The Original Five Friends Retirement Thread

bookmum

Olivia, Emma, Mia, Andrea and Stephanie are retiring and a new generation is born.
Lets share our Original 5 memories. Who is your favourite character? What is your favourite set? Do you think the reboot might mean CMD (Collectable Minidolls). Why is @MeganL so obsessed with the sloths. Who is (new character) Autumn's Dad?
Join the Friends chat now.

bookmum

I will start off.
The first set I bought was technically for my daughter. It was 2012 and she was 4 and choose Andrea's Stage because she "liked the piano". She was unfortunately not one for building. We mostly played Animal's Got Talent with the piano and the many animals we collected from the little animal sets. The pony was very enthusiastic on the piano if I remember correctly.
The little music player and microphone bit vanished never to found again. Possibly went home with one of her little 4 year old buddies.
Daughter gained a few more sets but never really became a Lego fan so the sets became mine.
She does like playing actual piano now though.

Lo1sJess

Having a son, friends has never been a ‘big’ push for our household.  But we have picked up small sets here and there for the animals. 

 I think the inclusion aspects are great and much needed.  In a casual conversation recently, an older gentleman commented about there needing to be a minority in every advertisement- in this case a college postcard.  My comment back was that it probably meant a lot to the kids that need to be able to see themselves in all things and asked whether he could remember more than a few ads that a white man would not be able to see themselves in - beyond womens clothes and such of course.  He couldn’t and said he hadn’t really thought about it that way.

From working with younger kids over the years, it is also important, i think, that kids are exposed to what is different if for no other reason that it dispels fear.  So I think the limb difference and other disabilities being reflected benefits not just the kids that can identify but those that don’t.  Disabilities are often uncomfortable for adults to discuss with kids so often avoided which leaves the kids on their own to work out.  

Off my soapbox now, like the line for many reasons.

Lo1sJess

@bookmum love the pony’s enthusiasm for the piano!

Switchfoot55

Although I haven't personally bought a lot of Friends sets, my daughters have really loved following along with the series and getting a set here or there. Additionally, one of our favorite family YouTube channels is EllieV. She's an Australian content creator that focuses almost exclusively on Friends. She builds official sets and does a ton of MOCs as well. 

Through her channel I think I came to most enjoy Mia. I've found her specific sets to be very enjoyable and love her appreciation of animals and the outdoors. 

I'll be interested to see which direction the new series/friends will take. I definitely feel a Collectible Minidoll Series is on the horizon as well. 

bookmum

@Switchfoot55 yes I think Mia might be my favourite too.
When Friends first started there was a lot of "Oh it's too pink and all just stereotypes about girls" but the first Mia set I got she is wearing a smart black suit and is a magician.

Switchfoot55

Personally, I love when I grab a bulk lot and it's clear it has a ton of Friends/Elves sets in it. It expands my spare bricks collection color palette. It's nice to be able to grab from a pastel color palette when building something. 

Bumblepants

My girls never really connected with the Friends girls even though they had plenty of the sets and enjoyed them they just made up their own stories. Elves was their main jam and those characters they really attached to and still play with more than anything.

truck730

I got a friends cinema cheap but it is a great set that needs expansion for more than 2  movie goers. The  lego movie 2 integrated fig and doll ,made it easier to see them matched. Dolls looked more like people but no articulation, interchangeable head accessories also aided in integration.only 4 parts for kids to disassemble is a plus point as I see hand and armless torsos of figs

Lyichir

I've never been a HUGE Friends collector (unlike Elves which I will never stop singing the praises of), but there have been several sets over the years that I've ended up getting on the strength of their designs alone. The Dolphin Cruiser, Pop Star Tour Bus, Sunshine Catamaran, Heartlake City Restaurant, and Summer Fun Water Park come to mind.

I'm excited about the new reboot and its characters, but I'm also very tempted to pick up some of this year's sets before the classic cast has their stories concluded. This year's got some AMAZING sets like the Theater, Space Center, and Art School, and I worry that if I let those slip by now I might regret it later.

karrit

I grabbed the Theater because it looked really nice.  I've collected some of the sets over the past few years because they seemed better value than regular City offerings and many were much nicer looking builds and have better parts than many City sets.  I'm tempted by a few more but the value seems to be lessening with the recent price hikes.  I thought the Safari set & Space Center were interesting but unless I can get them at a decent discount I may not get them, they don't seem to be a good value for what's in them.  I'm still considering the Art School & maybe the Organic Farm.  I lean toward Mia's sets a lot because I liked the whole outdoorsy camping & recreation vibe of some of her sets.  Never really got into most of the Stephanie sets.  I miss the Elves theme.

MeganL

What a great idea for a thread!  I've been buying the Friends sets since they first came out, mostly to add to those who loved the idea of encouraging girls to build!  I think that's been accomplished.

I've several favourite subthemes over the years - notably the jungle theme from early in the series, the Pop Star one (the Pop Star Tour Bus is probably one of my favourite Friends vehicles, and the Villa one of my favourite houses), and the first amusement park sets.  Of course this year's sets has been superlative, and I'm hard pressed to name a favourite since they're all so awesome.

I'll echo everyone who mourns the Elves theme.  I have every single set from that theme, and it's the only theme I can say that about.

