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Will The Lone Ranger be the next Prince of Persia?
Lego's partnering with Disney doesn't always seem to pan out. Case in point - Prince of Persia. While the sets were ok and featured some interesting new animals and minifigs, the movie itself was a critical and box-office failure. I believe this is the reason many of the PoP sets languished on store shelves, unable to sell even at 50% off (I saw several of the sets on clearance at my local Targets for months after they were discontinued, and they kept popping up on Amazon for cheap too).
While this presented an opportunity for AFOL's to pick up sets for cheap, it was no doubtedly a disaster for Lego.
This could happen again with The Lone Ranger. The movie which comes out this week is getting horrendous reviews, and they expect it to underperform at the box office coming out the same week as Despicable Me 2. We could see some awesome sets at great discounts in a few months if they sell as poorly as PoP did.
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* Western theme
* Iconic, American hero
* Great minifigures
* Great sets
* A Train
These aren't guarantees for success, but they will help. I really liked some of the PoP sets and they had great minifigs and elements, but it's apples and oranges for the theme comparison and recognition thereof. A little boy is going to latch onto a train and a stagecoach much more quickly than he would an ostrich race.
And kids now a days didn't idolize The Lone Ranger, not like many AFOL's did. Many have no idea who he is. They'd be more likely to relate to the character in Prince of Persia, as he's based on a video game.
Some of them will do better than others, but the stagecoach and train are very, very nice sets. Already bought both. :)
My kids didn't know much about the Lone Ranger before this movie, except for my occasional stop on the Encore Western channel, but they are really digging him now and looking forward to the movie. He's no Batman, but he's a good guy in a mask. Hey, when something works, it works.
I would argue that very few kids that were in Lego's target demo actually played the PoP games. The games were rated teen at best and mature at worst. The movie was a weird adventure that tried to hit multiple demos (kid, teen, adult) and as a result, struck home with none of them. Without at least the movie to hold up the sets, they failed.
I know that if I wanted to get any TLR sets, particularly the train or stagecoach, I wouldn't wait for massive sales or the aftermarket.
I wouldnt wait on a deep deep discount for that one. Build it now :P
At least with TLR, mom & dad can likely tell them about who he is, like I did with mine. With PoP?...um, no, it's not even a contest for familiarity. That's kinda the point though, and again, just like Batman, one of the appeals of the character is the mystery and ambiguity of his true nature and identity.
Anyway, I'm a sucker for westerns of all kinds. Silverado, Tombstone, How the West was Won, Blondie's trilogy, Red Dead Redemption, and dozens more in different media. Heck, I even loved Jonah Hex...forgive me.
I feel Gen Y's are more comic book/super hero centric as being a nerd has started to become 'cool'.
So what about the theme going the Indiana Jones route? seems like it would hit the same target audience.
I really doubt, however, that many fathers will sit their boys on their lap and relate to them fondly, stories about Dastan and his many adventures, which is one reason TLR > PoP.
The Lone Ranger film may well turn out to be a flop but I can see the sets appealing to a demographic beyond those who see the film. To what extent western Lego will appeal to children these days is open to debate but I do think quality of the sets will help them sell.
Heh...you ever tell anybody to "Go suck an egg!" like the Kid?
I think people sometimes forget that today's kids will avoid buying a Lego set associated with a movie if it bombs regardless of its potential. I already had a conversation with my son about how Johnny Depp (the pirate to him) is Tonto but he isn't the main character - the Lone Ranger is. I had to laugh when I read the comments about the target audience since my dad says he wants to see the movie since he has fond memories of listening to it on the radio. I love Western movies, but TLR is already looking like a pass for me in the theater at least.
As far as her kids, they gave out masks and her littlest one wouldn't take it off.
I thought the 80's Lone Ranger was ok back in the day. They even made Action Figures for the movie. I used to watch TLR with my dad when I was little. Loved all the old westerns too
And they almost shouldn't judge the movie along with the sets, because just because some people don't find the movie good doesn't mean the sets will have to be so bad.