LEGO DREAMZzz 71461 Fantastical Tree House review

LEGO tree houses are not a revolutionary concept, but 71461 Fantastical Tree House offers something genuinely different and is a highlight of the new LEGO DREAMZzz theme.

From LEGO Ideas and Minecraft to Creator and Friends, tree houses have become a fairly common staple in the wider LEGO portfolio. Thankfully, 71461 Fantastical Tree House shakes things up by making use of LEGO DREAMZzz’ most prominent feature in a creative – but not outlandish – way.

As one of the biggest sets in the theme so far, you’d be wise not to miss out on 71461 Fantastical Tree House, which makes its mark as one of the most comprehensive builds in the first wave.

— LEGO DREAMZzz 71461 Fantastical Tree House set details —

Theme: LEGO DREAMZzz Set name: 71461 Fantastical Tree House Release date: August 1, 2023

Price: £94.99 / $109.99 / €104.99 Pieces: 1,257 Minifigures: 4

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— Where to buy LEGO DREAMZzz 71461 Fantastical Tree House —

71461 Fantastical Tree House launches on August 1, 2023 as one of the most expensive LEGO DREAMZzz sets, priced at £94.99 / $109.99 / €104.99. You should be able to find it at LEGO.com, in LEGO Stores and at all good third-party retailers.

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— LEGO DREAMZzz 71461 Fantastical Tree House build —

The tree house is the main build in 71461 Fantastical Tree House and it’s a massive model that, though sparse with leaves, is packed with details from top to bottom. The height of the tree house makes a statement on display and combined with the bright colours, it’s certainly one of the more eye-catching LEGO DREAMZzz entries.

The tree house isn’t likely to win any awards for safety – but in a world of dreams, that’s not something that the minifigures need to be concerned about. On the outside of the tree, branches hold everything from colourful rooms and birds to street signs for Snooze Street, Dream Drive and Lucid Lane. These signs offer a good idea of the personality that this set has in every corner and you’ll enjoy spotting these fun details throughout the build.

The tree house is light on functions, focusing on minifigure compatibility and interesting details instead. Indeed, the most interactivity comes in the three exterior sections for Mateo, Izzy and Mrs Castillo, which can each be rebuilt between party and defence modes. The rebuilding process takes some time, so you might find yourself sticking with one or the other in the long term – especially if you’re just popping this on display – and the rooms themselves aren’t too exciting on their own, but when attached to the tree, the vibrancy that they add to the build is astounding.

Inside the tree house, bedrooms for Mateo and Izzy as well as a kitchen for Mrs Castillo can be found. You can immediately tell which bedroom is for which character and the personality featured on the exterior of the tree house continues inside while offering plenty of options for play.

The defence mode for the tree house is included to combat the Nightmare King’s forces, which are attacking the base. These include a carnivorous plant placed at the bottom of the tree as well as a small cage monster, similar to the bigger build in 71455 Grimkeeper the Cage Monster. It’s nowhere near as big or as posable, but it’s just as functional and even has space for one of DREAMZzz’ small new figures inside.

— LEGO DREAMZzz 71461 Fantastical Tree House minifigures —

Four full minifigures are included in 71461 Fantastical Tree House and their quality matches that of other LEGO DREAMZzz models, with plenty of printing and dual-moulding used to best represent the characters. There’s also the living post box, which is just as much of a character in its own right.

A variety of new pieces are used in the minifigures, including two hairpieces, a sword, a hat, a scarf and Mrs. Castillo’s body. It’s a solid number of new bricks in one set, making for one of the most comprehensive part selections of the first wave of LEGO DREAMZzz.

The Night Hunter is one of the best minifigures in 71461 Fantastical Tree House, with the pieces being some of the most interesting and potentially versatile in the entire model. It only adds to the high-quality part selection and the overall standard of the minifigures.

Three of the new, smaller figures are featured too – a Dreamling, Z-Blob and Snivel the Grimspawn. These aren’t quite as memorable as the other characters but using so few pieces, they don’t add much to the price for what they bring to the play value.

— LEGO DREAMZzz 71461 Fantastical Tree House price —

71461 Fantastical Tree House costs £94.99 / $109.99 / €104.99 and is the second-most-expensive LEGO DREAMZzz model. Considering everything included, this set is fantastic value thanks largely to the massive tree house build.

It doesn’t feel like an extra minifigure or any more builds are necessary to make the price worth it as on its own, 71461 Fantastical Tree House is a great deal and many bonus stickers are included to personalise the set further, both based on LEGO DREAMZzz and standard minifigures. With everything combined, £94.99 / $109.99 / €104.99 is more than fair for 71461 Fantastical Tree House.

— LEGO DREAMZzz 71461 Fantastical Tree House pictures —

— LEGO DREAMZzz 71461 Fantastical Tree House pros and cons —

It’s surprising that when compared to a shark ship, monster truck and a spaceship school bus, a comparatively simple tree house still manages to impress and set itself apart from the rest of LEGO DREAMZzz.

For a more expansive and immersive LEGO DREAMZzz starter set, you should seriously consider 71461 Fantastical Tree House, which is one of the most personality-filled, creative and customisable models in the theme’s initial run of sets.

71461 Fantastical Tree House pros	71461 Fantastical Tree House cons
Excellent value	Relatively low on minifigures
Visually appealing with a host of bright and unusual colours	Rebuilding the rooms takes some time
Packed with details, inside and out

This set was provided for review by the LEGO Group.

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— Alternatives to LEGO DREAMZzz 71461 Fantastical Tree House —

LEGO Friends’ 41703 Friendship Tree House is a similarly colourful and creative LEGO tree house and should be a fitting alternative to 71461 Fantastical Tree House, even including a working swing.

Otherwise, the much more expensive 21318 Tree House is another good pick for those with a bigger budget. However, its build is more complicated, while retaining some customisation options with autumnal leaves included.

— LEGO DREAMZzz 71461 Fantastical Tree House FAQs —