Today’s guest article is written by Caleb Schilling, an experienced AFOL, LEGO Masters fan-favorite, and consummate LEGO video creator. You can also find his work on YouTube and Instagram as Cheesey Studios.
LEGO’s Fantastic Beasts
When you think of the innovations that LEGO Harry Potter has introduced over the years, your mind might jump to the latest wand mould, a piece that has shown up in everything from BrickHeadz Commander Cody (40675) to the modular Corner Garage (10264). Or perhaps you’ll remember the Harry Potter theme as one of the first to introduce flesh skin tones back in 2004. Maybe it’s Harry Potter’s introduction of double-sided heads back in 2001 with Professor Quirrell, a feature that has more or less become standard by now.
Over the course of nearly a quarter of a century, the Harry Potter theme has had an undeniable impact on so many different LEGO themes. Today, I want to focus specifically on LEGO Harry Potter animals—particularly how the theme’s creatures have evolved over the years and how Harry Potter has influenced and introduced new LEGO animals, even from other themes.
A whole menagerie or animals.
“He just caught fire!”
The latest 2025 wave of Harry Potter sets has no shortage of magical creatures, going so far as to include several large-scale brick-built offerings, like 76448 Fawkes: Dumbledore’s Phoenix. Going back through the years, you’ll see there’s no shortage of different takes on the beloved bird. There’s the brick-built minifigure scale version from the 2018 reboot Great Hall, and of course, the special moulded version that has more or less become the standard for playsets. But then there’s the instance in 2019 where Fawkes was relegated to a simple sticker! You’ll find this rather underwhelming depiction in the Hogwarts Clock Tower set (75948).
Fawkes variants excluding the flapping 76394
My favorite version of Fawkes though has got to be the original mould from 2002, included with the first Chamber of Secrets set (4730). Comparing the three minifigure-scale phoenixes side by side paints an interesting picture, showcasing how drastically LEGO’s animal stylings have changed over the years
“Why spiders?! Why couldn’t it be ‘follow the butterflies’?”
LEGO Harry Potter sets will never leave you wanting for spiders, and the summer 2025 wave is no exception, with the creepy crawlies appearing in Hogwarts Castle: Herbology Class (76445) and Hogwarts Castle: The Main Tower (76454). Spiders may not have begun with Harry Potter (credit goes to 1999’s Adventurers and Belville of all things!), but Hogwarts sure gave us more recolors of spiders than we would have gotten elsewhere. Red, Orange, Blue and Transparent Neon Orange spiders all had their origins in LEGO Harry Potter.
Spider recolors and new spider mould
The original spider mould would live on as late as 2018, when it was replaced by the modern variant, which, unsurprisingly, had Harry Potter introduce even more color variants like black and medium nougat, which have become mainstays within the theme. The moulded spiders might be the most familiar, but don’t forget about these printed spiders either. The 1×1 spider tile below appeared in two Harry Potter sets—Aragog in the Dark Forest (4727), and Draco’s Encounter with Buckbeak (4750). If you’re looking for a smaller spider for a MOC, these can be a great option.
Printed spiders
“Today we’re going to repot Mandrakes!”
Another creature highlight of the summer 2025 wave is certainly the new potted mandrakes. This design seems like some crossover between a LEGO baby and a DreamZzz Dreamling, and it’s rather perfect. It’s a huge step up from previous designs.
New Mandrake design
The first mandrakes were introduced in 2007’s sole Harry Potter set, and were printed sand green minifigure heads plopped into the iconic LEGO barrel piece. At the time, it was a very effective and fun solution. The first Harry Potter CMF series introduced a new element for mandrakes, but it would only ever be used as an acorn for Chip from the Disney CMF series. In the following years, LEGO would default to printed 1×1 cylinders.
Old Mandrake designs
“Harry – happy birthday!”
Harry Potter’s most significant contribution to the world of LEGO animals though by far is the owl, introduced in 2001 in white, light grey, dark grey, black, brown, and tan. The original owl design, referred to as “Owl, Rounded Features” on BrickLink, would go on to be included in 31 sets in seven different colors before it was replaced with “Owl, Angular Features” with the 2010 Harry Potter wave.
A Parliament of owls.
