Western Animation / Hidden Side

Hidden Side is a LEGO theme introduced in 2019.

Hidden Side focuses on the haunted town of Newbury in the American South, where there exists a Hidden Side, the ghostly version of the living world. Ghosts are escaping the Hidden Side to haunt buildings and possess people, all under the orders of a mysterious "Lady E." High-schoolers Jack Davids and Parker L. Jackson have teamed up with paranormal scientist J.B. Watt and stunt driver Douglas Elton, a.k.a. El Fuego, and use their upgraded smartphones to scan for and fight ghosts. The LEGO sets include distinct colored pieces that can be scanned with an app, turning them into an augmented-reality video game. Many ghost characters in the theme are exclusive to the digital material (the app gameplay and animated series), as the logic of the sets is that no ghosts can appear as physical toys unless they're possessing something or the set takes place within the Hidden Side.

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Hidden Side provides examples of:

• A Boy and His X: Jack and his pet ghost dog, Spencer.
• Action Girl: Parker and J.B. although the latter is more of a science woman than a fighter but she will step in and fight when the situation calls for it.
• Advanced Tech 2000: Set 70423 is called "Paranormal Intercept Bus 3000".
• Affectionate Nickname: J.B. likes to call Jack and Parker "kiddaroos".
• Anti-Climax: In one episode, J.B. asks Parker and Jack to retrieve some cargo from a train arrival. The large device is guessed to be either a battery or a laser, but after the ghost hunters risk their lives to get it to J.B., it turns out to be an elaborate coffee machine. (It also takes care of the kid's homework.) In the toy release, the device is implied to be a ghost chamber.
• Anti-Villain: In "Night of the Harbinger", it's ultimately revealed Nehmaar Reem is a king who is trying desperately to protect his realm from the Maw, who threatens to eat his world, having since run out of worlds that were empty and unpopulated to feed them, and his only advice to the heroes is to cherish the time they have left with their loved ones. Once Jack and Parker get an idea on how to defeat the Maw, he quickly decides to help them.
• Attention Deficit... Ooh, Shiny!: Jack can get easily distracted with his phone since he is always making videos for his vlog.
• Autocannibalism: Parker, Jack, and Nehmaar Reem defeat the Maw by placing a portal inside of its body, which makes it eat itself.
• Berserk Button: J.B. REALLY hates it when someone messes with "Sweet Sally", her beloved converted school bus. She also hates to be called "old".
• Big Bad: Lady E in season 1 and 2.
• Big Eater: Spencer once won a bacon eating contest against a centipede-like ghost with several mouths who had never lost a single contest in 130 years, and Jack in one episode is shown to have drank up to a hundred lime slushies, which drove him to vomit.
• Bitch in Sheep's Clothing: As a human, Lady E looked like a harmless young girl, but she had dangerous paranormal powers.
• Boyish Short Hair: J.B. has very short, spiky hair.
• Brilliant, but Lazy: Despite not being able to capture ghosts, Douglas is a very skilled ghost hunter. However, he has the habit of sleeping while the rest of his team are busy battling ghosts.
• Came Back Strong: In a way, Douglas; While he's not any stronger than normal, being even more fragile in some ways since he's just a biology model skeleton, he now has an undying body that allows him to throw himself into harm's way both to save Parker and Jack without any lasting consequence, and just for the thrill of it.
• Chekhov's Gag: In "Good Chemistry", J.B. gets annoyed when Jack calls the soul artifact a bottle, correcting him that it's an Erlenmeyer flask. When Dr. Drewell does the same thing, the two are quick to put down their arms and flirt, which also leads to Drewell telling them about Lady E's plan.
• Chekhov's Gun: In an early episode, Parker states she's a cat lover. When she gets turned into a Gloombie and has to laugh to return to her old self, Jack remembers this fact and shows a cat video on his phone.
• The City vs. the Country: Jack's family used to live in Boston before moving to Newbury, a small coastal town in the deep south of the country during the first issue of the comic book series after his mother was hired to be the new principal of the local middle/high school. At first Jack hated the idea of leaving the city for Newbury and considered the town to be "boring" and "backwater" before he even moved there. However, he changed his mind upon meeting Parker and J.B., who recruit him for their Ghost Hunting team and help Jack reunite with his late pet Spencer through the Ghost Hunting app.
