Mixels

Mixels is an animated television series that aired on Cartoon Network and was produced by The LEGO Group and Cartoon Network Studios.[1] Following colorful creatures known as Mixels, the series depicts their exploits involving their ability to combine with one another in order to solve problems or fight against their enemy: the Nixels. The series first aired on February 12, 2014, with a new episode of Teen Titans Go!, and the series ran for two seasons, concluding on October 1, 2016.

Although previous Lego series, such as Lego Ninjago and Lego Legends of Chima, use CGI animation and are acquired by Cartoon Network, Mixels made use of Toon Boom Harmony software, animated at Atomic Cartoons, Inc., before later being animated traditionally at Digital eMation, Inc., Big Star Entertainment, Inc., and Saerom Animation, Inc. and is a Cartoon Network original. A mobile app was released for the series on March 4, 2014, named Calling All Mixels, and even earlier two websites, one on the LEGO website and another owned by Cartoon Network, were launched where fans can learn about the Mixels. Nine series of collectible Lego building toys were also released, based on the characters.

Merchandise

Lego Mixels

Lego Mixels (stylized as LEGO Mixels) was a Lego theme based on a variety of tribes living in a fantastical diverse world and are small creatures that can mix and combine with one another to create new characters. The theme was first introduced in 2014. It was eventually discontinued by the end of 2016.

Overview

The Lego Group handles all toy merchandise for the Mixels franchise, and Cartoon Network handles all non-toy merchandising. The Lego Mixels buildable collectible figurines went on sale on March 1, 2014. Each character has their own set, and nine were released as part of series one. For each tribe, one of the three sets contains a Nixel. Series 2 was released at the end of May, and Series 3 was released at the end of August. Series 4 was released on February 1, 2015.[3][4]

Development

Before Cartoon Network came to Lego, Mixels was called Monsters. It had sets of five in a tribe with overly simple designs. Some design changes include Shuff and Seismo's names being swapped with each other, Shuff having a looser crystal on his head that would have looked more like hair, Vulk's ears being red instead of black, the Nixels coming in various shapes, and Balk originally being shorter and squatter with thinner tentacles and smaller pupils. Kraw was originally named Bouncer, Gobba was Chippo, and Tentro was Flexi; other sources still slip up on Tentro and call him Flexi, though, including the Lego Magazine once.

Lego designer Gemma Anderson explained the importance of the Max figure in designing each tribe's individual figures and stating that, "During the sketching phase, I would consider what the tribe theme is and then work out what the max could be, at the same time wondering how I can use certain parts from the Max in the 3 small Mixels. It's often a case of going back and forth between the 3 models and the Max." Anderson also highlighted the importance in the characters' faces in capturing a unique personality and explained, "The eyes and mouths are a huge part of the personality of the Mixel, changing the eyebrows for example can drastically change the expressions from sad to happy, or even angry! We would often brainstorm on the names of the character; some of them might be inside jokes with the team. One example is 'Tuth' in Series 8, it was a joke in the team that me being from Wales, I pronounce some words a little differently, such as 'tooth' sounding more like 'tuth'. We decided during the naming process, we would try to name that one Mixel how I pronounce it, and we succeeded."[5]

Construction sets

According to BrickLink, The Lego Group released 90 playsets as part of the Lego Mixels theme.[2] The product line was eventually discontinued by the end of 2016.[6]

Discontinuation

Shortly after Cartoon Network announced that the episode "Nixel Nixel Go Away" will be the series finale, The Lego Group cancelled production of the toy line. As a result, the theme was discontinued.[7][8]

Overview

Development

Construction sets

According to BrickLink, The Lego Group released 90 playsets as part of the Lego Mixels theme.[2] The product line was eventually discontinued by the end of 2016.[6]

alt name	Monsters
genre	Comedy Fantasy
creator	John Fang David P. Smith
creative director	David P. Smith
story	David P. Smith John Fang Jordan Reicheck
director	John Fang Jordan Reicheck
composer	Kevin Manthei Kiara Geller
country	Denmark United States
language	English
network	Cartoon Network
executive producer	Brian A. Miller Jennifer Pelphrey Tramm Wigzell Rob Sorcher
producer	Pernelle Hayes Donna Smith
editor	Rob Getzschman Tony Tedford
company	The LEGO Group (uncredited) Cartoon Network Studios
num seasons	2
num episodes	26
runtime	30 seconds–3 minutes (shorts) 5–9 minutes (minisodes) 21–22 minutes (specials)
first aired	February 12, 2014
last aired	October 1, 2016

Premise

Episodes

Series overview

Season 1 (2014)

Season 2 (2015–16)

Merchandise

Lego Mixels

Overview

Development

Construction sets

Discontinuation

Overview

Development

Construction sets

Discontinuation

Controversy

Awards and nominations

See also

External links

References