Review: 41150 Moana's Ocean Voyage
Posted by MeganL,With the holidays here, maybe you've seen Moana since it was released. We've already looked at the smaller of the two sets that LEGO issued for the movie. Is the larger set, 41150 Moana's Ocean Voyage, worthy of some of that holiday cash?
Some spoilers are involved in the review, so if you haven't seen the movie, be aware before clicking ahead....
The cover art on the box shows Moana and Maui on the boat with the outline of an island in the background along with the Te Fiti portion of the build. It also shows the Kakamora lobbing themselves as missiles at the boat. The back of the box shows the boat at another angle plus Moana and Maui interacting with the island build, as well as demonstrating the moving function of the set. A small inset shows some of the accessories of the set, and the lower left of the box shows a scene from the movie with Maui and Moana sailing off into the distance.
The front of the box also helpfully points out that the boat does not float, and that there is a poster inside (there was in mine, obtained in the U.S.). After having built the set I can attest that the boat indeed does not float and all you will get are some wet bricks.
Inside the box there are a crumpled instruction booklet with a small sticker sheet and the poster, the sail in a separate bag with a thin piece of cardboard (which did not serve its intended purpose, as my sail was quite bent), a bag containing the Maui bigfig, and three numbered bags.
The poster, for what it's worth, is a bit of a surprise. As it came in a Moana set I was expecting a Moana poster. However the poster features four LEGO product lines: Moana, Frozen, Disney Princess and Whisker Haven. The last is new to me; I'm guessing it will be introduced over the coming months.
The figures in the set include Moana and Maui, the two main characters. The Moana minifig has a different torso and legs than the other set, which is refreshing to see, since there are many themes where the same character is exactly the same across multiple sets. In this set Moana is wearing a one shouldered top with great detailed printing on the front as well as some printing on the back, which is also nice to see. The skirt she is wearing in the set look to match more closely to the skirt she is wearing in the movie scenes depicted on the box - a beige skirt with a red flounce at the bottom. This time she has a pink flower in her hair, and comes with a constellation chart that shows Maui's fish hook that that is alluded to in the film that can be used to find Maui. All credit to Huw for taking pictures of the set!
Maui is the other major figure in the set. He's the first bigfig I've owned, so I was surprised to see his arms are attached by Technic pins. The detailing of his tattoo on his torso is lovely, however, there's no printing on back that shows Maui's back tattoos. That's a shame as the detail is quite nice. I found Maui's fish hook (that allows him to shapeshift) to be a clever little build using an arch, inverted slopes and a cheese slope.
We also have Heihei in this set, Moana's rather clue challenged chicken. Heihei is quite colourful and manages to looks somewhat cute yet a little ferocious at the same time.
The first bag builds the base of the boat, including some new pieces of the bow/stern in brown. The build is straightforward but it does include the hiding place (where Heihei spends much time) that has a snack just in case.
The boat is simple and functional yet has a few details such a mat (decorated with a sticker) for Moana to be seated on while sailing, a pineapple, and a paddle. The outrigger and boat are also decorated with flowers.
The sail is likely simple yet effective and given masts using technic pieces. Like other sails we've seen, this is unfortunately only printed on one side. Even though the sail in my set came rather rumpled, I found that lying it flat for a short period of time was able to straighten it out (literally).
On the way to Te Fiti, Moana and Maui are beset by the Kakamora, who are depicted rather cleverly with printed minifig heads. They come in a small vessel complete with a catapult as the weapon of choice to stop our protagonists. This build is also simple and effective, though I did expect the Kakamoras' vessel to be larger.
The final part of the build is Te Fiti. This is a very enjoyable build and the island has lots of details with palm trees, small waterfalls, rock slopes and lots of greenery. I particularly like the use of the quarter circles to represent some small patches of beach. Unfortunately, Moana and Maui meet Te Ka, the lava monster, first.
The top of the island is on a swivel base, allowing that once Te Fiti's heart is restored to its rightful place, Te Fiti returns. Replacing the heart involves a hinge function behind the grey 2x2 round tile - pull the tile down and you will find a 2x2 round dark grey tile with jumper.
Overall thoughts
I quite enjoyed this build. The boat is simple and elegant. There are lots of bricks in neutral colours and the design is pleasing. The island portion of the build is quite fun and involves some nice building techniques. Moana is quite nice, and so is Maui, though it's unfortunate that he doesn't have all of his tattoos represented on the bigfig. For the size (307 pieces, $39.99, £39.99, 39.99€), the set is a little on the expensive side, likely due to the Disney license and getting the bigfig. However I think the selection of parts is great in very useful colours in order to create many different kinds of boats and island scenes.
