Why Lego's New Monkie Kid Theme Is A Way For Them To Fight Against Bootlego (And Why It Might Not Still Be Enough)

*This post was originally from an alternate website, DitoBlocks. The site's URL was recently blocked on Facebook as well so we'll partially shut it down and just make content solely on DownTheBlocks again. If you're wondering why there are links to DownTheBlocks and all that, it's because we're not changing anything from the original posting.*

What is Lego Monkie Kid? It’s a new original theme from Lego focusing on a young kid who finds the Monkey King’s staff and becomes a hero! Doesn’t sound new? Well, that’s because the Monkey King is a 16th century legend in China and is widely known even internationally.

So, what makes it so special in relation to the knockoff Lego or bootleg industry? Well we think it’s the perfect way for Lego to compete against and ultimately beat these knockoffs, or at least a good step toward that. 

Before anything, let’s start with some context. This new line, along with other recent lines, were made to better penetrate the Chinese market. It also makes sense in terms of the bootleg industry since those knockoffs are prevalent in China more than anywhere else (which explains why it’s extremely difficult to get a hold of some imitation Lego sets outside China).

Emphasis on Chinese culture - and the support it will gain from the parents and their government

This is important not just because it’s targeted toward Chinese consumers but because it will have the support of the Government and the parents of kids who might want these sets. Heck, maybe even educational centers will prefer that kids play with toys like this instead of the typical superhero or video game toy set. 

Additionally, we know how influential the government is when it comes to their citizens’ actions and them buying a building blocks toy set that reflects China’s beautiful culture and legends is surely not a problem.

Some examples of alternate brick brand sets that promote some of the Chinese government's decisions/plans:

HSANHE 16001

SX 4026

One example is when a number of brick brands started creating sets that informed buyers how to segregate waste properly.

Sembo 203306

Another more recent build previewed from Sembo; China has started promoting its space program so expect more Chinese branded brick sets to release space-themed sets.

Unknown Brand 25007

Though we also have more controversial sets that reflect the Chinese government such as this one regarding the chaos around Hong Kong at the time of this writing.

Lego creating sets that will satisfy the Chinese government is a smart move, though thankfully Lego probably won't push too far that they'll become puppets of propaganda.


Current trend of Chinese pop culture focusing on Chinese legends and mythologies

Just in 2019, a movie entitled Ne Zha was released and gained a lot of attention inside and outside of China. The movie was loosely based on Investiture of the Gods (Fengshen Yanyi in Chinese) which is also a 16th century novel. In relation to the knockoff Lego or bootleg industry, this matters because numerous sets and minifigures based on Ne Zha (and/or other Chinese mythologies) have been appearing from numerous brands. I think it’s just not as noticeable outside of China since toy exporters probably don't see a large demand for those sets in the western or non-China markets.

Some examples of brick brands and their Chinese mythology sets:

HJLepin 8923

HJLepin has been making a number of Ne Zha and Monkey King sets.

XINH X0274

Even minifigure-only brands such as XINH have been creating minifigure sets based around Chinese mythology.

Keeppley

Some of these brands might even be officially making toys for the Ne Zha brand, like Keeppley or Enlighten which is using seemingly legitimate images from the Ne Zha movie.

Brick built Mechs are in demand, even in the knockoff or Bootlego industry

Mechs have been flooding Lego and non-Lego listings everywhere. It doesn't even make sense for a more fantasy-inspired theme to have mechs, but they're incorporating those into the Monkie Kid line anyway because mechs are what people want these days. Just look at Ninjago and their countless mechs, and even DC and Marvel sets that release more than one mech yearly.

Lego Monkie Kid 80010

Lego Monkie Kid 80012

We gotta admit too that these new Lego Monkie Kid mechs look great.

But let's also have a look at some of the countless mechs that other brands have been releasing and previewing:

Sheng Yuan SY1416

Superheroes are no exception to the mech hype, even these non-Lego-designed mechs. This particular set is actually one of the more preferred ones since the mechs here make sense because usual Bootlego superhero mech sets show characters like Superman or the Hulk (characters that don't need mechs) strapped inside mechs that are probably less powerful than they already are.

CAYi 10018 & CAYi 10020

This one from CAYi shows a much more detailed mech that is based around another Chinese cultural icon.

GUDI 8724-8728

We also have combiner mechs; small vehicles/animals/robots (that sometimes can also transformed when uncombined) that combine into a larger mech. We have a lot of those but here's an example.

WINNER 8023

Smaller mechs are also in demand and some brands, like WiNNER, combine elements of minifigures into their mechs. Cool, right?

