#21341 Disney Hocus Pocus: The Sanderson Sisters’ Cottage $229.99 (229.99€ / £199.99 / 299.99 CAD / 349.99 AUD), contains 2316 pieces / 6 minifigures, and is recommended for ages 18+. It was released on July 1, 2023.

#21341 Disney Hocus Pocus: The Sanderson Sisters’ Cottage (LEGO Ideas)

“I put a spell on you! And now, you’re mine!” The Sanderson Sisters are back, this time as mini-figs, and are ready to bring us to the land of enchantment! The newest LEGO Ideas set is is focused on the 1993 movie of the same name and features the house where the sisters reside. Looking at the box, this set seems chock full of details aimed at fans, and also looks to incorporate some fun building techniques. Since this set is aimed at the adult builder who also happens to be a fan of the movie, it will be interesting to see if it strikes the balance of engagement for more mature builders, as well as including fan-focused play features.

Contents

It comes in a typical box for any current-generation LEGO set, with a taped or glued box manufactured using relatively thin glossy cardboard. The thin cardboard is more environmentally friendly than the thicker cardboard on some older sets, but it also can be prone to damage. As you will see, the back of my copy was damaged in transit.

The back of the box shows how you can open up the model to see inside.

As with all of the sets in the 18+ / Adults Welcome lineup, it features a colored stripe along the bottom edge containing details about the set. The 268Medium LilacDark Purple complements the spooky vibe perfectly.

• Box Size: 57.8 × 37.4 × 11.5 cm (22 3/4 × 14 3/4 × 4 1/2”)
• Box Weight: 2877 g (6.3 lbs)
• Box Density: 156.1 g/L
• Part Count: 2316 pieces
• LEGO Parts Weight: 1860 g (4.1 lbs)
• Weight-per-piece: 0.80 g/piece
• Price per piece: $0.099 per piece
• Price per gram: $0.124 per gram.
• Numbered bags/stages: 15
• Pieces per stage (average): 192 pieces.

The build process takes place over 15 numbered stages.

Build Process

The instruction book comes in a nice, protected envelope, which also contains the stickers used in the set. There are a few pages of introduction which introduce the designer and the motivation behind the set, and some of the goodies and Easter eggs included. Next there is a page that shows which bags build which parts of the set. I thought this was a nice inclusion and it helps visualize how the build will progress.

The large instruction booklet and sticker sheet come in a protective cardboard sleeve.

Bag 1: Stone fence and Gate

Bag 1 builds the gate and part of a crumbling wall, which sits in front of the main house. This section is completely detached from the main house. There are creepy vines and trees which decorate the crumbling gate and wall. The crumbling effect is achieved through a combination of gray and dark gray bricks with various shapes and textures. We also build a small graveyard, complete with three gravestones, placed slightly askew. Unfortunately, the gravestones are labeled with stickers rather than printed tiles.

Bag 1 offers a gentle (re)introduction to LEGO building by building a simple wall and gate.

Bags 2-5: First Floor

In Bag 2, we start build the foundation of the house, and start on the outer walls. The highlight of this bag is definitely adding the light brick, which illuminates the “fire” under the witches’ cauldron. There is a cool mechanism which allows us to push a button on the front of the model to activate the light brick’s function. I appreciate that the button is a bright, acid green, to match the color of the potion the witches are brewing!

The light brick illuminates when you press the green button on the base.

It’s time for Bag 3 and we’re building the waterwheel! This is an iconic feature of the witches’ house, initially used by Zachary Binks to sneak into the house in his ill-fated rescue mission. The waterwheel is fairly easy to construct, though the clip-with-bar pieces which make up the interior are challenging to place, and since they are only connected on one side, they are easy to bump and move, making the wheel look more “antique”, though I doubt this was the intention of the designers. The waterwheel attaches to the house using a technic axel, which connects to part 2854 crankshaft connector. A series of more technic axels drives the crankshaft connector up and down, which turns the waterwheel. This is a fun way to incorporate movement into the model, though I am curious how this will incorporate into the rest of the model.

We build one wall and the waterwheel in Bag 3.

In Bag 4 we assemble and add the stairs to the upstairs. These are constructed using a similar clip-and-bar method and are also easy to bump out of place. I found this frustrating, as they kept moving when I was trying to attach the stairs. There is also a lot of fun interior décor that is added in this bag. The cauldron with its potion, museum elements such as the counter, checkout area and some of the roped off areas. There are lots of potions and candles tucked away on the shelves that add detail, but I’m curious if it will be seen once the walls and roof are assembled.

We build our first witch in Bag 5 — Mary Sanderson has entered the model! We also add more walls and Winifred Sanderson’s iconic spell book held in its display stand. I would have preferred the spell book’s cover be a printed piece, but it is a sticker instead, which is a consistent theme throughout the set. The rest of the right wall is constructed, with a large archway in the middle. I’m assuming we will attach a second room on this side.

Bags 6-9: Second floor and hinged wall

Even though the first floor isn’t complete yet, we start building the second story in Bag 6. The floor is installed in the back half of the house only, which allows for more viewing and access to the lower area. The walls are then assembled for three of the four sides. There is still no support or attachment to the small wall segment in the bottom left corner, so it keeps falling off, which is quite annoying. These upper walls are the most challenging part of the build so far. The brick choices are intentionally random looking to give the house the aged appearance, but it can make assembly tricky and the builder really needs to pay attention to the instructions here.

We start building the second floor in Bag 6.

In Bag 7, we build a small alcove on the left side of the second floor. This comes together easily and adds some visual interest to the outside moreso than to the inside. We do get to add a cute little skeleton on the inside so that’s fun. We also add some details to the upstairs like a spinning wheel, some wall panels with stickers of hanging herbs, a bookshelf, brooms, a large bed that the sisters presumably share, and my favorite, Mary Sanderson’s flying vacuum. We don’t really see the upstairs in the movie, so clearly some creative license has been taken here, but the additions are fun and are a way to add some more Easter eggs to the set.

