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What my Model is:
Based on Princess Mononoke by Studio Ghibli released in 1997.
The set depicts the beautiful pool and forest area of the forest spirit, high in the mountains. It's designed to be a mixture of a play set and a display set at the same time grabbing the best of both worlds.
The environment includes three big upright trees, two rotting logs/tree stumps, some small trees and rock formations. As well as the side of a mountain and the moon.
It includes the important characters of Princess Mononoke to populate the forest build and re-create the film in LEGO form.
In-depth Look:
Here is Ashitaka riding on-top Yakul a red elk, shaped like a real-life "lechwe" antelope.
Notice the water design decals on the "opal" color tiles upon the ground which are curved to the shore of the small island.
Here you can see Moro's Cave which has a cliff overlooking the forest.
I also included the moon levitating here. As can be seen through the open spot of trees from the pool area in the film.
Stay true to the film's accuracy, the inside of the cave has a sleeping cloth.
The set is presented with various animals:
- The Deer God/Forest Spirit
- Yakul the red elk
- Morro, the double-tailed wolf and adoptive mother of "San".
- Okotto the ancient boar leader of the boar tribe
The forest spirit can extend it's neck just like in the movie as you can see in the main animated image of the project. It's head can be swapped to represent it's different forms that can be connected on the same extending neck section.
Okotto in Tatari-Gami form. He is more than a hundred years old.
The minifigures from left to right:
- Ashitaka
- Jiko
- Lady Eboshi
- San (wearing her clay mask)
- Gonza
Notice also the butterfly, the same species in the movie which are drawn to the footprint trail left behind by the forest spirit.
I also included a "kodama" a tree spirit. You can see it standing beside San on the log here: In the movie the kodama live in the trees and their presence is a sign that the forest is healthy.
The plaque includes the narrated words at the very start of the film:
"In ancient times, the land lay covered in forests, where, from ages long past, dwelt the spirits of the gods. Back then, man and beast lived in harmony, but as time went by, most of the great forests were destroyed. Those that remained were guarded by gigantic beasts who owed their allegiances to the Great Forest Spirit. For those were the days of gods and of demons.."
A closer look at the water and ripples left by a creature (in the film the forest spirit walks on the surface of the water and leaves ripples).
Why I submitted this design idea:
This is one of my favorite films of all time and favorite of the Ghibli movies. I was the very first to upload a Mononoke set to Ideas in 2015, which holds my only staff pick. So this movie is not only very special to people and myself but also to my own LEGO Ideas account in general. So if the project should reach 10k and become an official product: the circle would be complete.
That old version was very basic at the time, but since then I learned to build better, and now with this version I think is my best build thus far.
Why it would make a great set:
- It encapsulates a lot of the film into one set, offering many possibilities for great play value and storytelling with its open space and display at the same time!
- You can display and position the characters around the set to your liking to make the diorama that best suits you.
- It is not a childish animated film, so it would fit perfectly for the "High-affinity teens and adults" target audience of LEGO Ideas. The build itself would also fit well with it's level of detail.
- It would be a perfect collectors item for what would be included and the nostalgia that it's based on the movie.
- There would be a lot of opportunity for the official LEGO Ideas designers in the redesigning stage. It would be interesting to see how the extending neck of the forest spirit would be presented in an official form, as well as the other animals and minifigures. As well as the building techniques for the environment since the idea includes a whole section of forest which would allow a lot of flexibility in the redesigning stage.
- It would be a set with a new visual look not seen before.
- A playful world brought to life. The film makes you think. It has a strong emotions, mystery and magic that would be amazing for a LEGO set.
- It would be the first time that a Ghibli film were to be brought into LEGO. An important milestone.
- I've never seen anyone else try make light rays in this way with physical pieces. It adds to the mood of the scene and could make for an interesting set for this point in and of itself.
Why it would be popular:
- A real classic, It is still highly regarded as one of the best Japanese animation productions. It's still the 6th highest-grossing film in Japan of all time! On it's release it quickly rose to the 1st place.
- Outside of Japan, the film brought Studio Ghibli to the attention of the west. Being shown in theaters and performing well in home releases.
- It's a well-respect Ghibli film that would make a perfect pick for it to become the first one to be successfully made official into LEGO and when compared to any anime in general. It would echo how it was the first film to come to the attention of the west but this time instead the first to be immortalized in LEGO form.
- People living in Australia, Uk, America, Canada, Philippines among other countries are considered to most want to live in Japan based on search data. And anime has risen to huge heights being shown more and more in other countries through TV but also more recently through streaming services which expanded the audience further massively.
- In fact the biggest searches for "Princess Mononoke in the last 12 months worldwide have been from: United States followed by: Canada, New Zealand, Singapore, Australia, Puerto Rico, Serbia, Philippines, Uk, Georgia, Bulgaria, Norway, Denmark...
- In the UK it has appeared several times on annual lists of best selling foreign language home video film releases. Even in third place in 2019.
- In the United States the film has grossed 9 million dollars from Blu-ray sales Alone.
- Mononoke was also distributed by Disney internationally (but not owned by the company). So if made official: this set would not only be relevant in Japan but globally! Perfect for LEGO Ideas releases. Every year articles are made about the film so it would be bound to make headlines should this idea be made official.
Parts:
2,960
For the bts (behind the scenes): I Built it in Bricklink studio software & Mecabricks website then rendered using Blender
Thank you for watching! Be sure to share it everywhere you can if you want it to reach 10,000 votes! I count on you and cannot do it alone!
By
Water Leaper
Help your fellow builder by leaving your feedback based on these three criteria:
- Originality: How original is this - never seen before?
- Building Techniques: How much skill do you think the creator of this MOC has, in terms of building technique?
- Details: Express how much you like the details of the build.
Your feedback is only shown to the creator as well as yourself. It is not available for other users to see. The creator won't see your user name.