A LEGO Disney Up set poses unique design challenges

Rumours of a LEGO set inspired by Disney and Pixar’s Up are highly intriguing, but the final set may not be what we have in mind.

While Pixar has a pretty reliable track record, Up has remained one of its more memorable and beloved movies. Released in 2009, it tells the story of elderly balloon salesman Carl Fredricksen – who flies to South America to fulfil a promise to his late wife. Instead of travelling by plane Carl famously hooks hundreds of balloons to his house, with the intention of landing it atop the Paradise Falls waterfall.

As such, having a LEGO version of Carl’s house is hugely appealing – and recent rumours indicate one may be on the way. With the Walt Disney Company turning 100 next year, a wide range of new LEGO sets could be arriving – with other characters like Oswald the Lucky Rabbit potentially debuting in LEGO form.

If it does exist, what might a LEGO Up house look like? The information we have suggests it’ll use around 600 elements and retail for $54.99. That might seem on the small side, but then this is a rare model – a building that’s also swooshable. Rather than a static model, it seems likely that this is something children can fly around as it does in the movie.

Of course, this may lead to a few compromises in the design. 41718 Pet Day-Care Centre is very close to this rumoured set in terms of piece count and price point; that set features an open back and relatively simple interior detail. As such we might see a similar design approach with Carl’s house, to ensure its basic shape is preserved without being too expensive.

We also have to consider whether the balloons will be included. While these are an iconic element of the house, they also seem like a surefire way to eat into the parts count. This means we might see some kind of compromise – larger elements printed with balloons, for instance – rather than dozens of individual balloon assemblies. 

Furthermore, the minifigures in the set may necessitate an unorthodox approach. Carl famously has a very boxy head, which round minifigure heads would struggle to capture. As such, there’s a slim chance that Carl could use a cube head from the LEGO Minecraft theme – particularly as such elements have gravitated to other LEGO themes (like Marvel and Ideas) before now. 

We’re still waiting for confirmation that this LEGO set even exists, so any or all of our predictions could be skewed at this point. But it’s a good reminder that – like most LEGO Disney sets – this one is aimed squarely at a young audience. As such, you may want to keep your expectations in check before the next round of LEGO Disney announcements.

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