and black boots with white socks.
- Danielle (long blond hair, dark brown eyes, light tone skin) - Danielle is the daughter of the owners of Heartlake's Downtown Bakery.
- Ella (black hair, hazel eyes, dark tone skin) - one of the campers/students of the Summer Riding Camp.
- Ewa (blonde hair, light blue eyes, light tone skin) - a lover of Christmas who seems to be Mia's friend. Her winter outfit consists of a red turtleneck with a white scarf, matching red skirt and leggings, and black boots with white fur.
- Isabella (long blond hair, light green eyes, light tone skin) - Isabella likes ice cream and hanging out at the swimming pool, and she is a friend of Andrea.
- Jacob (light brown/chestnut hair, blue eyes, light tone skin) - He is mainly only in the webisodes. Jacob is a friend with all of the girls, but seems closer to Olivia. He is seen wearing a light blue polo, navy blue pants, and blue and white shoes.
- Joanna (black braided hair, dark brown eyes, dark tone skin) - Joanna is the owner and worker at the Pet Salon who attends to Emma's white poodle, Lady.
- Kate - (long black hair, brown eyes, dark tone skin) Kate has a water scooter and when she goes to the dock, she rides it around Heartlake City. She likes exploring the ocean. She is also a friend of Olivia, Stephanie, and Mia.
- Katharina (blonde hair, light blue eyes, light tone skin) - She practices horseback riding with her friend, Mia, as they both seem to like to compete competitive English horseback riding. Her riding uniform is a black riding jacket with a white tee underneath, white breeches, and black English boots.
- Lily (black hair in pony tail, light brown eyes, light tone skin), Lily is seen celebrating Christmas with Stephanie.
- Liza (long blond hair, light blue eyes, light tone skin) Liza takes care of animals living in the Sunshine Ranch. She enjoys horse riding with her friend Mia.
- Matthew (long black wavy hair, brown eyes, dark tone skin) - He goes to school at Heartlake High along with Stephanie, he also likes painting. Stephanie appears to have a crush on him.
- Marie (blonde hair, hazel eyes, light tone skin) - the owner of the City Park Café and boss and co-worker of Andrea. She is a hard-working and sensible cook and baker. Her worker's uniform consists of a pink shirt with a white collar and a matching skirt, worn with red-violet ankle flats.
- Maya (black hair, brown eyes, light tone skin) - Guest on the dolphin cruiser and Mia and Andrew's friend. She comes in a white top with flowers on it and a pink sarong around her waist. She also wears navy blue and pink flip flops.
- Ms Stephens (brown hair, glasses, green eyes, light tone skin) - She's the science teacher who works at Heartlake High.
- Natasha - She's an hairdresser.
- Naya (long wavy blond hair, light tone skin) - Naya is a bar attendant working in the Heartlake Juice Bar.
- Nicole (black hair, dark green eyes, dark tone skin) - one of Olivia's friends.
- Noah (brown spiky hair, light brown eyes, light tone skin) - Noah comes with Andrea in the hot air balloon.
- Peter (chestnut hair w/ light chestnut beard, amber brown eyes, light tone skin) - Father of Olivia and Anna's husband. He wears a white shirt with a dark red tie, dark blue pants, and tan deck shoes. Like Anna, he is kind, caring, and loving to Olivia.
- Robert (dark brown wavy hair, dark tone skin) - Robert attends horses preparing for the Heartlake Horse Show.
- Sarah (dark brown hair, dark green eyes, dark tone skin) - a hairdresser owning/working at the Butterfly Beauty Salon, and also seems to be a proficient saleswoman as well. She wears a white shirt, light aqua skirt, and red-violet ankle flats. She is a very practical girl who knows how to beautify.
- Sophie (dark brown hair, light blue eyes, light tone skin) - a veterinarian who works at the Animal Center and an aunt to Olivia. Her worker's uniform comprises an aqua shirt with a white collar, pink skirt, and white flats, complete with a pillbox hat. She cares for various types of animals.
- Theresa (red hair, hazel eyes, light tone skin) - the instructor and teacher of the Summer Riding Camp. Her uniform consists of an aqua shirt with a white collar, white breeches, and black boots.
Lego Building App Video
Controversy
The launch of LEGO Friends generated controversy upon its launch, with critics claiming the line gives in to gender stereotypes.
A petition on the website Change.org, started by Bailey Shoemaker Richards and Stephanie Cole of the activist group the SPARK Movement to demand an end to the sexualization of women and girls in media, condemned the sets and claimed that LEGO was "selling out girls." "Who populates commercials for LEGO? Boys!" the petition read. "Where in the toy store can you find original, creative, construction-focused LEGO? The 'boy' aisle!" The petition asked LEGO to end gendered marketing practices and begin marketing its other product lines to girls. By the second week of January, more than 36,000 people had signed the petition. It also provoked a comic by Maritsa Patrinos about the topic.
The LEGO group responded to the criticism by issuing a statement indicating that, in its research, there were requests from mothers and girls for more detailed sets, more realistic minifigures, a brighter color palette, role play opportunities and "a story line that they would find interesting." Mads Nipper, executive vice president of marketing, the LEGO Group, further stated: "We want to correct any misinterpretation that LEGO Friends is our only offering for girls. This is by no means the case. We know that many girls love to build and play with the wide variety of LEGO products already available. LEGO Friends joins this global collection of products as yet another theme option from which parents may choose the best building experience for their child's skill and interest." According to a sell-side analyst, Lego's research found that boys and girls play differently: "When boys build a construction set, they'll build a castle, let's say, and they'll play with the finished product on the outside. When girls build construction sets, they tend to play on the inside."
By February the Change.org petition had gathered over 50,000 signatures, and LEGO accepted SPARK's request for a meeting to discuss their concerns. The meeting took place on April 20, 2012. Bailey Shoemaker Richards said of the event, "We are thrilled that the LEGO representatives expressed such a deep passion for creating healthy play patterns for children, and we hope to see them meet our expectations in the coming years."
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 Bloks to introduce girl dolls.
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 has also announced a further nine sets are to be released later in 2012.
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.
Adaptations
In June 2012 two books are set for release based on the Friends theme. Lego Friends: Welcome to Heartlake City and Lego Friends: Perfect Pet Show are set for release on June 18, 2012 by DK Publishing. Both books consist of 48 pages and are being published in paperback. DK Publishing have also announced that they will release a Lego Brickmaster book based on the Friends theme on September 17, 2012.
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