The design and prints continue to be used all these years later. LEGO has expanded the selection of owls, though, with plenty of different colors and print designs, baby owls, and owls with outstretched wings. There’s an owl for everyone!
“Just play him a bit of music, and he falls straight to sleep!”
The creature that I’m most excited about in the new summer sets is Fluffy, included in the absolutely massive Hogwarts Castle Main Tower expansion (76454). This is LEGO’s third attempt at everyone’s favorite three-headed pooch, and as far as I’m concerned, it’s their best one yet.
All the Fluffys (or Fluffies?)
Fluffy debuted back in 2001 with 4706 Forbidden Corridor—a stellar playset for its time. The set included the entire Golden Trio, spiders, that lovely 6×6 sand green roof piece, spiral staircase, a printed flute, and more. It had it all.
2001
The standout of course though was Fluffy, a build comprised of four highly-specialized moulded elements: a body and three identical, hinged heads.
Parts comparison
The three-headed dog takes design elements from a number of classic LEGO animals of the time. Though they came pre-assembled, the body divides into two distinct parts.
Parts comparison
You may recognize the legs as dinosaur legs from 2000’s Adventurers Dino Island. A look at Fluffy’s jaw reveals the same mouth shape as the classic LEGO dragon from 1993. It never came across as lazy, but instead helped establish a distinct visual style for LEGO animals of the era.
2021
The 2021 Fluffy is a bit of a mixed bag. The brick-built features allow for a great deal more articulation, but it comes at the cost of some blockier shapes and a body that is much too larger proportionally. A real highlight here though is three unique face prints given for each head, giving the creature so much personality. Of course I can’t ignore the Mixel ball joint pieces, which are truly unfortunate on this model.
2025
The 2025 Fluffy feels like a return to form, once again opting for a specialized, moulded body. The model makes clever use of the small dinosaur jaw to once again allow each head to bark and snap at any trespassers. The teeth structure is obviously a bit raptor-like, but it’s certainly better than nothing.
Unteresting Jawlines.
A Magical Menagerie
Harry Potter has introduced all sorts of other animals as well that have gone onto becoming standard LEGO animals. The river otter first appeared as a patronus in 2020 before the mould was reused in 2023 for a more standard version of an otter. And the same thing happened with the reindeer mould and the hare.
Miscellaneous LEGO creatures made from Harry Potter moulds
LEGO Harry Potter would be the first theme to include a baby dragon (for Norbert) back in 2001. Harry Potter would introduce several versions of rats over the years. There are new snakes, new dogs, and countless animal recolors that probably would not exist without the LEGO Harry Potter theme.
LEGO Harry Potter’s Animal Advantage
So I suppose the question that all this raises is… why does LEGO Harry Potter end up being the theme to introduce all these useful critters? Well, if I had to guess, some of it likely just comes down to the fact that LEGO is able to put more resources behind Harry Potter than in other themes. It has consistently been ranked in the top-selling themes list in LEGO’s financial reports, and it’s clear that this seems to afford LEGO Harry Potter sets a few luxuries, like more specialized pieces. The justification for producing a new stag/reindeer mould becomes easy when it can put in Winter Village and Christmas sets for years to come.
I think another reason for the number of great animals is just how well Harry Potter overlaps with the real world. Star Wars isn’t about to drop a new cat recolor, but between all the named and unnamed cats in Harry Potter, it’s inevitable to get some new variations. Creatures are just so integral to the Harry Potter universe after all. (Remember when they even tried to make a whole movie series about that?)
LEGO animals serve as a fascinating time capsule into how the priorities and styles have shifted over the years. Fine details have become printed rather than moulded, and harsher shapes have been rounded out for a friendly, more comic appearance in later years. No matter where LEGO animals end up in 20 years from now, I have to imagine that the Harry Potter theme will continue to have a significant impact on their development.
Check out more of Caleb’s thoughts on the new LEGO Harry Potter sets in his video below:
The LEGO Harry Potter summer 2025 wave is available now for varying prices in the US, EU, CA, UK, and AU.
DISCLAIMER: These sets were provided to BrickNerd by LEGO. Any opinions expressed in this article are those of the author.
What other animals have come from Harry Potter that went on to become available in other LEGO sets? Let us know in the comments below!
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