lego first began licensing characters from movie and tv shows for lego sets in 1950s.
when did lego first begin licensing characters from movie and tv shows for lego sets?
1950s
in 1992, when the mall of america opened in bloomington, minnesota, one of its premier attractions was the lego imagination center (lic). an imagination centre is a large lego store with displays of lego sculptures and a play area with bins of bricks to build with. the store inventory includes a large selection of lego sets for sale, including sets which are advertised in lego catalogues as "not available in any store." a second imagination centre opened at the disney springs (formerly downtown disney) at walt disney world resort in orlando, florida. between 1999 and 2005, lego opened 24 further stores in north america in 23 states. as of 2016, there are 90 lego stores operating or soon-to-be operating in north america in 32 us states and five canadian provinces. these stores sell various lego merchandise, including minifigures, pick-a-brick, and custom packaged minifigures.
the lego group
initially, the nickelodeon featured lego sets did not only release the 2 avatar the last airbender lego sets. spongebob squarepants lego sets were released at the same time (2006). both being the flagship product for a newly signed partnership of lego and nickelodeon. the nickelodeon series featured its most iconic shows, which were avatar, spongebob squarepants and its newest member, teenage mutant ninja turtles. the avatar the last airbender lego sets were not a series of their own, but only a theme out of many of the main series which was nickelodeon.
lego avatar: the last airbender