LEGO broke the mould with the LEGO Monkie Kid Mini Movie. I could not remember the last time I saw a LEGO animation in 2D, but there it was, hand-drawn LEGO characters in a cartoon world.

Set to premiere in Malaysia at 10:30am, 13 June, on TV3, the LEGO Monkie Kid Mini-Movie was live-streamed to a selected group of media folks on 11 June. The show oozes Saturday morning cartoon vibes and I grew up on those half-hour long toy commercials.

Before the show began for us, Simon Lucas, Senior Design Director at the LEGO Group put everything into context. He said that Monkie Kid is designed to be the next chapter in the famous 16th-century Chinese novel, Journey to the West.

The concept, he said, was picked from 12 original ideas. The dozen were then shortlisted to three and was tested on the China market. The idea of a story that continues the legend of the Monkey King was a clear choice.

“It is with the deepest respect for Chinese culture and the 500-year-old legend that we have created the next chapter in the story of the Monkey King – The Monkie Kid,” says Simon.

Then it hit me: Aren’t all the human characters in this show yellow? Because they are Minifigures.

Anyway. LEGO was not kidding when they say they “Never before has the LEGO Group launched a theme inspired by one culture and with so much attention to local details, values and traits”. 

The main cast in the Monkie Kid Mini Movie is either analogues of or returning characters from the original Journey to the West. But their personalities are almost all the same. You have the priest, the pig, the sand guy, the monkey, the bull, and even the horse.

You’ll never guess who is the white dragon horse.

It’s the girl.

Apart from two characters in the villain’s camp, everyone is made from always positive, does first ask questions later, and safe face at all costs material. They are then moulded in a shallow quirk as a substitute for personality.

Why so harsh on the heroes in a family-friendly cartoon? Because the villains are far more interesting. I especially like the big bad, the Demon Bull King. He is just as driven and believes in himself just as much as the good guys, but even more so. 

Without all that “happy-go-lucky” attitude, his character is more realistic and compelling. And his joke on consumerism, in a LEGO cartoon, is so ironic. It sealed the deal and shows that there is a lot of LEGO type humour in the show. You know the stuff, we all saw it in all the LEGO movies. It doesn’t always hit, but it’s funny when it does.

The Demon Bull King has all the traits that are far more relatable. He has a family, while the good guys are just a group of acquaintances; he and his family never gave up on him despite being trapped for hundreds of years, while the good guys just came into power via “destiny”; and the Demon Bull King just looks cooler. In the cartoon anyway.

This is where the art style does fit the source material (the toys). Okay, toys not matching their animated counterparts is nothing new, but that was a rarity in LEGO. Animated LEGO looks like LEGO toys. 

But here, the cartoon Demon Bull King looks nothing like the LEGO set. In fact why bother with the LEGO minifig stylings in the cartoon, with the claw hands and the face that spin to reveal an alternate expression face. 

And oh boy does the rubbery and overly exaggerated animation style make the length and size-changing magic rod look… unsafe.

Personally, I would watch the LEGO Monkie Kid Mini Movie again just to see if I miss anything and for that very, very Dragon Ball -Esque end fight. Kids would love it, and since it is a LEGO cartoon, it is fun for the whole family. 

Fair warning though, the most affordable LEGO box set in the Monkie King theme is 80006 LEGO Monkie Kid White Dragon Horse Bike. It comes with characters that don’t look like they do in the Mini Movie and costs RM149.90.