The LEGO Group’s first ever Chinese inspired theme sees the legend of the Monkey King from the classic Journey to the West novel reimagined in LEGO sets and minifigures. Introducing LEGO Monkie Kid! (Please note this theme was also referred to as Monkey Kid in an earlier design stage). Details below.
Inspired by the 500-year-old story of the Monkey King, LEGO Monkie Kid is the LEGO Group’s take on a new, untold chapter of the legendary tale. Featuring eight exciting sets, an animated mini-movie and TV series, LEGO Monkie Kid is the first ever LEGO theme to be inspired by a Chinese legend and is rooted firmly in the country’s culture and values. The theme’s sets are packed with fun, excitement and an epic story just waiting to unfold…
The tale begins when an ordinary boy, Monkie Kid, finds Monkey King’s legendary staff and he becomes the chosen one. Together with his brave and loyal friends, Monkie Kid begins his quest to stop the Demon Bull King and his army of Bull Clones from taking over the city.
Paying tribute to stories known and admired by so many children and parents in China and Asia, this latest LEGO play theme brings new life to the iconic Monkey King fable and provides a common ground for children, parents and grandparents to build and play together.
“I am super excited about the launch of LEGO Monkie Kid. This fantastic new play theme is deeply inspired by Chinese culture and built on an esteemed story that is treasured by all generations. We know kids will be delighted by the world of LEGO Monkie Kid, and I can’t wait to see how they immerse themselves in building, role playing and creating new stories through this theme. This is a very exciting innovation for the LEGO brand and one that demonstrates our commitment to building a strong future in China,” says Julia Goldin, Chief Marketing Officer at the LEGO Group.
With a modern Chinese twist, LEGO Monkie Kid celebrates bravery and friendship and lets children engage in great building experiences whilst helping them to develop their imagination and creativity. Paul Huang, General Manager of LEGO China, says: “The launch of Monkie Kid is another important milestone in our journey to provide the creative LEGO play experience to many more Chinese children. Deeply rooted in Chinese culture, the new theme line is created with inspiration from China, for China, and at the same time empowers children around the world to be brave, resilient, and optimistic through creative play with LEGO bricks.”
Children can look forward to eight action-packed sets with colorful characters, impressive vehicles with exciting new and hidden features – plus a blue cat with an orange mohawk! The sets are a result of two years of close collaboration with children and parents in China to ensure they are authentic to local culture. Never before has the LEGO Group launched a theme inspired by one culture and with so much attention to local details, values and traits.
“I have been touched and inspired by China’s rich history and culture, the passion and pride of the people and the incredible creativity of China. It has been an honor and privilege to be able to immerse myself in China’s culture of storytelling, in particular – Journey to the West and the Monkey King. The epic stories and incredible characters have been a huge inspiration to the LEGO design team and me. It is with deepest respect for Chinese culture and the 500-year-old legend that we have created the next chapter in the story of the Monkey King – The Monkie Kid,” says Simon Lucas, Senior Design Director at the LEGO Group.
The three key LEGO designers who worked on the LEGO Monkie Kid theme are Senior Design Manager Dennis Fong, Senior Design Director Simon Lucas, and Senior Designer Xiaodong Wen. Dennis drives and supports product development, from research and insights to management of model assortment, with a team of LEGO Model Designers and across functions to deliver China specific LEGO play themes such as LEGO Monkie Kid.
Simon has been overseeing the creative direction and design development of multiple LEGO homegrown themes such as LEGO Hero Factory, LEGO Castle and LEGO Ninjago. As Executive Producer on The LEGO Ninjago Movie, Simon also collaborated with film makers to bring LEGO Ninjago to the big screen. Over the past two years, Simon has collaborated with LEGO designers and travelled all across China to learn from children and parents how to create a brand-new LEGO theme that is rooted in Chinese culture.
Xiaodong joined the LEGO Group in 2012 as the first designer from mainland China in Beijing. He later moved to the Shanghai Hub before relocating to Billund in 2016. Since 2018, Xiaodong has been heavily involved in designing the entire Monkie Kid play theme universe – from initial concept- and theme development, new element design and character design to co-producing the animated TV series – and he has been essential in making LEGO Monkie Kid truly authentic to China.
