To improve the quality of life and happiness on Toy People Island, I, "CrispyFluteRoll," one of the island residents, have decided to propose a new island ordinance!
Isabelle: "You'd like to discuss an ordinance for Toy People Island, is that right? ...Since processing an ordinance incurs various fees, a contribution of 20,000 Bells will be required."
Does the above scenario sound familiar to all of you? If you want to get anything done on your island, you can't do it without Bells! I'm sure many of you toy fans have spent time working hard and gathering materials on a deserted island. Today, we at the Toy People editorial team are going to play with the "Animal Crossing (あつまれ どうぶつの森)" themed sets, a collaboration between the Danish toy company LEGO and Japan's Nintendo, officially launching on March 1, 2024. And this time, we're going to play with all five sets (77046–77050) at once! So let's get started.
▼ A major selling point of these Animal Crossing sets is the adorable minifigures, whose head sculpts faithfully recreate the game's designs! I just can't wait until the end to introduce them, so let's take a look right now! By collecting all five sets, you can get a total of 8 characters, including the perpetually cute "Isabelle" pictured below, the shady merchant who's always after your money Tom Nook, and the turtle/kappa "Kapp'n," who can take players to another island once a day.
▼ Next up are the various villagers you'll meet in the game! Perhaps a few of them are your good neighbors! From left to right in the picture below are the deer "Fauna," the squirrel "Marshal," the horse "Julian," the rabbit "Bunnie," and the blue cat "Rosie."
▼ After the exquisitely cute minifigures, another exciting aspect is the printed parts that incorporate Animal Crossing elements! I've taken out all the "Animal Crossing themed printed pieces" from the five sets for you all to have a sneak peek. From the red leaf Nook's Cranny logo, the drop-off box, Bell bags, and Bells, to the NookPhone displaying a list, it's all incredibly immersive! Also, there are no stickers in these sets; all the graphics are printed.
▼ Next, let's look at all the sets together. It's a rare opportunity, so of course, we have to compare them all! First, besides the common yellow color scheme and the abundance of leaf patterns, the top right corner of each box features the main character of that set.
▼ The side features a photo-style depiction of play scenarios with the set, just like snapshots taken in the game. It's very cute.
▼ The top shows a 1:1 scale comparison of the character minifigures.
▼ Now for the instruction manuals. Only 77050 has two booklets; the others have one each.
▼ When you open them up, you'll first see a close-up of each set's characters and the assembly instructions. They look so cute all lined up together.
▼ Let's start building! Building five sets at once is just so much fun.
● 77046 Julian's Birthday Party
Suggested Retail Price: NT$549, Total Parts: 170
First up is 77046, which establishes that Julian is having a birthday party with cute gift boxes, a large round table laden with cake and drinks, and colorful hanging decorations. One of the gifts can even be opened to reveal Bells, a microphone, and a star.
▼ This new part, which looks a bit like chocolate lava, not only creates a great visual effect but also has small holes for inserting decorations.
▼ The entirely pink-toned cherry blossom tree is just too cute! The trees in this Animal Crossing series all have this charming, fairy-tale style that recreates the game's aesthetic, and the new root piece is especially exciting.
▼ The scenes all have open connection points for expansion.
● 77047 Bunnie's Outdoor Activities
Suggested Retail Price: NT$749, Total Parts: 164
Next is the set with the fewest parts in this wave: Bunnie's Outdoor Activities. The tent, simply constructed with two yellow flat panels, is very eye-catching. And this set not only recreates the game's high ground and waterfall terrain but also includes a ladder!
▼ What's super cool here are the printed parts for the ground crack and fossil. The cherry tree on the side is also very cute!
▼ You can open up every tree; you might find a surprise inside!
▼ Move the rock on the high ground, and you'll find Bells hidden inside! The Animal Crossing sets are filled with many such cute designs.
▼ Roasting marshmallows by the campfire, eating, and then running back to the tent to sleep—wow! It's practically heaven.
▼ In the corner, there's a wooden crate for storing various tools, which totally brings back memories of playing the game and just dropping things on the ground because of insufficient inventory space (laughs).
▼ This set also has a neat little feature. If Bunnie wants to cross the river, she can use this mechanism to recreate the vaulting pole scene from the game.
● 77048 Kapp'n's Island Boat Tour
Suggested Retail Price: NT$1,099, Total Parts: 233
Next is the only seaside scene set, combining Kapp'n's small boat with beach terrain. You can see the sand-colored baseplates, waves crashing on the shore, and an interestingly shaped coconut tree. The construction of Kapp'n's boat is also quite nice!
▼ This must be Kapp'n's water bottle!
▼ Look closely, and you can even find an album by the superstar K.K. Slider on the boat.
▼ Although it uses few parts, the design is by no means sloppy! It would have been absolutely perfect if the red flag had a printed pattern. It's worth mentioning that the red piece on Kapp'n's head is a pair of sunglasses.
