Hot Toy Alert! Lego Makes A Sesame Street Set And It's Designed By A Pinoy

It took more than two years but the wait is now over: LEGO just announced that its first-ever Sesame Street set will launch in stores on November 1, 2020 and it’s proudly designed by a Pinoy!

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Ivan Guerrero is the second Filipino to get a nod from the Danish toymaker. He submitted his design back in 2017 to Lego Ideas, the company’s community-based website which allows users to submit designs for products that have the potential to be sold commercially.

In 2019, he finally reached the 10,000 votes needed for LEGO to put his design up for consideration, which goes through a “very, very selective process” before it is recommended for commercial use, reports ABS-CBN News.

“I submitted it in 2017 with the hopes that it would make it in time for the 50^th anniversary. It didn’t make it right at the deadline but it’s here now, just a couple of months late and I can’t be happier,” Ivan shares in an interview with CNN Philippines.

Ivan, a Philippine-based filmmaker says that Sesame Street is one of his favorite shows. Jim Henson, the show’s creator was also a big influence in his life creatively.

He shares that it took him a couple of months to finish his design, because he referenced classic episodes that people who grew up with Sesame Street would be able to relate to. He also left “little Easter eggs” that fans will surely remember from the show.

“For instance the prop that has to do with Mr. Hooper has a very deep and memorable story attached to it. And the fact that it was translated into a Lego toy so many years after the episode came out, it’s like owning a piece of your childhood in physical form,” he says.

The “prop” Ivan is talking about is a caricature of Mr. Hooper, in reference to the episode where the character died (after Will Lee, the actor who portrayed him passed away), and which taught young children about death and grieving.

What to expect in the Sesame Street Lego set

According to the Lego Ideas website, the Sesame Street build-and-display set has around 1,367 pieces. It features the iconic 123 Sesame Street building which houses Bert and Ernie’s apartment, Elmo’s bedroom, and Bert’s rooftop bird house.

The corner street also features Hooper’s store, Big Bird’s nest, Oscar the Grouch’s trash can and more. It will also come with Elmo, Cookie Monster, Oscar the Grouch, Bert, and Ernie minifigures, plus a Big Bird figure for more imaginative play.

According to Ivan, he initially submitted a 2,000-piece design. For the final set, LEGO added another building but with fewer characters and pieces. The second building contains Abby’s secret garden and Cookie Monster’s apartment.

"The design is smaller than my original submission pero nadagdagan siya ng second building. Actually, very cool yung ginawa ng LEGO. Submission ko is one apartment building, 2,000+ pieces, binuo nila 'yung kalsada. So, they added a second building on the side," Guerrero told ABS-CBN News.

The Sesame Street set will be available in all LEGO certified stores in the Philippines starting November 1. One hundred (100) sets with Ivan’s autograph will also be available exclusively at the stores. For more details, visit LEGO’s Certified Store PH at www.facebook.com/lcsph

READ MORE STORIES ON LEGO

• Mom and Dad, Here's How Your Child's Legos Might Make You Richer!
• Select Lego Playsets Have Instructions in Braille and Audio for Blind Kids

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