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Lego Legends of Chima

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Lego Legends of Chima

Lego Legends of Chima (stylized as LEGO Legends of Chima; pronounced /ˈtʃmə/ CHEE-mə) is a discontinued Lego theme that was introduced in 2013 and discontinued in 2015. The product line was based on the storyline of Legends of Chima, a 3D animated television series, which was produced to coincide with the Lego theme. The storyline was set in the fictional realm of "Chima", a fantasy world inhabited by various warring tribes of anthropomorphic animals that battle to collect a substance called "Chi". Alongside the television series and several shorts based on Lego Legends of Chima, the theme also produced a range of associated media, including theme park attractions, video games, and publications.

The product line focused on Chima, a fantasy world inhabited by eight warrior tribes of animals that battle for an energy source called "Chi". The toy line was driven by the storyline of the animated television series Legends of Chima, which follows two former childhood friends, Laval from the Lion tribe and Cragger from the Crocodile tribe, who become bitter enemies. The two main characters lead the battle among the eight tribes, which threatens the once-peaceful land of Chima.

Lego Legends of Chima was developed to appeal to children and was designed to replace the Lego Ninjago theme, but was phased out to introduce other children's themes such as Nexo Knights. By contrast, Lego Ninjago continued production for over ten years.

Legends of Chima was developed as a franchise to promote the Chima universe with the aim of launching across multiple platforms, consisting of the television series, online content, construction sets and video games.

In December 2014, Lego designer Samuel Thomas Johnson explained that the product line and the television series were closely aligned from the start and that the vehicles in the show were designed to match the models. He commented, "I'm lucky to have a talented guy on my team who has been drawing Lego models for years so I can give him a model and say 'can you do me some concept art for that?' and he'll have it done in an hour."... "We have a model, take tons of photos and videos, then do concept art; that's our starting point. It helps because trying to explain how bat wings are supposed to work in text doesn't make sense at all." He elaborated further on the creative process for the toy line by stating, "We make functions and try to fit them in with animals and what animals do. If a vehicle doesn't have the traits of the animal it is meant to resemble, it doesn't make a lot of sense."

In 2021, The co-creator of Lego Ninjago Tommy Andreasen revealed the unseen concept art for the Legends of Chima on Twitter, detailing what the theme could have been had it taken a different path. Tommy Andreasen explained, "This is a concept film was made to explain Legends of Chima's ending internally. The search for the Fire Wings was intended to be a six-episode arc which would also have introduced Florax, Flinx's mother, chief botanist of Chima, but plans were revised."

Legends of Chima launched on 26 December 2012. The Chima franchise aimed to follow in the success of the Lego Ninjago theme. Soren Torp Laursen, President of Lego Systems commented, "Building upon our success with developing rich and immersive original storylines, most notable the recent Ninjago phenomenon, we're excited to launch a whole new world in Lego Legends of Chima to spark any child's imagination and invite them to the world of Lego building."

The playsets were released from January 2013 and included a larger range of products than previous themes. The product range included construction toy sets, racing vehicles and a board game. The toy line also offered a battle play function that was similar to the Lego Ninjago spinner toys, which involved placing Lego minifigures on a spinning base. The vehicles included a Speedorz range, which were vehicles built from Lego bricks and powered by a ripcord to provide children with a racing challenge. Legends of Chima was created as a big-bang project that aimed to drive growth in the Lego toy line. In December 2012, a Lego spokesman predicted that Legends of Chima would top sales of Ninjago by as much as 30%.

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