LEGO Disney 43269 101 Dalmatians review

LEGO Disney 43269 101 Dalmatians offers the chance to customise your very own Dalmatian puppy, but is it a keeper?

LEGO Disney has been steadily ramping up its range of buildable characters, from 43247 Young Simba the Lion King to 43249 Stitch. Now, the latest addition to the line-up is 43269 101 Dalmatians, offering a customisable brick-built puppy that can also be posed in different ways. While it’s a flexible build, is it one we can recommend in any form?

43269 101 Dalmatians Puppy

Release: June 1, 2025

Retiring: TBC

Price: £129.99 / $149.99 / €139.99

Pieces: 1,722

Minifigures: 0

Although 43269 101 Dalmatians is self-described by the LEGO Group as an adult set, the build itself is simple enough. It’s therefore an excellent entry-level build for builders of any age, although the high level of detail that goes into the display-focused set is certainly at a level we’d expect from an 18+ set. That includes a certain anatomically correct element hidden underneath the torso, which feels like an overdone joke at this point.

The cutesy cartoon style of the on-screen Dalmatian puppies has been expertly rendered, capitalising on the knack that LEGO Disney has already established in translating its animated characters into LEGO sets. Rather than attempting any sense of realism, the smooth LEGO curves and strategic use of printed elements perfectly capture the cartoon style.

The build itself takes its time, focusing on one limb at a time. This not only keeps stability throughout the build process, but it also makes it pretty easy to share with a fellow builder. You can each focus on different limbs, then click them all together at the end.

Even if you don’t do that, there are slight differences between each of the legs, for example, that keep the build process engaging throughout, once again earning it its 18+ ranking.

Once built, the final effect is undoubtedly impressive. While the limbs aren’t posable (apart from the tail), you can switch the back and front legs around to swap between the ‘play’ and sitting poses. The head can also turn, cocking to one side in a way that any puppy owner will recognise, although a bit more articulation through the ears and maybe the jaw would have been good.

The eyes in particular are a slam dunk, with black sausages used to recreate the eyebrows for the ideal animated look. They stand out from the rest of the face just as they would on screen and take the set from simple plastic to a cartoon puppy come to life.

There are also virtually endless customisation options. 101 Dalmatians obviously features the titular 101 Dalmatian puppies, and you could have a fair go at recreating them all with the extra sports included in the set. The named puppies – Patch, Penny, Rolly, Pepper, Lucky or Freckles – come with their tag for the collar, which you can pretty easily swap between red and blue, depending on the pup.

Some of the other customisation options are not quite as seamless, however. It would have been helpful to include just a few more elements so that you could make the different coloured ears in full, to then easily click them on and off to swap between puppies.

As it stands, you need to take off an ear, take it apart to free up some crucial elements, then rebuild it to swap between white and black ears. Seeing as it’s only a handful of parts that you need, it doesn’t feel like too much of an ask for a three-figure set and would certainly have leant into the customisation element of 43269 101 Dalmatians that much more.

Plus, there’s no clear direction about what each named puppy looks like, so you’ll need to improvise or do some research yourself if you want your builds to be movie-accurate.

Even with that said, there is still a lot you can do without needing to fully rebuild the LEGO Disney set. It’s a fun nod to all the different puppy personalities that fans of the movie will remember. All in all, the engaging build and impressively cute result make 43269 101 Dalmatians a tempting purchase for fans of the classic film – but a little more depth in the posability and customisation options would have helped to make it feel fully worth the price tag.

Our honest opinion: An adorable recreation of every dog lover’s favourite Disney movie, 43269 101 Dalmatians would be easier to wholeheartedly recommend with more posing and customisation options.

This LEGO set was provided by the LEGO Group for review purposes.

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