Rather old thread, but I'm reviving it because I have an absolutely smashing idea for a licensed theme. Now that LEGO has teamed up with Disney to produce the Toy Story, Cars, and Pirates of the Caribbean themes, I think the next step should be...
Disney Theme Parks!
Let's look at the criteria in the OP to see why:
1. A licensed theme should tap into a proven long term product, so it's not just a flash in the pan that will be on the clearance shelves in six months.
Disneyland has been around since 1955, and has been quite popular all along. Walt Disney World is perhaps the most popular vacation destination in the world. The parks have successfully spread into the international market as well.
2. A licensed theme should be broad in scope - not just limited to a particular movie, but rather into a whole universe surrounding that theme. That way you won't run out of set designs after a year.
The sky's the limit here. The themes present in Disneyland alone include jungles, the Old West, pirates (duh), a haunted house, fairytales and storybooks, cartoons, outer space, underwter, and even plain old town settings. Epcot has a whole range of science-related topics plus the multicultural World Showcase. Animal Kingdom...well, it should be obvious. I could go on. You could do almost
anything with a Disney theme park line.
3. A licensed theme should appeal to both kids and adults. Bonus if there is already an established collector/geek community among adults.
Bingo. Disneyland was built specifically to appeal to the whole family, and the Disneyana shop does brisk business selling paintings and figurines at price points ranging from a couple dozen to a couple
thousand dollars.
4. A licensed theme should provide something that a non-licensed theme does not. Ideally this should be more than just minifigs.
Apart from the intense brand-name recognition, Disney theme parks have a design sensibility that no one else has ever been able to duplicate. Many of the themes mentioned above have rough counterparts elsewhere in the wide world of LEGO, but many do not, or else the counterparts have been out of production for so long that they're ripe for revival.
5. A licensed theme should have a variety of build possibilities - ideally both vehicles and locations.
Definitely. The location aspects should be obvious, but the ride vehicles are just as cool and just as recognizable. Disney has sold models of ride vehicles before; I can't imagine that
buildable ride vehicles would be any less popular, especially if they came with a buildable scene from the ride in question.
One more point in favor of this idea is the potential for crossover with other lines--not just the other Disney licenses, but lines like Star Wars and Indiana Jones, thanks to the presence of the corresponding rides in the parks. Disney already sells said lines at the park gift shops and a Starspeeder (from the Star Tours ride) would fit right in with all the droid battles.
What do you think?