The LEGO Movie

Shimmer & Shine Sparkle Spa!

A pastel fever dream from the Systar System, and a secret goldmine of lavender parts.

Brick Rated Score

3.7/5

Set 70837 · 2019

Pieces694

Minifigs3

Year2019

Set number70837

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The verdict

This is the set nobody talks about from The LEGO Movie 2, and honestly that is a shame, because the colour palette alone makes it worth a second look.

It is not clever engineering and it is not a display centrepiece, it is a bubblegum spa full of translucent crystals and a flamingo with posable wings. If you love soft pinks and lavenders, or you have a kid who adores the Systar System sparkle, you will get a lot of joy out of it. If you want a grown-up build with real heft, keep walking.

Best for: Pastel-parts collectors and kids in love with the Systar System

The full review

What it is

I have a real soft spot for the strange corners of The LEGO Movie 2, and the Sparkle Spa is about as strange as it gets. This is the Systar System distilled into one pastel building, all soft lavender walls, bright pink trim and little translucent crystals scattered around like someone spilled a jewellery box. The first time I laid the parts out on the table, the colour spread is what got me. You just do not see this much pink and lavender in one place, and there is something genuinely cheering about building with it. It has an arched entrance, buildable loudspeakers, six little potion bottles, a sink, a couple of removable tables and a hot tub, and the whole thing reads as a fizzy, over-the-top beauty parlour for cartoon aliens.

The catch

I will be straight with you about the sticking points, because there are a few. The recommended price was 69.99 dollars, and for 694 pieces that is not a generous ratio, especially when a good chunk of those pieces are small crystals and decorative bits rather than structural bricks. The build itself is quick and quite simple, aimed squarely at younger hands, so if you are hoping for the kind of engineering that makes you stop and admire a technique, this is not that set. The play features are cute but basic, a revolving wall that transforms Balthazar into a bat and a trapdoor in the hot tub, and the spa layout never quite feels like a finished, satisfying model the way the bigger Movie 2 sets do. It is also unapologetically girly and young, which is fine, but worth knowing before you commit.

Who it's for

So who actually walks away happy here. Parts people, first and foremost, because as a pile of lavender and pink and trans-clear elements this is a quiet treasure and it is cheaper retired than it was new. Fans of the film who want the exclusive minifigures, since every one of the eight characters was new to this set and you cannot easily get Washed-out Wyldstyle or Flaminga elsewhere. And kids who fell for the sparkle side of the movie will adore playing spa with it. Who should skip it? Anyone chasing a display piece, anyone counting pennies per brick, and anyone who wants a meaty adult build. Know which camp you are in and this becomes a very easy yes or a very easy no.

The parts story

What the build is actually like, and the pieces worth knowing about.

Building it is a breeze, and I mean that in both the good and the slightly deflating sense. It goes together fast, the steps are large and forgiving, and you are never left puzzling over anything. That makes it a lovely low-stress build for a rainy afternoon or for building alongside a child, but experienced hands will be finished before they have really settled in. The structure is mostly a flat spa floor with a low back wall, so most of your time goes into the fiddly, decorative bits: the potion bottles, the crystals, the little sink and the massage table.

The real story is the palette. This set is stuffed with medium lavender, bright pink and trans-clear crystal elements that are hard to find in this quantity anywhere else, which is exactly why parts collectors quietly hoard it. Flaminga is a proper little joy, a brick-built flamingo with posable wings and tail, and the brick-built Unikitty as Calm-Down Kitty carries a new face print. Add the exclusive Benny, the Washed-out Wyldstyle minifig with her blue and pink hair, and the Balthazar mini-doll, and you have a figure lineup valued at around 24 dollars on its own. For pastel-loving builders, this box is worth more in loose parts than its reputation suggests.

Fun facts

01The set arrived in April 2019 and retired that December, giving it a shelf life of barely eight months.
02Every one of the eight characters was exclusive to this set, so the minifigures alone carry a resale value of roughly 24 dollars.
03Balthazar's gimmick is a lever-operated revolving wall that flips him around to reveal his vampire-bat form.
04It belongs to the pastel Systar System side of The LEGO Movie 2, which is why the parts palette is so heavy on lavender and pink.