LEGO Disney The Lion King: Young Simba

Hey everyone, it’s Tanner. The LEGO Disney The Lion King: Young Simba (set 43247) is the LEGO build that made me realize Disney sculpture sets were going to be a lasting line — and at $70 with this much character, it’s the most accessible entry into Disney LEGO display sets.

What Makes This Set Special

This is a buildable, articulated young Simba — the cub from the opening of The Lion King — on a small Pride Rock display base. The build delivers:

• Articulated lion sculpture with poseable head, legs, and tail
• Pride Rock base with the iconic silhouette of the African savanna
• The Circle of Life pose — Simba can be staged in the iconic raised-paw silhouette from the film
• Detailed facial print with the recognizable young-cub eye expression

The face printing is the standout detail. Disney face printing is harder than it looks at LEGO scale — the cub-vs-adult distinction comes down to specific eye geometry and snout proportions. LEGO got it right. Young Simba is unmistakably young Simba, not a generic lion cub.

The Build

672 pieces, roughly 4 hours across one or two sessions. Sequenced base first (with the Pride Rock silhouette), then the lion body, then the head and articulated mouth, then the legs and tail last.

The lion body uses curved slope bricks to render the four-legged stance, with internal Technic articulation for the joints. The articulation is robust enough for repeated posing without joint wear — much more durable than the Optimus Prime transformation joints.

What to Watch For

The Pride Rock base is smaller than the build deserves. At roughly 18cm × 14cm, the base reads as proportionally undersized for the lion mounted on it. Build a custom larger base, or pair with Disney accessories, to give the display more visual weight.

The set doesn’t include Mufasa or Rafiki figures. Simba is alone on Pride Rock — which is the iconic Circle of Life setup, but feels incomplete if you wanted the full opening-scene tableau. For a complete Lion King display, MOC additional Disney elements or wait for LEGO to release additional Lion King sets.

Display Notes

Footprint: 18cm × 14cm × 22cm tall. The smallest-footprint Disney sculpture set in the lineup — fits any shelf or desk.

This set pairs specifically well with the Starry Night as Disney + Art twin display anchors. The Lion King and the Van Gogh together create a curated “famous things rendered in LEGO” display that reads as deliberate rather than collected.

Is It Worth $70?

At 672 pieces it’s $0.104 per piece — fair value for a Disney sculpture, in line with the T-Rex Skull. The articulation is solid, the face printing is excellent, and the iconic-pose staging is the killer feature.

Must-buy at MSRP for any Lion King fan. The Disney sculpture line is still relatively new, and this set is the single best entry point — the build is engaging, the display is iconic, and the price is accessible. If LEGO ever discounts this on a Disney+ promotion (which they have done at 15% off), it becomes a no-question gift purchase.