Lego City is a theme under which Lego building sets are released based on city life, with the models depicting city and emergency services (such as police and fire), airport, train, construction, and civilian services. It evolved from Legoland Town as one of the three original themes that Lego produced upon its launch of the Lego minifigure in 1978 along with Castle and Space, with each of the three themes representing the 'Past' (Castle), 'Present' (Town) and 'Future' (Space). The Town brand was briefly replaced with Lego World City in 2003 and 2004 before it was rebranded as Lego City in 2005.
Overview
The Lego City theme traces its origins to Lego Town, a theme introduced with the first minifigures in 1978, when a completely new range of buildings and vehicles were introduced for the European markets, although Lego sets with city buildings and vehicles had been commonplace since the late 1960s.
Prior to 1978, Legoland-branded sets were focused mainly around buildings and vehicles which were intended to function more as static models. In 1975, a precursor to the minifigure was introduced, in the same scale but without moving parts. These "stiffs" (as they are nicknamed by Lego enthusiasts) were still unable to ride the vehicles. This was changed with the new minifigures – in 1978 in Europe and 1979 in North America the first vehicles that were minifigure compatible were also released, although some smaller sets still combined the minifigure with model vehicles. In 1980, the Trains theme was completely revamped to complement the Town sets. By 1983, the remaining vehicle based sets that were not minifigure compatible had been discontinued.
All sets were originally released under the "LEGOLAND" label until it was discontinued and replaced with "Lego System" branding in 1991. Eventually, different sub-themes under the "Town" brand were used to tie together related sets, such as police, coast guard, emergency services, airport, road rescue, trains, fire, and harbor. In 1999 Lego Town was replaced by City which was known as Lego City Center in The United States. The theme was discontinued in 2002, and replaced by Lego World City in 2003. During the Christmas season, a City-themed advent calendar set is sold through the online Lego Shop and at retailers.
On 22 June 2019, Lego City Adventures aired on Nickelodeon during a Saturday morning lineup along with SpongeBob SquarePants. From 2020 on, the annual City Advent Calendars would be based on the show specifically, rather than Lego City in general.
In June 2020, following the murder of George Floyd by police, Lego made an announcement that they would temporarily stop marketing police-related Lego City sets. Due to misinformation claiming that they removed these sets from being sold that led to backlash, Lego issued a follow-up statement emphasizing that the sets were still for sale and that digital advertising for the sets would just be temporarily halted.
In January 2021, Lego released a new plate-based road system for the City theme that differed from its predecessor, which used baseplates whose height equaled one-half of plate. However, this system was criticized by some members of the Lego community due to its alleged incompatibility with the former baseplates, which had been gradually reduced in usage and limited to sets such as Lego Modular Buildings, and are less cost-effective.
Sub-themes
According to BrickLink, The Lego Group has released 1,629 playsets and promotional packs of the Lego City theme.
Outside of Lego City's generic city and town life based sets that are released regularly (with Fire and Police being the two most prolific – both of which have been the flagship sets throughout the history of the theme), City has had various subthemes, many of which are recurring. Under the Lego Town theme, the subthemes released during the 1990s and early 2000s also had individualized branding and labeling. In 2003 and 2004, the only town-based sets were released under the "World City" label. Since the launch of City in 2005, they are just labeled as City sets but often have multiple sets based around a single concept released at the same time during Lego's release schedule.
Many of these subthemes would diverge notably from the urban city life depicted in general sets, including such themes as leisure resorts, rural farming and space port rocket launching.
In September 2021, Matthew Ashton, The Lego Group's Vice President of Design announced the City alongside Friends, Creator, Classic, Technic, Speed Champions, Monkie Kid, Ninjago, Collectible Minifigures and DOTS themes would continue until at least 2023.
From 1991 to 2002, sub-themes included Arctic, Boats, City Center, Classic, Coastguard, Construction, Drivers, Extreme Team, Fire, Flight, Football, Launch Command, Leisure, Maintenance, Medical, Outback, Paradisa, Police, Race, Racing, Res-Q, Shell, and Vehicles.
From 2005 to the present, sub-themes have included Airport, Arctic, Cargo, Coast Guard, Construction, Deep Sea Explorers, Farm, Fire, General, Harbour, Jungle, Medical, Mining, Police, Seasonal, Space, Town, Trains, Traffic, Volcano Explorers, and Wildlife Rescue.
Stuntz is a sub-theme and was launched on 1 October 2021. Total of 10 sets being released and featured fly-wheel powered bike functionality. Also included launch ramps, flywheel stunt bikes, obstacles, building Lego flames and dare-devil type challenges.
Octan
Octan is a fictional oil company that has appeared in multiple Lego sets since 1992. Prior to this, logos of the real-world oil companies were used. Esso was used up until 1966, when it was replaced by Shell in all markets except the United States, where Exxon was used instead. The Shell logo continued to be used on promotional sets after that time. In 2014, Lego announced it would not renew its marketing agreement with Shell, under pressure from the environmental group Greenpeace.
Octan first appeared in the 1992 sets "6397 Gas N' Wash Express" and "6594 Gas Transit". Since the release of the Octan name, Lego has not signed any further deals with Shell or other gas corporations, as Octan was made the primary vehicle fluid company.
Octan (or oktan) is the Danish word for octane, a component of gasoline.
Octan has appeared in a number of Lego video games. Lego Island for example features an Octan gas station and the company sponsors the race track.