We add the bed and upstairs accessories such as a vacuum in Bag 7.

We finally build the last wall of the house Bag 8, so the bottom left chuck of wall will stop falling off when you bump it by accident. This wall is divided into two sections that hinge open to reveal the interior of the house. When closed, the doors push the green button which illuminates the light brick. The light from the fire can kind of be seen from the outside once the wall sections are closed, but I think it’s more fun just to press the button with the doors open. We also get to add one of the most famous props from the movie, the black flame candle! The round candle body is printed, which is nice, and the flame is a translucent grey, which is a new color this year. I was excited to see how this item would be incorporated into the set, and it looks great.

Adding the hinged walls in Bag 8.

The big feature we build in Bag 9 is the chimney, complete with bright pink smokey flames which move! The movement is controlled by the waterwheel. As the wheel spins, it pulls a series of technic axels which are contained within the chimney structure, up and down. This causes the flames to “dance”. This is a nice nod to the pink smoke in the movie. We also add a few more details to the upstairs like a candelabra, the bedframe and a bat.

The pink flames/smoke move up and down when you spin the waterwheel!

Bags 10-12: Roof

We build the roof in three parts across three numbered bags. In Bag 10, we build the front and back peaks, which consist of to large triangles that are connected with a beam. A bit of visual texture is added using tiles connected by a single stud on both sides so that they create an irregular pattern, plus a small window at the top.

The two peaks are connected by a long beam with chains hanging from it (which we will use later).

The right and left sides are built separately, and connect to the rest of the houseusing two Technic pins each. While both halves of the roof technically move, the left side is restricted by the placement of the chimney, so effectively you can only open the right side. The mechanism for opening the right side is smooth, but fragile, and does not hold up to play well. The roof sections themselves are beautifully decorated.

The roof modules are attached using Technic pins.

There is some really great usage of angled bricks, tiles and greenery that add to the old look of the house. These sections are also challenging to build, but worth the time for the aesthetic value they provide. We also add two hanging cages complete with somewhat ominous skeletons inside, which hopefully are not from the bullies left inside the Sanderson sister’s house at the end of the movie…

Bag 13 adds Allison Watts’ minifigure, complete with a small container of salt, another delightful Easter egg. We also add a small section of gable over the left side of the house, along with some ground and décor outside the front door.

Two smaller assemblies in Bag 13.

In Bags 14 and 15 we add Dani Dennison’s minifigure, outfitted in her super cute witch costume and carrying a pumpkin bag for trick-or-treating. We also build a section off the side of the house that originally looks like a shed at first glance. Eventually it becomes clear that it is meant to attach the to the main house and contains the fireplace and chair that the children are bound to by the witches. There are lots of interesting details tucked into this area, but unfortunately because of the way it attaches to the house, they are almost impossible to see, much less used for play.

There are some nice details in this sub-assembly, but they are hidden once you attach it to the rest of the house.

The smaller roof for this area is constructed and attached in the same way as the roof for the main house, but for some reason, is built so close to the house that neither side of the roof can open without detaching the whole sub-assembly from the rest of the house. This is really unfortunate, because having some way to open the roof would have allowed for greater visibility of the small, rich details inside.

Value

Assessing value often depends on your emotional attachement to the content. In the case of this set, you might have a tremendous fondless for the film or even for Halloween in general, making this set extremely appealing. Thankfully, we do have some objective measurements to use, but they do not look favorably upon this set.

Note: Prices based on date of initial release. (The LEGO Group increased the price of many older sets in late 2022.)

This table is sorted by price-per-gram as it is the most objective measure that is available to us. Price-per-part is so easily skewed by sets with tons of small parts or lots of large parts. As you can see, this set falls very close to the bottom, meaning that it has a very poor price-per-gram rating of $0.124. That’s about 25% worse than the baseline of 10 cents a gram which is pretty common especially after the price reset last year. The price-per-part does manage to stay under 10 cents, but this is only because the set contains a lot of small parts to add fine details to the model.

Conclusion

This is a cute set that is very faithful to the original movie. It is absolutely packed with details that fans will appreciate. Unfortunately, many of these details are hard to see and recognize once the set is complete due to design choices. I actually found more joy in building the Easter eggs included in the set than the final version because they are so hard to see.

This is the most that you can open the model without modifying it.

One example of this is the attached kitchen area. It includes fun details like the chair that both Dani and Emily are held in, an hourglass, candle, and detailed fireplace, all of which are virtually impossible to see once the model is complete. This could have been solved by making this area swing open, or at least having one of the roof sections open, but instead it is completely closed and inaccessible.

The six minifigures are one of the highlights from this set.

Overall, it seems like the scale of the model is off. I feel that the house could either have been half again bigger or done smaller as a cutaway. Either approach would have allowed the details shine more. Most of all, this would have made it a lot more accessible for play.

The finished model looks great when it is all closed up.

This set is definitely designed with the Hocus Pocus fan in mind. From the black-flame candle, to Mary’s vacuum, the details are the star of the show. While the roof and exterior of the home are also beautiful, they actually overtake the model, creating a very closed off feeling. This model doesn’t lend its self to either play or display well since many of the elements are both fragile and inaccessible.

#21341 Disney Hocus Pocus – Completed Model.

As a fan of the movie, #21341 Disney Hocus Pocus: The Sanderson Sisters’ Cottage was a fun LEGO set to build even though it is a problematic completed model. That’s why I give it a Good (3/5 star) rating despite these misgivings. While it isn’t perfect, Hocus Pocus fans will enjoy all of the details from the movie that are packed into the model.