When a LEGO set is less than the sum of its parts

Despite serving up a fragile build, LEGO Disney 43288 Sally’s Flowerpot is a treasure trove of unique printed pieces, new recolours and subtle details to spot.

Fans of Tim Burton’s The Nightmare Before Christmas can add a second spooky LEGO Disney set to their collections come March 1, 2026. 43288 Sally’s Flowerpot launches on the date, and while as a whole the set has its share of problems, it also boasts a selection of interesting recolours, unusual printed parts and some subtle attention to detail that some may miss at first glance.

The most striking aspect of 43288 Sally’s Flowerpot is without a doubt its large flower, which could just as easily sit well within the LEGO Botanicals theme. The sinister bloom features a long black stem, constructed from a variety of parts making their debut in that specific hue, including ferns, tubes with 45-degree elbows and a 3x3 ring, a yellow version of which has popped up in a number of past LEGO Sonic the Hedgehog sets.

Attached to the plant’s stem and a secondary smaller flower are a selection of recoloured pieces represented by leaves and dome tops, all of which arrive in the eye-catching new-for-2026 blue violet, along with tiny 2x2 sunflowers in the same rare colour.

The top portion of the flower is completed with five separate petals, three of which have unique prints on them that match the pattern on the LEGO Disney set’s Sally mini-doll. Two of those elements are blue and pink, while the third goes for purple and yellow, all of which contrast perfectly with the flower’s unprinted dark purple and rare magenta petals.

That impressive parts usage continues with 43288 Sally’s Flowerpot's bowl-shaped base, which is assembled using various recoloured sand blue pieces that combine to create the curved shape of the pot itself.

The top of the flowerpot is decorated to look like Sally’s secret herb garden within the graveyard of Halloween Town, which features stickered ‘Witch Hazel’ and ‘Hen Bane’ tombstones, as well as a pumpkin with Jack O’ Lantern face in a dark orange recolour.

The flowerpot’s exterior is completed with three round 6x6 elements that help give the bowl its overall curved look. The piece debuted in 21357 Luxo Jr. last year and is recoloured in light grey in this LEGO Disney set.

A fourth such part is also attached to the front of 43288 Sally’s Flowerpot and boasts a unique ‘Deadly Night Shade’ print, referencing one of the ingredients the character uses in The Nightmare Before Christmas to create a sleeping potion drunk by the unwitting Doctor Finklestein.

Opening up the LEGO Disney set reveals two hidden rooms inside, compete with numerous nods to Sally and the stop motion movie’s source material. Those details include a basket, cauldron, table, flower, potions and spoon, reflecting the character’s potion-crafting proclivity.

The interior of 43288 Sally’s Flowerpot is rounded out with a pair of stickers, one featuring various ingredients and an image of the Pumpkin King himself, while the other features Sally’s picnic basket, more potion items and an oval window looking out on to Spiral Hill.

The LEGO Disney model also comes with new light aqua elements for the set’s Sally mini-doll, who boasts exceptional printing on her head, torso and skirt, with the character’s dark red hair piece having been cleverly repurposed from the original 2019 minifigure version of the patchwork ragdoll.

Accompanying Sally is an all-black cat figure, a piece that has previously appeared in numerous LEGO Friends builds, but gains a new face print with 43288 Sally’s Flowerpot that features large yellow eyes and a subtle smirk.

While 43288 Sally’s Flowerpot's individual parts are definitely greater than the sum of its whole, the completed model unfortunately offers up a frustrating building experience, one detailed in our full review of the 346-piece LEGO Disney model here.

43288 Sally’s Flowerpot is priced at £44.99 in the UK, $49.99 in the US and €49.99 in Europe. The LEGO Disney set releases on March 1 and is available to pre-order right now.

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