As with 41149 Moana's Island Adventure, there are plenty of references to plot points in the movie throughout the set, which allows recreation of movie scenes. The moving functions in the set are simple and effective (I've been saying that a lot with this set). I think this is a set that could be enjoyed whether or not you've seen the movie, and can serve as a springboard to many other creations.
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15 comments on this article
I haven't read through the whole article yet but someone may want to edit it as the is misspelled several times and the word plus is missing the s I believe. Those are all in the third section. Of is misspelled in that section as well.
I can't wait to get these! I'm probably going to wait for a sale though.
My youngest got the Moana sets for Christmas, but it was a heavy LEGO holiday so I have no idea when we'll get around to opening them. I'd like to dig into them now, but I'm betting the kids will want to open the summer wave Elves and DC Superhero Girls sets first.
I've never paid much attention to them before because they have never appeared in any set I was interested in, but do folks complain about the bigfigs like they do about the minidoll? It seems the bigfig has articulation than the minidolls. Is this correct?
A little let down with the eye printing on the chicken. It was anything but ferocious. Crazy eyes would have been appropriate for him.
The only thing I want from this is that rooster.
Good review! I haven't bought any of the Disney sets for myself (I did buy the old Frozen Ice Castle as a gift for a cousin), but after seeing and loving the movie Moana, I'm really tempted to pick this one up. The boat feels really authentic despite being designed for young builders. Te Ka and Te Fiti don't feel totally authentic, but their inclusion is appreciated and I'm not sure how much more authentic they could've been in a $40 set for ages 6–12. They do have some beautiful island landscaping. The Kakamora boat is almost laughably small, but adds playability and leaves room that a bigger Kakamora ship could be released in the future without feeling redundant.
@ericjohn: The bigfig has four points of articulation just like the mini-doll, but in different places (bigfigs have articulation in their shoulders and wrists, while mini-dolls have articulation in their shoulders, hips, and neck). I have seen criticism of bigfigs but rarely with the same amount of vitriol, perhaps because there's not the same perception that they're "taking the place" of old-school minifigures.
@boneheadhh1: Heihei's expression in this set is definitely not accurate to the movie, but it was supposed to be. In earlier drafts of the movie Heihei was a tough character with a lot of attitude. Before they decided to make him clueless instead, he was nearly cut out of the movie due to not being very likable. More info here, including some concept art showing a similar "angry Heihei" to the LEGO version: http://www.slashfilm.com/moana-heihei/
I hope there are more Moana sets in the future so we can get a better print for Heihei and possibly more detailed prints for Maui.
Interesting info and link, @Aanchir, thank you. Will probably buy the set for its parts.
Good review.
@Aanchir Thanks for the link. I received a Pua plush for Christmas and the tag features the original design for Heihei which I thought was quite strange. I do wonder if he had been cut from the movie if Pua would've been more prominent.
I really wanted ths set but fact that Maui has no back printing and Heihei looks unfinished (NO WHITES) make thius set not as worthy the price as I hoped it to be. :/
ALso shame Maui uses standard Big fig base - it's hunched and this don't look good...
On good sides- the ship looks great and Cacamora soldiers are great prints!
What a lovely little set! Also nice to see it comes with some great pieces.
Just a shame about the Minidoll (and the price)!
@ericjohn regarding Bigfigs, really the primary complaint with them is they greatly elevate the costs of a given set past the typical sweet spot of value/price per piece. The only other complaint is how static they tend to be. But we have by and large grown forgiving of that. Typically they represent characters hard to do any other way, such as the Wampa in Star Wars. I may be missing one, but I think Maui and the Hulk are the only times Bigfigs have been used for Protagonists. (And even that gets iffy with The Hulk). Maybe Leatherhead depending on where you play him in his character arc. (But he isn't really a Bigfig. He is more like Axl in Nexo Knights, having a Big Torso but minifig legs.) But most are meant to be antagonists to your minifigs, hence why their hands are designed to hold minifigs.
@Faefrost: Good observation about there being so few bigfigs representing protagonists. I hadn't even noticed that, to be honest!
@MeganL The Whisker Haven sets shown on the poster are Palace Pets 2017 sets, so I guess this must be a related term although I am no Palace Pets expert :-)
@redgreenblue Whisker Haven is the name of the place where the Palace Pets live. Sounds like an old-pet retirement home to me :) but yes, it just refers to the Palace Pets line.