Earlier this month, Nintendo and LEGO announced that the next Nintendo property to be adapted from pixels to bricks would be the beloved Animal Crossing franchise. Most recently represented on the Nintendo Switch with Animal Crossing: New Horizons, the game’s legions of fans will be delighted to see many of their favorite buildings and characters leaping to LEGO when the five announced Animal Crossing sets are released on March 1, 2024. Start saving turnips now!
Each of the five Animal Crossing LEGO sets features minifig characters and elements that will be familiar to veteran villagers. (Check out all eight minifigs in the picture above.)
The set with the fewest pieces is “Bunnie’s Outdoor Activities” (#77047). Coming in at 164 pieces, this set features a minifig of Bunnie and several favorite farming tools, including a net, shovel, and axe. Along with a vignette with fruit trees, a waterfall, and a campground, this set includes several bugs and a distinctive Animal Crossing-style fossil.
“Bunnie’s Outdoor Activities” will retail for $19.99.
Coming in at 170 pieces is “Julian’s Birthday Party” (#77046). Featuring a minifig of the New Horizons breakout character Julian the unicorn, this set invites you to celebrate his birthday with a build that includes a cake, cupcakes, a radio set, and gifts, including a skateboard. And is that a Bell coin, I see?
“Julian’s Birthday Party,” priced at $14.99, set is especially timely, considering Julian’s birthday is March 15, just over a fortnight after the five sets are released.
The next biggest set, at 233 pieces, is “Kapp’n’s Island Boat Tour” (#77048). Excitingly, this set comes with two minifigs. Of course, one is Kapp’n, the seafaring kappa, so naturally, this build includes the motorboat he uses to take villagers to the Island. He also comes with his own reading material, featuring a cameo by K.K. Slider. The other minifig that comes with this set is Marshal the Squirrel, ready to be ferried to the island (just add your own sea shanty).
“Kapp’n’s Island Boat Tour” has a suggested price of $29.99.
Next up is the first set that features a full building: “Isabelle’s House Visit” (#77049). From the looks of it, “Isabelle’s House Visit” will be packed with special bricks that depict New Horizons elements like the NookPhone and a DIY card. The build also includes recognizable game components like a workbench and a present tied to a floating balloon.
Coming in at 389 pieces, the set features two minifigs. The first is Isabelle, the mayor’s aide. As a fan-favorite character (after all, you spend a lot of time with her), this competent administrator will make for a high-demand minifig, considering she’s even a playable character in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate. Secondly, there is a minifig of Fauna the faun, whose furniture-filled house comprises the bulk of this set’s build.
This set has a suggested price of $39.99.
The final and largest set, “Nook’s Cranny & Rosie’s House” (#77050), comprises 535 pieces and includes two minifigs. The first is, of course, Tom Nook, and the second is Rosie the cat, one of the most beloved possible residents from the Animal Crossing franchise.
As suggested by this set’s name, it has two buildings to assemble. Both include many elements that will be instantly recognizable to players of New Horizons, including Rosie’s mailbox and the recycling bin in front of Nook’s Cranny. It also includes several exclusive pieces, like a bag of Bells and a K.K. Slider album, ensuring this set is distinctly Animal Crossing.
“Nook’s Cranny & Rosie’s House” has a suggested retail price of $74.99.
Each set is suggested for builders ages six and up, except for “Nook’s Cranny & Rosie’s House,” which is suggested for those seven and older.
Animal Crossing: New Horizons
Just how popular is Animal Crossing? That most recent entry in the franchise, New Horizons, sold five million copies in one month, outpacing any console game in history. Eventually moving over forty million copies, the game – released in March 2020 – can be considered a genuine cultural phenomenon. Heck, even Carol Danvers actor Brie Larson loves the game!
While these five Animal Crossing sets are exciting, they represent only a sliver of the potential in adapting the franchise to LEGO bricks. For one thing, there are plenty of additional buildings that would make nice additions to the LEGO line, including the airport (staffed by Orville and Wilbur), town hall (with Timmy and Tommy minifigs to take over for Tom at Nook’s Cranny), and the museum (with Blathers, Celeste, and Brewster).
Plus, while characters like Julian and Rosie are sure to be popular, there are loads of other villagers who would look fantastic in minifig form. Can we expect a blind bag with minifigs like Ankha, Gulliver, and K.K. Slider? Only time will tell. But in the meantime, I will schedule an appointment with Katrina to find out if more Animal Crossing LEGO will appear in the future.
(featured image: LEGO)
Published: Oct 20, 2023 10:00 am