Review: LEGO 75546 Minions in Gru's Lab

Today we quickly tour the LEGO set 75546 Minions in Gru's Lab, a small box of 87 pieces stamped 4+ which will be marketed from May 24 at the public price of € 19.99.

Like the four other references announced or already available for sale, this box is inspired by the animated film Minions: The Rise of Gru which should finally be released in theaters during the summer of 2022. It is therefore difficult to judge the relevance of its content in relation to the film. There isn't much in the packaging, as the basement of Gru's laboratory is summed up in its simplest form.

As in all the boxes marked with the mention 4+, we get here a lot of very large parts and some small finishing elements. No complex assembly, just stack a few bricks and then try to have fun with the proposed construction. Here, we have an orange mini slide identical to those seen in many colors within the LEGO Friends range and a rail section with a machine designed to make the big jump. LEGO does not provide the basket that usually travels on rails of this type, the objective here is indeed to let Otto take off and crash a little further.

The inventory is sketchy but it will eventually satisfy fans of this universe with nicely pad-printed pieces and a few bananas for the road. We still wonder if there is not an error in the amount requested for this box, there is more packaging than bricks on arrival. We get two Minions, Otto and Kevin, that's always taken for those who want to collect the characters. No stickers in this box, everything is pad printed.

Out of curiosity and because I have mostly seen adults shout genius about these sets without really asking the children themselves what they think, I showed the contents of this box to two young LEGO enthusiasts. aged 4 and 6 respectively and the result was final. They put the set together in minutes without much pain, then took the two Minions and turned away from the rest of the product. The micro slide and the end of the rail didn't look as fun as they looked on the box and after a few minutes the two Minions were also left on the corner of a table.
And I am not even talking about the "washing machine" whose porthole pad printed with two figures turns on itself on condition of manipulating the rod which protrudes from the back of the construction. At this stage and in 2021, we cannot decently speak of playability, even for very young children.

This LEGO 4+ universe still seems to me a little out of step with reality. As LEGO imagined that the VIDIYO concept would distract children from Tik Tok, the manufacturer had no doubt estimated that a child coming out of the DUPLO universe would be satisfied with these few parts and these functions of no great interest.

I'm not sure that's the case, it's possible to do a lot better with a budget of $ 20, even at LEGO. With this type of product in my hands, I come to the conclusion that LEGO is more concerned with "teaching" children to manipulate and assemble its bricks to sustain sales than to really care about playability. and the "fun" lifespan of the product concerned.

In short, this product is to be reserved for unconditional fans of the franchise who would like to collect the figurines and obtain some pad-printed pieces in the process. For children, there is much better for less in other ranges.

Note: The set presented here, provided by LEGO, is as usual involved. Deadline fixed at 1er May 2021 next at 23pm. 

Update : The winner was drawn and was notified by email, his nickname is indicated below. Without a response from him to my request for contact details within 5 days, a new winner will be drawn.