I recently learned of a new special edition Time magazine dedicated to LEGO, with the subtitle “The toy that changed the world”. At just 96-pages in length, I was not expecting a ton of depth or new insights, but I am always hoping for a new perspective on the LEGO brick and hobby.

TIME Magazine: The Magic of LEGO – The toy that changed the world.

TIME Magazine: The Magic of LEGO contains 96 pages of text and images and is about the same size as a typical magazine: 20.3×27.8 cm (8×10⅞”) No author is specified beyond “The Editors of Time” which is what is listed on the Amazon website.

The magazine was printed on demand the same day that I ordered it.

It is being produced using print-on-demand equipment and features a glossy softcover exterior and inner pages with a matte finish. The back page indicates that it was printed in nearby Troutdale, Oregon on 9/24/2024 — the same day that I purchased it from Amazon.com website.

Contents

We begin with a brief introduction and a summary of ‘The most ambitious sets’ – but many of the photos are from LEGOLAND theme parks or of fan-made creations which are not attributed to the artist. For example, on page 11 the caption for an image of The Eiffel Tower in LEGOLAND Billund, they explain that the official set released in 2022 included 10,001 pieces — It just doesn’t make any sense.

Eiffel Tower at LEGOLAND Billund on Page 11.

The first chapter begins on page 16, offering a passable summary of key events in The LEGO Group’s 75-year history. While this chapter is decent overall, it begins with a glaring error: trying to equate 10,000 DKK in 1916 to $1500 USD in today’s dollars. A more accurate figure would have been around $43,000 USD in today’s dollars – remembering to account for inflation!

We do get a pretty good explanation of the companies shift from general carpentry to wooden toys in the 1930’s, and the risky shift to plastic toys and the LEGO System in Play in particular, at the nudging of the companies second-generation family owner Godtfred.

One surprising detail recalled that author Norman Mailer was described in the Village Voice in 1965 having built a “six-foot sculptural model of his dream city” and that “his creation … rests on a wooden pedestal in his living room, with the panorama of Manhattan as a background”.

Cannibals and Christians (Book), 1966, Norman Mailer

Some follow-up research reveals that Mailer built the large model with friends, and a photo of this brick-built behemoth is featured on the dustjacket of hardcover copies of his 1966 book Cannibals and Christians.

I also learned that development of the classic LEGO Minifigure was actually rooted in the desire to encourage more girls to build with LEGO bricks. This is an interesting historical footnote, given how the classic LEGO minifigure is popularized in sets largely aimed at boys, and the LEGO Friends minidoll was introduced decades later to crack the female audience.

In 1969, Olaf Thygesen Damm, a member of the analytics department (a team dedicated fot studying children’s development, play, and reaction to LEGO products), wrote a memo urging the company to introduce human figures, arguing that while boys are happy to build and play with things, girls want toys that relate to human situations and activities.

There are a few one-page sidebars throughout the chapter looking at related topics like the LEGOLAND theme parks, LEGO Friends, and failed LEGO projects like Primo and Galidor. We wrap up the first chapter with a brief look at the transition to licensed sets, which is biased heavily to Star Wars.

Making Friends, page 27.

The second chapter is all about adapting the LEGO brand, and more importantly, the LEGO Minifigure to movies and TV. The focus is on the original 2014 film, The LEGO Movie, and the challenges in convincing The LEGO Group to take a risk on a movie project when they were already so successful with their toys. The fact that the movie has a gently subversive story arc and is more sophisticated than it needed to be increased the risk, but also increased the reward when families voted with their feet and made the movie a hit.

The chapter continues with a brief look at the remaining films, including a sidebar about the new movie Piece by Piece about the life of Pharrell Williams which is in theatres now. Lastly, we see how a number of movies and TV shows have been re-interpreted as LEGO sets of their own.

A short section about Piece by Piece, the new movie based on the life of Pharrell Williams.

We close with a very weak third chapter that offers an extremely shallow look at the fan community by only speaking to a few content creators on YouTube. The chapter fails to explore the breadth of the Adult Fan of LEGO community which can be found at LEGO conventions, LUG meetings, and a wide range of online communities besides YouTube. It almost feels like they ran out of time and decided to publish the book before this chapter was finished.

Conclusion

The primary audience for this website are adult LEGO fans with a lot of interest and/or knowledge about the LEGO Brick, the LEGO Group, and the LEGO Hobby. By contrast, the primary audience for this magazine is unclear – it is too superficial to offer much for serious fans and too dry to appeal to wider audiences.

If you are looking for a short summary of the main events in the companies 75-year history, the first chapter of this magazine offers a decent introduction. But I emplore you, if you want to better understand the history and business, please read the excellent book: The LEGO Story: How a Little Toy Sparked the World’s Imagination. (It is available in print or an excellent audiobook – I own both.)

Instead of this Magazine, consider The LEGO Story, by Jens Andersen. Available in Hardcover or Audiobook.

I genuinely cannot recommend the second chapter “From Brick to Screen” about LEGO Movies and TV shows because it offers very few insights. Worse still, the third chapter “The Fandom” is atrocious. It fails to express the sheer breadth and depth of the fan community, touching only on a few Youtubers and closing with a vapid explanation of the LEGO Ideas program.

Given the very uneven content quality, it should come as no surprise that TIME Magazine: The Magic of LEGO only earns an Acceptable (2/5 star) rating.

The first 44 pages are decent, but for just $5 more, just buy The LEGO Story: How a Little Toy Sparked the World’s Imagination and take your time reading a much longer, but much better account of the companies history.