LEGO explains missing minifigures in 21341 Disney Hocus Pocus: The Sanderson Sisters' Cottage

The LEGO Group has explained why the newly-revealed 21341 Disney Hocus Pocus: The Sanderson Sisters’ Cottage includes just six of the original project’s 11 minifigures.

Unveiled last week ahead of its launch in July, 21341 Disney Hocus Pocus: The Sanderson Sisters’ Cottage is based on a concept by LEGO Ideas fan designer Amber Veyt, and brings the 1993 cult classic to life in LEGO bricks. While the set’s interior offers the option to strip away its modern-day museum signage to display it as it stood in 1693, its cast of characters is inspired specifically by the movie’s 1993 storyline.

That means we’ve got all three Sanderson sisters – Winifred, Mary and Sarah – along with Max Dennison, Dani and Allison, plus Thackery Binx in cat form for good measure. But Veyt’s initial pitch also suggested including Billy Butcherson, Thackery Binx (as a human) and Emily Binx, and bullies Ernie ‘Ice’ and Jay. In the end, all of those extras were left on the cutting room floor.

While you might not call Ernie and Jay integral to any Hocus Pocus merch, and Thackery and Emily’s absence can be explained away by the focus on the present-day elements of the film, Billy Butcherson feels like a pretty major oversight given the role he plays in helping Allison, Max and Dani defeat the witches. We caught up with the design team to find out exactly why Billy isn’t included.

“We worked with Disney, obviously, and this was the agreement on the minifigures for this product,” LEGO Ideas Design Manager Jordan Scott tells Brick Fanatics. “It was a collaboration with Disney, because ultimately it's their IP, so they have final say on who goes in the product. We worked with them to make the designs for these characters.”

Pressed for specific reasons why Disney chose these particular characters above others for 21341 Disney Hocus Pocus: The Sanderson Sisters’ Cottage, Scott elaborated that the Sanderson sisters, Allison, Dani and Max are ‘the most iconic characters in the movie’.

“We need the three witches and we need the three kids,” he says. “And then I think Thackery as the cat made the most sense, because he's very prominent in the movie as the cat. And this product specifically, you can play up the museum aspect if you want, and that's where he's most featured, so it made more sense to do that.”

While the particular reasons behind it are still a mystery, the decision to omit Billy Butcherson was clearly Disney’s. We could speculate all day as to the company’s motives – maybe it didn’t want a zombie wandering around a LEGO set that is still advertised to all ages, despite the 18+ label on the box – but only the House of Mouse knows exactly why Billy didn’t make the cut. Either way, it doesn’t sound like the LEGO Ideas team had much of a say.

For those badly missing Hocus Pocus’s most prominent character (beyond the seven already in the box), Veyt is apparently gearing up to create custom minifigures of Billy, Thackery Binx (as a human), Emily Binx, Ernie ‘Ice’ and Jay. Keep an eye on her Instagram page for more on those.

The good news is that the six minifigures that are included in the set all look magical, so fingers crossed you won’t feel too short-changed by the absence of the rest. 21341 Disney Hocus Pocus: The Sanderson Sisters’ Cottage launches July 1 for VIP members, and July 4 for everyone else, for £199.99 / $229.99 / €229.99.

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