LEGO Monkie Kid will launch worldwide on May 16th at the Online LEGO Shop, in LEGO brand retail stores, LEGO certified stores, LEGOLAND Parks and LEGOLAND Discovery Centers. The eight new LEGO Monkie Kid sets are as follows:
#80006 LEGO Monkie Kid White Dragon Horse Bike – 259 pieces, RRP: CNY 299.00 / EUR 29.99 / USD 34.99 – BUY HERE
#80007 LEGO Monkie Kid Iron Bull Tank – 430 pieces, RRP: CNY 449.00 / EUR 44.99 / USD 49.99 – BUY HERE
#80008 LEGO Monkie Kid’s Cloud Jet – 529 pieces, RRP: CNY 499.00 / EUR 49.99 / USD 59.99 – BUY HERE
#80009 LEGO Monkie Kid Pigsy’s Food Truck – 832 pieces, RRP: CNY 599.00 / EUR 59.99 / USD 69.99 – BUY HERE
#80010 LEGO Monkie Kid Demon Bull King – 1,051 pieces, RRP: CNY 799.00 / EUR 79.99 / USD 89.99 – BUY HERE
#80011 LEGO Monkie Kid Red Son’s Inferno Truck – 1,111 pieces, RRP: CNY 999.00 / EUR 99.99 / USD 119.99 – BUY HERE
#80012 LEGO Monkie Kid Monkey King Warrior Mech – 1,629 pieces, RRP: CNY 1,299.00 / EUR 129.00 / USD 149.99 – BUY HERE
#80013 LEGO Monkie Kid’s Team Secret HQ – 1,959 pieces, RRP: CNY 1,599.00 / EUR 169.99 / USD 169.99 – BUY HERE
What do you think? How do you like the LEGO Monkie Kid theme so far? Are you planning to get any of the sets and watch the TV show? Feel free to share your thoughts and discuss in the comment section below!
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This theme looks awesome and I can’t wait to get these sets. In fact it expands my Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle collection. I think it would go great with this theme. The foot teams up with the iron bulls. The turtles team up with monkie kid and friends. Yeah, that’s going to happen. 😁🐒🐢.
I’d have figured Usagi Yojimbo would fit in there, somehow… I guess he’s not produced as an official minifig, though…
Wow! This is so cool! But isn’t it too similar to ninjago?
Well, sort of… It’s been rumored that this theme originally would be produced only for the Chinese market. (After the backfire ensued when Western fans would get angry of being left out on Chinese sets.)
Ninjago, on the other hand, would apparently get reimagined once again, this time as some medieval high fantasy / Warhammer concept…
(And for my own part, I’m mostly interested in the hairpieces, at the moment…)
I’m for the hairstyles too. They made some really great minifigs for this theme. The Chinese new year set also has some great torsos and hairpieces.
Yeah, but for natural reasons, the Chinese sets tend to carry a lot of all-black hairpieces. I liked the red hair of the Red Sun. (That seems to be his name.)
The badguy’s name is The Red Son, and I like his hair too.
I saw leaked pictures earlier, but I didn’t realize the mechs were so enormous! And the HQ is much bigger than I thought too.
I want the ice cream van so bad! 😀
Oh, man, I thought my Lego budget is finally under control. Then comes this..
Yeah I know what you mean Undercover afol. These sets are quite expensive though. Oh, I wish usagi Yojimbo was a mini figure for Lego Hakan. I’ve read almost all of the graphic novels. So, what set would be the first set everybody wants to get from this theme?
I love everything about this theme! So cool! The Monkie Kid is going to be my new avatar! 😀
I’m very intrigued by that ship. The press release says these will be avilable tomorrow? But I don’t see them listed as coming soon.
Try now. They are listed now.
I ordered pigsy’s food truck, iron bull tank and white dragon horse bike sets. It’s all I can afford right now. I think this way I can get most of the main characters in this theme.
By the way, that 2D yellow head style makes me think of the old European ‘Jim Spaceborn’ comic albums. I guess that style is pretty rare in Lego animation?
I’m so jazzed! Such imaginative sets! And I love the minifigs and the animation!
I like the animation style. It’s fresh and cool. I think I will wait a little with the sets, but I definitely want to get the Monkey Kid and some of the other characters. I love everything with an Asian twist.
Great series! I can only get a couple of sets this time, but I would love to get them all. It’s nice to see something fresh and imaginative.