In The Lego Movie, Octan is the base company of the main antagonist Lord Business (voiced by Will Ferrell). His company is the producer of almost all of the commodities in his dominion.
In a number of Town and City sets it is shown that Octan has a racing team that competes in at least Formula One, GT racing and rallying.
Video games
A video game developed by TT Fusion called Lego City Undercover was released for the Wii U on 18 March 2013; a port of the game was released 4 April 2017, on Microsoft Windows, Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One. A prequel to the game called Lego City Undercover: The Chase Begins was also released for the Nintendo 3DS on 21 April 2013. Lego City content, based on Lego City Undercover, was added to the toys-to-life video game Lego Dimensions on 9 May 2017, via a "fun pack" containing a Chase McCain minifigure and a constructible Police Helicopter.
A mobile video game, Lego City My City, was released in 2014. A sequel, Lego City My City 2, was released in 2016.
Television series
In 2019, Nickelodeon premiered a new series in June of that year, based on the Lego City theme. The series, titled Lego City Adventures features the newly introduced named characters from the brand as they do their daily jobs in the fictional metropolis.
No Limits
LEGO City No Limits is a weekly shorts series released by Lego on YouTube based on Lego City and their 'No Limits' theming. It was first released on August 23, 2023. This series focused on a small friend group of extreme-stunt vloggers pushing their limits in the city. There are four seasons, but a fifth season is planned. The producer is Blue Zoo. The current antagonists are NoFace and Collector. The main characters are the No Limits Crew and the Brickles.
Characters
- Just Jason: A teenage stunt-using boy who thinks you can "stunt" your way out of any situation.
- Bytz: A gamer who is into Japanese pop-culture and manga, he is Just Jason's friend since a day where Bytz delivers pizza to Jason. He is also one-eighth pirate and hates pirate imitations.
- Mech.Max: A female engineer with a lot of inventions and invention skill. She has a country accent and uses various old-fashioned sayings and terms, meaning she might've grew up on a farm or something.
- Wanda About: She is an explorer and nature-lover who explores literally everywhere, from the black abysses of space to the briny cursed depths of the seven seas.
- Drea Brickles: Jason's goth sister. Her normal dreams are spiders piling up on her in a dark alley located in a noir world, and her nightmares are plushies.
- Ted Brickles: A construction builder and wimp. He has a fragile emotional connection to his son that if broken makes him crash out.
- Jenny Brickles: Just Jason's mother. She is an astronaut who doesn't know "cop stuff".
- Lina Brickles: Jason's grandmother. She is a cop.
- NoFace/Ellie: A maniacal female criminal; she is named NoFace but is only ever really seen as a pink and violet face. She claims to be the No Limits Crew's biggest fan.
- The Collector: A man who snatches cars with tactical balloons.
- Penguin and Mechanic: Nice helpers in the city
Today In Lego City
Today In Lego City is a pilot series to it. It focuses on Penguin and Mechanic. Its episodes are:
- Penguin Overpacks
- Sweet Competition
- Solar Slushy
- Reduce, Reuse, Retrieve Mechanic’s Keys
- Rock Paper Slushy
- Cool Car Makeover
Seasons, episodes, and plot
The story follows the adventures of Mech.Max, Jason "Just Jason" Brickles, Wanda About and Bytz in Lego City.
Bytz faces the truth of what NoFace really is, and have their final standoff after millions of adventures.
Just Jason learns if you want it, you take it; and tries to fight it as the other No Limits crew members do awesome stuff.
Just Jason reunites with his family, but learns that they have to run from the cops, defeat all kinds of wacky villains, and get chased by his hater Slippy The Penguin.
Stunts, video games, and racing, even DREAMING, get more intense as Jason, Max, Drea, and DanTDM get into all kinds of trouble.
Theme park attractions
In 2002, a Lego City themed land was introduced to Legoland Deutschland Resort, featuring Airport, Harbour Cruise, Hyundai Legoland Driving School, Hyundai Legoland Junior Driving School, Lego Factory, Legoland Express, Power Builder and Shipyard Playground.
In 2011, a Lego City themed land was introduced to Legoland Florida, featuring Ford Driving School, Ford Jr. Driving School, Flying School, Boating School and Rescue Academy.
In 2012, a Lego City themed land was introduced to Legoland Malaysia Resort. The City area is designed as a miniature town with attractions and rides controlled by children. The area featuring Boating School, Driving School, Junior Driving School, Lego City Airport, Legoland Express, Rescue Academy and The Shipyard.
In 2017, a Lego City themed land was introduced to Legoland Japan Resort. Lego City is on the park's north side, with fun activities for the children and family to do together, like the Junior Driving School where children learn to drive an electric car and receive a driver's license at the end of the ride. Coast Guard HQ allows the driver to take the wheel in a gentle and relaxing boat ride. Besides showing children how to drive, the Rescue Academy offers a fun experience where teamwork is needed to put out fires. The resort also has a Lego cinema where everyone is welcome to watch Lego movies. Lego City has various places to visit such as the Studio Store, Heartlake Shop, and City Shop, each shop with a different theme. There are also three places to buy snacks or lunch, Pit Stop Juice ‘n’ Drive, Brick House Burgers and Marina Snack Shack.
In 2021, a Lego City themed land was introduced to Legoland New York a land that is made to look like a city and based on the Lego City toy theme. The area featuring Coast Guard Academy, Driving School, Fire Academy and Junior Driving School.