Today I would like to introduce you to a project on LEGO Ideas (formerly LEGO CUUSOO) that is particularly close to my heart; The Little Prince in LEGO form. If you are a regular reader here you probably know that I have made my own version of The Little Prince some time back (see in my flickr gallery) and he is carefully tending his planet right here on my bookshelf. However LEGO fan Colin Walle thought further and decided that LEGO really should make a Little Prince set for all LEGO fans to enjoy. Thus he submitted his idea to LEGO Ideas, and if his project gets 10,000 votes, LEGO will consider it for production. 🙂
”It is only with the heart that one can see rightly; what is essential is invisible to the eye.” wrote Saint-Exupery, and this is also Colin’s introduction to his project. He also writes: “The Little Prince would make a wonderful LEGO set because it is a timeless classic enjoyed by children and adults all over the world. The story was first published 70 years ago, in 1943, and there are over 2 million copies sold each year (with the total over 400 million). It has the world record as the most translated novel in the world (over 280 translations so far – and let’s translate it into LEGO together!). This would make a great gift item for adults and children, and would be something that some of The LEGO Group’s bookseller partners (i.e.: Barnes & Noble) could market as well in conjunction with the book. ‘All grown ups were once children… but only a few of them remember it’ wrote Saint-Exupery, but I think that AFOLs (Adult-Fans-of-LEGO) are some of the few that do.”
Colin’s idea for the LEGO Little Prince set hasn’t fully solidified as of yet, but he does have some ideas and proposals for the official LEGO Little Prince set; either the Little Prince on Asteroid B-612, or the Little Prince with Antoine de Saint-Exupery and his airplane. I think both of them are good ideas and have their merits. The Little Prince tending to his planet with the volcanoes and the rose is such an iconic and sweet scene anyone could recognize and appreciate, however this set-up would not have a whole lot of play-value. The second proposal with Saint-Exupery’s broken down airplane is also a pretty well recognizable scene and would provide playability besides just being a display-piece. Saint-Exupery crashed his plane in real life and that experience was the inspiration for the novel; in the book he is working on his broken down plane when he first meets the Little Prince. Perhaps even the fox and the snake could be added as additional characters to play out pretty much the whole story.
Also, it needs to be decided which version of the Little Prince himself to use; the one in the green outfit with red bow-tie and red belt, or the one dressed as the Little Prince with cape and sword. I think with the first proposal of the Little Prince tending his planet his simple green outfit would work better, whereas for the second setup his princely garb would work nice. It is hard to choose as they are both sweet renditions of the character.
If you would have any preference (or any other suggestions and ideas) you can let Colin know in the comment section, or on his LEGO Ideas page for the project. And in either case, if you would like The Little Prince to become an official LEGO set, don’t forget to vote. The project already got over 3,300 votes as of this writing, and is enthusiastically supported by the Saint-Exupery estate that owns the license (so there should be no issues there), however it needs to reach a minimum of 10,000 votes to be considered by LEGO for production. There are only a little over 300 days left to reach this goal and you can show your support by voting for it here and also share it with family and friends: VOTE FOR LEGO LITTLE PRINCE
So what do you think? Would you like to have The Little Prince as a LEGO set? Feel free to share your thoughts, ideas, and feedback in the comment section below! 😉
And you might also like to check out the following related posts:
An AFOL is not an adult lego fan of lego its just adult fan of lego
He probably just made a mistake there. I corrected it.
Um… I haven’t read the Little Prince. I think I’ve heard of it though. 😕
I note he used Minifig.me to make the Prince’s face. Good idea! 😉
I’d have to read the book though before supporting it.
You have to read it. It is one of the bestest books ever. And it is a tiny book and easy read, but it is very deep, so you may be thinking about it for a long time afterwards. 🙂
Sounds almost like the Lord of the Rings Return of the King and Appendixes. Although those aren’t as short and easy to read. 😉 I will try to find it at my local library or something. 🙂
I’ve read it, and I fully agree with the short but very deep part. It can be called a kid’s book, yet the philosophical-y values at the last chapters can still be a subject of contemplation for adults. The version I had if I remember correctly came with a short story of Saint-Exupery’s piloting days, which I just can’t be bothered to read…
Thank you for posting this story about the project! It’s awesome to find another fan of LEGOs and The Little Prince out there! 🙂
It’s one of those sets, that even without reading the book the model itself will draw interest. Good luck!