Five ways previous big bang themes have inspired LEGO DREAMZzz

LEGO DREAMZzz is shaping up to be a huge concept, but it isn’t the first of its kind – we can see inspirations from many other of the LEGO Group’s big bang themes.

With LEGO, a big bang theme is more than just an original concept that might inspire a few sets for a couple of years. You might see many types of media based on the theme, from television shows to games to books, or even mobile games.

LEGO DREAMZzz has been announced at a time when many major IPs are seemingly dominating the market, from the continual interest in Star Wars to Marvel and of course Lord of the Rings, as we saw after the 10316 The Lord of the Rings: Rivendell release.

Bringing out a new theme can potentially be a risky move, but it seems that with LEGO DREAMZzz the sets themselves have taken all of the successful parts of other big bang themes, particularly when looking at their designs. Take a look below to see what concepts we think help inspired the new sets from DREAMZzz.

5 – The monsters from LEGO Hidden Side

LEGO Hidden Side was a ghost-hunting theme announced in 2019, and the sets that came with it could be linked to an app to mix in augmented reality. Many fans didn’t enjoy the digital crossover, and even a series on YouTube wasn’t enough to stop the theme from getting discontinued.

However, one thing that was distinctive about the theme was the monsters. With 70436 Phantom Fire Truck 3000, the ghost Blaze M. Barr had some pretty oddly shaped limbs, similar to the imposing nature of 71455 Grimkeeper the Cage Monster. The off-green spikes of the Grimkeeper’s claws are reminiscent of the ones we saw from set 70425 Newbury Haunted High School, where the building itself was the monster.

4 – The unique vehicles from LEGO NEXO KNIGHTS

The LEGO NEXO KNIGHTS theme was also introduced with a whole host of other media alongside the sets, and aimed to blend the worlds of the futuristic and the medieval.

The vehicles from the theme came in many different forms, from the mobile stone keep trailer in 70352 Jestro’s Headquarters to the almost comically shaped Lava Smasher in 70313 Moltor’s Lava Smasher. It was rare to see any kind of boring looking vehicle, and that idea seems to have carried over to LEGO DREAMZzz with 71456 Mrs. Castillo’s Turtle Van and 71458 Crocodile Car.

3 – The minifigures from LEGO Vidiyo

LEGO Vidiyo was introduced by the LEGO Group in 2021, and was discontinued before even a full year from release. The idea behind it was to allow children to make clips using an app and virtual reality, but ultimately it didn’t take off.

Undeniably though, one thing that LEGO Vidiyo seemed to get completely right was the minifigures. The colours, uniqueness, and variety was unmatched, and ranged from bunny guitarists, vampire bassists, punk pirates and party llamas. There was something for everyone really, and they leaned heavily into bright colours and incredibly detailed costumes. LEGO DREAMZzz seems to be doing the same, with Izzie’s brightly coloured hair in 71459 Stable of Dream Creatures being a particular stand-out.

2 – The winged creatures from LEGO NINJAGO

The LEGO Group has already given DREAMZzz a pretty solid link to NINJAGO, with the teaser trailers featuring many of the familiar characters. This is maybe understandable, given that it’s one of the most popular and long-lasting LEGO original themes that we have.

While LEGO DREAMZzz already has a few machines for getting about, it seems that the allure of getting about on a flying creature is too great to resist. LEGO NINJAGO is famous for its dragons, and while LEGO DREAMZzz doesn’t have one exactly, there’s still 71457 Pegasus Flying Horse there as one way of flying around. A lot of the nightmare creatures seem to have wings, including 71469 Nightmare Shark Ship.

1 – The colours from LEGO Elves

LEGO Elves, which ran from 2015 to 2019, was all about fantasy. It introduced a bright, colourful fantasy world that LEGO DREAMZzz seems to have taken a lot of inspiration from.

41185 Magic Rescue from the Goblin Village and 40657 Dream Village already seem to have quite a few direct similarities, with both of them having three distinct village buildings in pink, purple and green. 71461 Fantastical Tree House seems in many ways an improvement on the 41075 The Elves’ Treetop Hideaway, and mixes things up colourwise by using the blue from the water as leaves instead. 

While many aspects like the colours and the settings may seem familiar, LEGO DREAMZzz is undoubtedly bringing something new to the table. We’re hoping to find out more about the world of DREAMZzz once the series is released on May 15.

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