Monty Python

[Miguel Wilkins]

Monty Python's Flying Circus

LEGO's Monty Python Build Lets You Recreate the Silliest Walk in History
By Sarang Sheth
02/02/2025
click for source and more pics/animations

Somewhere in the depths of the British Civil Service, nestled between the Department of Redundancy Department and the Bureau of Silly Names, there exists a place of utmost national importance: The Ministry of Silly Walks. Thanks to LEGO Ideas, this hallowed institution of absurd locomotion has been immortalized in brick form, ensuring future generations can practice their own bureaucratically approved gait modifications—preferably while wearing a bowler hat and carrying an umbrella.

This build captures John Cleese's Mr. Teabag in all his gangly, knee-flinging glory. The exaggerated proportions are perfect for recreating his impossibly precise movements, with carefully placed Technic joints allowing for a full range of silliness. Whether you're attempting an elegant forward aerial half-turn every alternate step or simply struggling with the physical limitations of human anatomy, this set delivers. The silhouette is instantly recognizable, and the deadpan seriousness of Mr. Teabag's face is sculpted with an attention to detail usually reserved for medieval cathedrals or large-scale statues of minor Eastern European poets.

A deviation from most static LEGO sets, this one comes with a fully positionable design, allowing you to make Mr. Cleese walk in a variety of silly styles. LEGO's usual dedication to stability means that even the most outrageously extended limb maintains structural integrity—a crucial element when defying both gravity and common sense. The umbrella can be anchored for extra support, preventing catastrophic workplace accidents that could result in additional funding cuts for the Ministry. The legs, engineered with ratcheted connections, maintain their dramatic angles without collapsing, allowing you to fine-tune your walk into something truly worthy of a government grant.

It's hard to overstate the cultural weight of this particular Monty Python sketch. Among the Pythons' many absurd masterpieces, "The Ministry of Silly Walks" is one of the most enduring, right up there with the "Dead Parrot" sketch and the Spanish Inquisition (which, as we all know, no one expects). Cleese's performance is a masterclass in controlled absurdity, taking the inherently ridiculous concept of an underfunded ministry dedicated to outlandish gaits and delivering it with complete bureaucratic sincerity. This LEGO build taps into that same comedic balance, treating the outlandish with an almost reverent level of craftsmanship.

The Ministry of Silly Walks may have never received the government funding it deserved, but in brick form, it has found a permanent place in history. And let's be honest—what better way to honor one of the greatest comedy sketches of all time than by making it impossible to take a serious step past your LEGO shelf without launching into an exaggerated, knee-thrusting march?

[Miguel Wilkins]

Some promo pics

[Miguel Wilkins]

Monty Python Audio Rarities