Lego Monkie Kid (Chinese: 悟空小侠) is a Lego theme inspired by the Monkey King and Journey to the West. It is licensed from The Lego Group. The theme was first introduced in May 2020. The toy line is also accompanied by an animated television series that premiered in China that same month.
Lego Monkie Kid (Chinese: 悟空小侠) is a Lego theme inspired by the Monkey King and Journey to the West. It is licensed from The Lego Group. The theme was first introduced in May 2020. The toy line is also accompanied by an animated television series that premiered in China that same month.
Overview
Lego Monkie Kid is inspired by the Monkey King and Journey to the West, which focuses on Monkie Kid and his friends, battling against a variety of demons who are trying to take over Megapolis.
Development
Lego Monkie Kid is The Lego Group's first product line based on Chinese culture. Although The Lego Group had previously released Lego Chinese New Year sets, it was the first time that the company had released an entire product line based on a Chinese theme. Following research in China, The Lego Group discovered that the classic Chinese story of the Monkey King and Journey to the West is widely known within Chinese culture. As a result, the story was chosen as the main inspiration for Lego Monkie Kid. Simon Lucas, senior creative director commented, "It feels like it was in the DNA of everybody there. So we thought it was a great starting point to tell a new story that's rooted in Chinese culture". The Lego theme was developed over the course of two years and interpreted the story in a different way to the original. Lucas explained, "The people we spoke to have grown up with these stories, and we wanted to find out what's important to them, and how to interpret that in a new way...So, being 100% accurate to the original was not necessary, really, because we were picking up the key ingredients". The product line does, however, include recognizable characters from Journey to the West.
The designers behind Lego Monkie Kid revealed that researching Chinese stories and testing with children were important in the development of the theme. Lego Senior Design Manager Dennis Fong explained, "We felt that we hit something really big when we had this concept of the Monkey King ... Seeing all the energy from the kids, the parents, how they could instantly recognize it because we had a lot of key iconic elements in there. And, you know, we didn't need to tell a new story. We had the old story as a foundation for us to build upon."
The initial concept for the theme originated in a rough sketch created by Ned Rogers in December 2021. The sketch depicted several construction sets are transformed into animated vehicles and which parts of the design remain. Featured the concept art are Monkie Kid's Cloud Jet, Pigsy's Food Truck and the Tuk Tuk from Iron Bull Tank. With Lego Monkie Kid theme from The Lego Group was developed as an animated television series, the images showcase how the early set designs were taken and turned into animated models on screens.
Launch
The Lego Monkie Kid theme was launched on 16 May 2020. As part of the marketing campaign, The Lego Group released the eight sets inspired by Monkey King and Journey to the West. Each set featured different giant mecha, buildings and vehicles. Minifigures including Monkie Kid, Mei, Monkey King, Mo the cat, Sandy, Mr. Tang and Pigsy were released as well. The sets were designed primarily for children 6+.
Characters
Monkie Kids
Monkie Kid ("MK"): The main protagonist of the series. A young noodle delivery boy chosen by Monkey King as his new successor to battle against the forces of evil, he wields Monkey King's golden staff and given almost all of his powers.
Mei : The descendant of the legendary White Horse Dragon and MK's best friend, she is gifted with a dragon aura and her family's jade dragon blade to fight against foes, she would later inherit Red Son's Samadhi Fire in season 3.
Pigsy: The stern owner and head chef of Pigsy's Noodles who acts as a fatherly figure to MK. His weapon of choice is a rake.
Sandy: A river ogre who was formerly a rage-filled soldier, but became peaceful after going to therapy for his anger. When enraged, his eyes glow purple while his pearl necklace turns into orbs of fire. His weapon of choice is a crescent staff. He was also made into a minifigure since the Season 3 sets.
Mo: Sandy's pet therapy cat who is seen along with him when going on missions. He is reduced into a kitten named "Baby Mo" in later sets to follow up with Sandy becoming a minifigure.
Tang: A regular customer at Pigsy's Noodles, often telling MK stories about Monkey King in exchange for free noodles (which angers Pigsy for being free), it is revealed in season 3 that he has the power of chi manipulation, his weapon of choice is a khakkhara. He is believed to be another reincarnation of the Golden Cicada, who previously became Tang Sanzang.
Monkey King: The legendary hero who famously went on the Journey to the West and battled various demons, he then decided to retire on Flower Fruit Mountain and train MK as his new successor to fight against evil demons while also helping the team on occasions.