LEGO has revealed 21317 Steamboat Willie, the next LEGO Ideas set featuring retro-Mickey and Minnie Mouse minifigures as well as the iconic S.S. Willie steamboat. The boat’s steam pipes bounce up and down and the paddle wheels rotate as the set is pushed forward. The set comes with 751 pieces and will be available starting April 1st for US: $89.99 | Canada: 119.99 CAD | UK: £79.99.
The monochromatic set comes only a month after it was selected to be one of the next LEGO Ideas products, a shockingly fast turnaround in comparison to previous LEGO Ideas sets. The set is also quite an upgrade from the original submission. Continue reading to see all the official photos, or take a closer look at the insides and build process in our review of 21317 Steamboat Willie.
Steamboat Willie premiered in 1928 and is a black-and-white cartoon created in part by Walt Disney himself. It is considered to be the debut of Mickey and Minnie Mouse and was the beginning of an entertainment empire. LEGO celebrated Mickey’s 90th birthday last year, and it only seems fitting that the party continues with the release of a LEGO set celebrating such an prominent milestone in animation.
Like the set itself, the box is grayscale with the LEGO and Mickey Mouse logos shining vibrantly with the only color printing. The LEGO Ideas logo has been updated to look like a film strip, though it is oddly numbered as the 24th LEGO Ideas set, when in actuality 21316 The Flintstones was also numbered #024–perhaps a remnant of this set either being rushed to production of having already been completed before Flintstones was released. The front of the box also comes with a disclaimer that this boat sadly does not actually float.
The back of the box shows off some of the set’s play features, including bouncing steam pipes and spinning paddle wheels (echoing the motion of the animated boat in the cartoon). This motion is activated by hidden wheels on the bottom of the boat. The box also shows a display stand for the exclusive minifigures.
The boat measures over 10 inches long (26cm) and 5 inches high (15 cm). It has room to fit all the minifigures on either the front bow or on the bridge. The ship also includes an adjustable crane as an added play feature. The boat’s whistles on the top of the ship are replicated closely to look like the animated cartoon, and a parrot and “potato room” are also included paying further homage.
The set includes two minifigures: retro Minnie and Mickey Mouse in black-and-white. They each sport hats worn in the cartoon and come with silver-colored printing to set them off in comparison with the overall monochromatic set. Minnie also comes with a guitar and a tile printed with sheet music for the song “Turkey in the Straw” which played in the cartoon (sadly not the actual notes but just musical gibberish shown in the cartoon, so it is at least true to the visual source).
In comparison to the original LEGO Ideas submission, the final set is significantly bigger. It has been up-scaled from a microscale set to a minifigure-scale playset. The increase in size clearly allows for the addition of moving parts and play features, as well as transforming it to be a more substantial set.
The set also comes with a minifigure display stand showing a Mickey ears silhouette and a printed tile celebrating the anniversary year of Steamboat Willie. The stand can either display vertically or horizontally.
21317 Steamboat Willie comes with 751 pieces, two exclusive minifigures and will be available starting April 1st for US: $89.99 | Canada: 119.99 CAD | UK: £79.99.
The full press release and photo gallery from LEGO are included below. Also check out our hands-on review of 21317 Steamboat Willie.
21317 Steamboat Willie
Ages 10+. 751 pieces
US: $89.99 | Canada: 119.99 CAD | UK: £79.99 | DE: €89.99 | FR: €89.99 | DK: 749DKK
All aboard Steamboat Willie to celebrate Mickey Mouse’s birthday!
Disney Mickey Mouse fans will love this LEGO Ideas 21317 Steamboat Willie building toy marking the 90th anniversary of the most famous cartoon character ever. Mickey Mouse made his screen debut in a 1928 black-and-white animated short film called ‘Steamboat Willie’, which was also the first Disney film to have synchronized sound. This LEGO brick version of the S.S. Willie features steam pipes that move up and down and paddle wheels that rotate when the boat is pushed along. The boat’s bridge has room for a minifigure and play-inspiring nautical details such as the ship’s wheel, life buoy and buildable bell. On deck there is a working crane to lift the ‘potato bin’ cargo aboard and this unique toy building set comes with new-for-April-2019 Mickey Mouse and Minnie Mouse minifigures, each with special silver-colored decoration, plus a parrot figure. An ideal LEGO set for kids and adults to recreate scenes from the original Mickey Mouse cartoon or simply build and display this striking monochrome model.
- Build and display this collectible LEGO set or recreate your favorite scenes from the classic Disney Mickey Mouse cartoon, ‘Steamboat Willie’.
- This unique toy building set includes 2 new-for-April-2019 minifigures: Mickey Mouse and Minnie Mouse, each with silver-colored decoration, plus Mickey Mouse’s parrot figure.
- The iconic Steamboat Willie boat features a black-and-white color scheme, hidden wheels, moving steam pipes, rotating paddle wheels, adjustable crane and assorted elements including the ‘S.S. Willie’ boat name sign, ‘1928’ year sign and a ‘potato bin’.
- The boat’s bridge has space for a minifigure, a brick-built bell and assorted elements including the ship’s wheel and life buoy.
- The 2 steam pipes move up and down and the 2 paddle wheels rotate when the boat is pushed along.
- Accessory elements include Minnie Mouse’s guitar and music sheet.
- This LEGO Ideas creative toy building set comes with a booklet with building instructions, fun facts about the historic 1928 animated Disney short film ‘Steamboat Willie’, and information about this awesome retro set’s fan creator and LEGO designers.
- Steamboat Willie toy boat measures over 5” (15cm) high, 10” (26cm) long and 5” (14cm) wide.
Available directly through LEGO from Monday April 1st, 2019 via shop.LEGO.com or LEGO Stores.
Is this the first Ideas set that gets upscaled in the design process?
My guess is that Lego already had this idea in mind before the Ideas set was selected. That’s why the project took such as short time to finalize.
It’s also worth noting that this model is significantly changed from the original Ideas submission. It should have taken longer for Lego to finalize this set when compared to other Ideas projects in the past.
@The Anonymous Hutt, it reached 10,000 supporters last summer, so it’s possible they began work on the retail product well before they made the announcement. they already have the license and there don’t seem to be any unusual or ground-breaking build methods that would slow down the process.
Looking into the history (past & present) of Disney, the S.S. part of S.S. Willie is so very important
I was so excited when it got selected, but that price? Ouch… Without me.
dw — I… uh, it stands for “Steam Ship”. It’s an incredibly common historical naming convention for ships, and inarguably correct for the ship in “Steamboat Willy” for reasons that ought to be obvious. I get the feeling that you were aiming somewhere else with that, though?
Anyway, ninety bucks? Yikes. Thematically appropriate for the 90th anniversary, I guess, but still… yowzers.
The title was likely chosen to reference “Steamboat Bill Jr.”, a Buster Keaton slapstick comedy relased about half a year earlier. (Possibly most famous for its falling wall stunt.)