This magical Lego Ideas set has captured my heart

Disney’s Hocus Pocus tops my personal hit list of best autumn movies. The 90s Halloween flick rings in autumn for me every year, setting the tone for an enchanted, cosy season.

Never seen Hocus Pocus? Don’t worry, here’s a summary:

For everyone else – I’m assuming everyone who’s seen it is a massive fan – Lego has launched a special Ideas set: the Sanderson Sisters’ Cottage. It was designed by Lego fan Amber Veyt.

LEGO

211,98 EUR

LEGO Disney Hocus Pocus: The Sanderson Sisters' Cottage

21341, LEGO Ideas, LEGO Rare Sets

5

LEGO

211,98 EUR

LEGO Disney Hocus Pocus: The Sanderson Sisters' Cottage

21341, LEGO Ideas, LEGO Rare Sets

5

A slow building process

I assembled the 2,316 pieces at a leisurely pace. After six and a half hours, the small cemetery and the witches’ cottage were done. These are also the main locations of the story.

The cottage hides quite a few details

The half-timbered cottage is clearly the centrepiece of this set. However, once completely assembled, it’s really difficult to get to the inside of the cottage. You can push up both roof panels and open one wall of the cottage in the middle like a double door. Still, it’s impossible to access many of the interior details, as they’re hidden in the farthest corners of the cottage. What a shame. I would have preferred to be able to open the cottage completely in the middle. This would also have saved photographer Chris and me from having to disassemble the cottage again to take pictures of the interior.

All in all, however, the cottage is a real feast for the eyes and (literally) houses many details. On the first floor, for example, there’s a bubbling witch’s cauldron over a fireplace that lights up at the touch of a button.

According to the designer, the water wheel on the facade was the trickiest part to design. This also becomes evident when I assemble the set – I almost lose my nerves. There’s a construction that connects the wheel and the pink smoke that’s rising through the chimney. Spinning the wheel should make the smoke move. Unfortunately, the construction is quite unstable and keeps jamming or falling apart. That’s why I stop using it after a while. Having said that, it still looks pretty.

Since the Sanderson sisters’ cottage becomes a museum in the film, it also contains elements such as barriers, a cash register including a souvenir card stand and a glass showcase in which Winifred’s fold-out spell book is displayed. On the shelves, you’ll find all kinds of potions, crystals, frogs and candles. One of them, of course, is a black flame, which plays a very special role in the story.

On the second floor, there are books, brooms and vacuum cleaners, which the witches use as flying means of transportation. There are also three beds, which are colour-matched to the characters. In the attic, you’ll find chandeliers, cobwebs and two cages in which the witches capture children.

The designer’s gravestone on the cemetery

The cemetery is rather unspectacular compared to the cottage. It only features a tree, a gate and movable gravestones. One of them is for Emily Binx (a former victim of the sisters) and one for Billy, the friendly zombie. There’s an odd but sweet detail: the third gravestone has the designer’s name on it. By the way, the booklet contains the building instructions as well as a few fun facts about the film, which I didn’t know before.

The minifigures complete the set

In addition to the three wicked witch sisters Winifred, Sarah and Mary Sanderson, the set also includes three other minifigures: Max, the daring teenager who doesn’t believe in the old Halloween legends from his hometown Salem at all, his little sister Dani and his crush Allison. With the black cat aka Thackery Binx (an enchanted boy who’s doomed to an eternal life as a cat and whose sister once fell victim to the witches), this makes a total of seven main characters. On top of this, you’ll get skeletons, bats and spiders.

Verdict: is the set worth its price?

From a purely visual point of view, I find this set a masterpiece and I’d even display it in my home (if I had enough space). However, I’m disappointed that the interior of the cottage is so difficult and fiddly to access. Of all the numerous details in and around the cottage, only the glowing fireplace and the water wheel connected to the chimney smoke really surprised me. I had a lot of fun building this set, but I’d expect a bit more magic to justify the hefty price of around 240 francs.