▼ Let's look at the details in the scene! There's even a hidden DIY recipe! And the more I look at the coconut tree, the more it resembles Goku's hair (in his base form). I can't unsee it now.
▼ The way the coconuts are attached to the tree in this set is very interesting. I didn't know these two parts could connect like that!
▼ The other character in this set is the always-cool Marshal.
▼ The high ground where bamboo grows also has a mechanism to pry open a rock and find Bells.
● 77049 Isabelle's House Visit
Suggested Retail Price: NT$1,399, Total Parts: 389
Next, we finally get to a set with a building! Let me just say, if I could only buy one set from this wave, this would be my top choice. Besides getting a minifigure of Animal Crossing's mascot, Isabelle, this set also includes a very cute house, a DIY workbench, a flying present tied to a balloon, an apple tree... and other classic elements from the game.
▼ Both the minifigure-scale DIY workbench and the Isabelle minifigure, who can wear a small flower on her head, are just fantastic!
▼ This set also includes the ground crack and fossil printed pieces.
▼ Watering flowers~ Isabelle is just too cute (endless praise)!
▼ The construction of the sloped roof and facade, and the use of a cloud piece as smoke from the chimney, are all very interesting designs.
▼ A look at the door and window frame pieces in this set! The new arched door frame is absolutely beautiful! I love it!
▼ The window frames are interchangeable, and the curved lines are really nice. The building technique is also worth studying.
▼ Take a look inside Fauna's house and see if you recognize any familiar items!
▼ The end of the instruction manual also provides suggestions for arranging the house's interior, fully embodying the game's design where players can freely decide how to place furniture. You can do it in LEGO too!
● 77050 Nook's Cranny & Rosie's House
Suggested Retail Price: NT$2,799, Total Parts: 535
Finally, we have the largest set of this wave, with over 500 pieces: Nook's Cranny & Rosie's House! Let's start with the place we have a love-hate relationship with (?): Nook's Cranny. The striking royal blue roof, orange-yellow awning, bulletin board, drop-off box, and the iconic red leaf sign have all been recreated.
▼ These four printed pieces alone feel incredibly sincere. The Bell bag is especially awesome!
▼ The windows, made with transparent parts, allow you to see what products are inside the store from the outside. You can also freely swap them out.
▼ A look at the store's interior. I can't wait to expand it myself.
▼ Look closely, and you can see fish bait, flower seeds, and a DIY recipe in the cabinet—all printed pieces!
After shopping at the store, let's visit Rosie's house! Not only is the house a lovely color, but outside there's an orange tree, a lounge chair with a parasol, and an afternoon tea set. I think Rosie is the kind of rich cat who likes to escape to deserted islands for some peace and quiet!
▼ The construction of the roof and chimney is basically the same as Fauna's house, but Rosie's house has a few more curves.
▼ Let's take a look at the furnishings in Rosie's house. The overall pink and lavender color scheme is very girly! The whole house feels fragrant. Just like with Fauna's house earlier, LEGO encourages you to rearrange the furniture yourself and enjoy a similar kind of fun as in the game.
▼ Finally, let's have a group photo!
LEGO 77046–77050 "Animal Crossing" Five Set Review Summary:
If you don't view this Animal Crossing LEGO series as a single "highly complete and detailed model," then I would personally give it a near-perfect score! Why this prerequisite? Because long before LEGO officially announced the Animal Crossing sets, many LEGO fans had already created highly complete MOCs, including this Nook's Cranny that I previously featured. After the official LEGO Animal Crossing sets were revealed, some voices expressed that they didn't quite match their expectations.
But don't misunderstand me and think these sets aren't detailed. It's just that the official design direction differs from that of fan creations. I believe that within the sub-500 piece count, this wave of Animal Crossing LEGO is definitely a masterpiece filled with details and clever ideas. Besides making you want to pick up your Switch and relive your time on the island with the exquisite printed bricks, the newly molded character minifigures, which recreate the game's look as much as possible, are an absolutely fantastic element. Add to that the rich variety of printed parts, new pieces including the tree roots, and the freely reconfigurable house interiors and island terrain—it's just so much fun! I'm already looking forward to future releases.
LEGO 77046 Julian's Birthday Party $549
LEGO 77047 Bunnie's Outdoor Activities $749
LEGO 77048 Kapp'n's Island Boat Tour $1,099
LEGO 77049 Isabelle's House Visit $1,399
LEGO 77050 Nook's Cranny & Rosie's House $2,799
The five sets above are scheduled to be officially released on March 1, 2024. From March 1 to 21, purchase any LEGO Animal Crossing series set at a LEGO Certified Store to receive a "LEGO® Animal Crossing™" sticker sheet. Spend over $2,000 on the series to receive a "LEGO 30662 Maple's Pumpkin Patch."
