If you’re of a certain vintage – like me – chances are your jaw hit the floor the first time you witnessed Pixar’s Luxo Jr. That cheeky little lamp! All boundless energy, until – spoiler – over-exuberant bounding resulted in a tragic encounter with a ball, which left ball and lamp alike deflated. A sad cinematic moment indeed. Fortunately, you won’t be deflated by Lego’s take on this animated tale. And that’s because the Lego Ideas Disney Pixar Luxo Jr. set looks fantastic.
It clocks in at 613 pieces. Two of them are sizeable lampshade components, and I’m intrigued to see what Lego does with them in future. (It’s vanishingly rare for new bespoke Lego parts to be created without reuse in mind.) Otherwise, it mainly has you use standard Lego parts in ingenious fashion to assemble a fully articulated tribute to the desk-dwelling Hollywood star/office accessory. Once built, the wee critter stands 29cm tall and will look perfect bounding about your own desk – or with its lightbulb ‘face’ looking directly at you, staring directly into your very soul.
Light fantastic!
From the tilt of its head to its clumpy base, the set oozes the original animated lamp’s charm and personality. The yellow ‘bulb’ is of course not real, but should catch enough light to give the impression of illumination. However, I’m keener to see how well Luxo Jr. interacts with the set’s other build.
Because Lego aren’t monsters, they’ve equipped Lego Pixar Luxo Jr. with a brick-built ball. So you can have Luxo Jr. gaze at it longingly or perch atop it, ready for squishage. Of course, this is Lego, so the ball won’t actually deflate. But Lego teases that it opens to reveal “hidden easter eggs inspired by popular Disney and Pixar movies including Up, The Incredibles, Ratatouille, Monsters, Inc., Toy Story and Finding Nemo”. Quite what that means, I’ve no idea. Maybe a Lego balloon, a Lego cowboy hat, a Lego rat, and three brick-built takes on thundering disappointment regarding each film’s dismal sequel?
Anyway, I’m keen to find out. After all, those early days of Pixar were magic, which is much of why I want this set. It’s a reminder of bold ideas and groundbreaking animation. And it just looks cool. Plus, it’s a golden opportunity to construct a brick-built Academy Award for Best Animated Short Film, considering the original Luxo Jr. was denied the real thing.
Lego Ideas Disney Pixar Luxo Jr. is released 1 June 2025, priced $69.99/£59.99.