Panlos 621020

There are also military-themed mechs out there in the knockoff market. This one might be difficult for Lego to compete against as they have stated in the past that they will never touch on the warfare theme. (Yes, apparently Star Wars doesn't count.)

Wow, that's a lot of pictures of mechs! Yes, and there's a lot more out there which really shows that there's a huge demand for mechs. Can't blame them too since customizable mechs with bricks seem like a great thing to build with and play with.

Lego is already familiar with Asian-themed sets

While Lego isn't an asian company, they already have enough experience with Asian-themed sets. This is where Ninjago comes in. Ninjago is, based on what I have observed, Lego's trial into penetrating the Chinese market while still satisfying the western market. It's hard not to like ninjas as toys and as a media property, add in some robots and mechs and it's a good formula for kids to enjoy. 

The knowledge that Lego has gained from the release of multiple Ninjago Lego sets and properties will definitely help and guide the company in their push for Monkie Kid inside [and outside of] China.

Lego 70620-1

I think that Monkie Kid was largely influenced by this Ninjago City set that was released alongside the Lego Ninjago Movie. It was a perfect blend of traditional and modern Asia in one building that Monkie Kid is seemingly trying to replicate. 

The Lego Ninjago Movie didn't perform as good as they expected, but the Ninjago property has been performing well enough since it has spawned numerous new seasons and sets. Whatever they were doing right for Ninjago, they can do for Monkie Kid.

These reasons seem like great points for Lego's battle against the Bootlego industry, but a lot of us will also think it's not enough, largely due to this reason..

Why Monkie Kid might still not be enough to effectively combat Bootlego or knockoff brands: Price

Price is an important factor to numerous collectors and parents. It's also why these knockoff brands and Bootlego brands are so enticing to customers. 

Think about it, as a parent, would you rather buy the $150 mech toy from Lego or the $50 mech toy from the knockoff brand? Lots of parents, especially in third world countries, would choose the latter. In China's situation though, countless non-Lego brands have already popped up that they'll be hard to miss and much easier to purchase while parents also save on money.

As a side story, I think it's a different case for collector sets that aren't meant for play. I mentioned that price is a huge factor for customers, and sometimes people don't mind high prices as long as they can count on their sets to be investments that they can sell at higher prices in the future. (Yeah, collectors do this which is one of the factors why knockoff sets are disliked; Bootlego copies of rare sets make the sets more accessible and so potential buyers of the real sets instead buy the fake sets - resulting in one less buyer for the collector. I think that's for another article though.)

We currently can't compare prices of the Lego Monkie Kid sets with knockoffs since, thankfully, there aren't any Monkie Kid knockoff sets yet. I think it's smarter for these knockoff brands to stay away from the Monkie Kid theme as Lego's legal team will surely be more protective of their new product line.

Another small reason, that probably won't be for long, is that Monkie Kid currently doesn't have a TV show or movie or video game to hold on to unlike Ninjago. Though unlike Ninjago, this theme is revolving around a centuries old Chinese story that Chinese kids would probably have an idea around (especially given recent mythology sets and other media). A TV series is in the works though which is why this won't be a reason for long.

So why did we make this article/list? Because Lego has been attacking, rightfully so, various knockoff brands. They even recently forced AliExpress to stop the sale of minifigures, again rightfully so. Though while they can temporarily stop these knockoff brands, they can just easily come back. This is what happened when they shut down Lepin; various sub-brands or related brands just came out with more sets and are now even harder to trace (even for us collectors lol). 

What we think will be the best way to fight Bootlego is by releasing great and interesting sets while also making them more accessible, especially in terms of price. We understand the difficulty in that especially since Lego is a real company and has to pay for various costs such as the design process, marketing, HR, etc. that Bootlego companies don't need to worry about. Though at least with Monkie Kid, they don't have to worry about licensing fees that other lines have (like Marvel, Star Wars, etc.) which could hopefully help them decrease the prices of upcoming sets.

Ultimately, these toys are for kids. Yeah, Lego has numerous adult fans too, but these Monkie Kid sets are designed for children as you can see with the play features and TV show coming out. For parents especially, they would rather prefer to spend less for the same thing (aka the knockoff) but if Lego were to become cheaper, then maybe they'll lean toward that instead (in addition to the other good points we made about Monkie Kid).

So, what are your thoughts on the new Lego Monkie Kid line? Do you think it really is Lego's way of fighting Bootlego? Or do you think they'll stick to their legal team when fighting knockoffs? Join the discussion at Reddit!

Buy Lego from Amazon using our affiliate link:
https://amzn.to/2XABwBp

Buy from AliExpress using our affiliate link:
http://bit.ly/2TzFJmQ

Using these affiliate links and eventually buying will help support us at no additional cost to you!'