Bumblepants

I'm still surprised Elves never got anything to follow it. Apart from Disney and the ill-fated Superhero Girls there have only been Friends sets. Friends has done a great job of making all sorts of unique and cool sets but it seems like there is room to do more with fantasy or sci-fi or something. Mermaids or unicorns or giant puppies... Endless possibilities 

bookmum

@Bumblepants I often wonder why the Superhero Girls was such a flop. Maybe it is that as much as society tries to say "there are no girls toys and boys toys...toys are toys" when it come down to it girls like Disney Princess and boys like Superheroes.

Bumblepants

bookmum said:

@Bumblepants I often wonder why the Superhero Girls was such a flop. Maybe it is that as much as society tries to say "there are no girls toys and boys toys...toys are toys" when it come down to it girls like Disney Princess and boys like Superheroes.

I think the cartoon bombed and then the toys by extension. It wasn't only Lego warming shelves, anything and everything attached to that show was unloved.

CCC

Bumblepants said:

I'm still surprised Elves never got anything to follow it. Apart from Disney and the ill-fated Superhero Girls there have only been Friends sets. Friends has done a great job of making all sorts of unique and cool sets but it seems like there is room to do more with fantasy or sci-fi or something. Mermaids or unicorns or giant puppies... Endless possibilities 

It did get half of TLM2. Sweet Mayhem's ship had vibes of Elves in Space.

CCC

bookmum said:

Who is (new character) Autumn's Dad?

And does Mia even know? Maybe she was conceived during the drink and drugs years.... although that is probably a story arc they will not be visiting!

bookmum

@CCC yes it's not just a character reboot - it's a complete time jump.
Will we get Friends The Missing Years as a theme in the future?
Could be very interesting !!

Bumblepants

CCC said:

Bumblepants said:

I'm still surprised Elves never got anything to follow it. Apart from Disney and the ill-fated Superhero Girls there have only been Friends sets. Friends has done a great job of making all sorts of unique and cool sets but it seems like there is room to do more with fantasy or sci-fi or something. Mermaids or unicorns or giant puppies... Endless possibilities 

It did get half of TLM2. Sweet Mayhem's ship had vibes of Elves in Space.

Yeah I got a couple of those thanks to $20 Walmart clearance. TLM2 was the last great clearance run I was lucky enough to get in on.

MeganL

bookmum said:

@CCC yes it's not just a character reboot - it's a complete time jump.
Will we get Friends The Missing Years as a theme in the future?
Could be very interesting !!

I think anything's possible!  During the interview with the relaunch team they mentioned something like thirty years had passed - that's a lot of missing years!

MaffyD

A bit late here. The Friends theme for me is what my youngest daughter first liked when she was into Lego. It was all too brief, but she did like some Elves sets - but that is off topic.

#41383 - Olivia's Hamster Playground was a prize given by a forum member that me and my daughter really loved as she had lost her hamster earlier that year and this commemorated him in a cute and fun way. It still sits on her desk nearly 3 years later. Thank you @stlux !

SumoLego

If anyone wants a Stephanie polybag, I have a bunch of them!

bookmum

@SumoLego use them to build a Stephanie Army ! 

andhe

Thought this was going to be discussing what the lego friends characters were doing in retirement. That's a theme we need, where are the OAP figs and sets that retired persons can relate to??

MeganL said:

I think anything's possible!  During the interview with the relaunch team they mentioned something like thirty years had passed - that's a lot of missing years!

30 years?? I guess they needed enough time for the kids to also reach teen-hood.

They should do subtle futuristic hints like the final season of Parks & Rec did with their time jump (holographic phones, referring to past/future events). 

bookmum

@andhe in retirement they became the Golden Girls maybe.....

Aanchir

andhe said:

Thought this was going to be discussing what the lego friends characters were doing in retirement. That's a theme we need, where are the OAP figs and sets that retired persons can relate to??

MeganL said:

I think anything's possible!  During the interview with the relaunch team they mentioned something like thirty years had passed - that's a lot of missing years!

30 years?? I guess they needed enough time for the kids to also reach teen-hood.

They should do subtle futuristic hints like the final season of Parks & Rec did with their time jump (holographic phones, referring to past/future events). 

I get the impression the theme will still be largely based on the present day in terms of technology, cultural trends, etc. That's definitely something of a contradiction/retcon, especially when you consider some of the story details that have already been divulged — namely, Paisley's late mother "was a recording artist in the 90s", whereas Autumn's mom Mia grew up in an era of smartphones and social media! But I expect this will mostly be glossed over and won't really impede the storytelling going forward.

I'll admit, I really grew to love the original five LEGO Friends over time, especially beginning with 2018's soft reboot. The "Girls on a Mission" animated series in particular got me highly invested in the story and characters. The subsequent "Heartlake Stories" animated series wasn't quite as satisfying for me, but together with the sets, it still managed to bring the main characters' narrative arcs to a fulfilling conclusion as they went their separate ways to pursue their individual passions.

All that said, I'm grateful that unlike LEGO Elves (which admittedly also wrapped up with an exciting "big finish" while still leaving the door open to new adventures), the Friends theme is not only continuing, but even keeping the original five main characters around in a supporting role.

I'm hoping that details of their past adventures do continue to crop up from time to time in the background, and that we'll even learn new details about what their lives have been like in the years since graduation! For instance, what sort of careers, lifestyles, and relationships have they ended up pursuing? What ends up bringing them back to Heartlake City?

In any case, I'm definitely very excited for whatever comes next!