• Continuity Nod: In the Paranormal Intercept Bus set, one of the road workers is wearing a shirt with a Blacktron II logo.
• Cool Gate: A tree in the park of Newbury serves as a portal between the Living Side and the Hidden Side.
• Creepy Old-Fashioned Diving Suit: Kreatoru, the Boss Ghost of the "J.B.'s Submarine" set, wears his old diving suit with a broken helmet (possibly implying he drowned), with several anglerfish biting it, with two of their lures creating the illusion of Glowing Eyes of Doom.
• Darker and Edgier: The theme is slightly more horror-oriented than many previous ones, with the shorts often going to macabre locations, and plainly spells out that ghosts are spirits of the dead through Spencer and the soul artifacts. That being said, LEGO's playful humor is still prominent throughout the theme.
• Disappeared Dad: Jack's father is never seen nor mentioned.
• Dynamic Entry: When Vaughn comes to rescue Jack, he arrives driving a racing car, hitting all the ghosts as it stops to let Jack in before driving away with Jack.
• Early-Installment Weirdness: The pilot short, "Face Your Fears", has some of the ghosts being traditionally animated, the ghosts engage in Demonic Possession more often (being used more sparingly in the series), and the visual style doesn't feature any sort of outlines, looking more similar to LEGO City Adventures rather than leaning toward an aesthetic similar to old horror comic books.
• Eldritch Abomination: "Night of the Harbinger" has the Maw, a large lamprey-like creature that devours worlds, which is the true villain of the special rather than Nehmaar Reem.
• Foil:
  • Jack is outgoing, easily distracted and loves dogs while Parker likes to keep to herself, is always focused on the task at hand and loves cats.
  • Rose Davids and Linda Jackson would qualify as this since Rose looks older, has short brown hair, is very attentive with her son and dresses in a slightly more colorful pantsuit while Linda looks young, has long blonde hair, is more focused on her job than her daughter's problems and wears a dull dress suit.
• Gender-Blender Name: Parker's first name, possibly attributed to her being a tomboy.
• Ghost Train: The Ghost Train Express. Its face consists of patterns on front windows looking like its eyes, and a hidden jaw that it can open. On top of that, it has wings and is driven by a driver possessed by a ghost. Spooky.
• Good Parents: Rose is a sweet and caring mother to Jack. When Jack misses an assignment (because he was busy capturing ghosts) Rose agrees that Jack getting detention for many nights is a good punishment (although it was actually a ruse from Jack and Parker so that they could have more time to go ghost hunting) but she still cares about her son and his well being since she gently tried to get Jack to talk to her about why he missed an assignment instead of just getting angry and scolding him.
• Heel–Face Turn: Downplayed. Dr. Drewell is no longer hostile towards the Ghost Hunters when he develops a crush on J.B., although he still does Lady E's bidding out of fear of her.
• Heroic Sacrifice: In "Skeletons In The Closet", Douglas sacrifices himself when he tackles Lady E's portrait to prevent the light of the Blood Moon from reaching it and therefore keeping Lady E from returning to the human world, although Douglas ends up being dragged to the Hidden Side with her. Fortunately, Douglas manages to partially come back when he possesses the school's science class' skeleton.
• Herr Doctor: The scientist ghost Dr. Drewell speaks with an exaggerated German accent.
• Intergenerational Friendship: Teenagers Parker and Jack have one with Douglas and J.B., who are both adults.
• Interspecies Romance: Dr. Drewell and J.B. develop feelings for each other over their mutual love for science.
• Introverted Cat Person: Parker likes to keep to herself and adores cats. She never wastes a chance to talk about how great cats are and cat videos are the only known thing that makes her laugh.
• Jerk Jock: Rami. While he is not seen downright bullying, he can be quite arrogant.
• Join or Die: In "Grave Situation", Lady E has Dr. Drewell bring Jack before her to the Hidden Side and, after releasing her ghost minions from his phone, offers Jack to join them but he refuses and she tries to kill him...although considering what became of Lady E's minions, it couldn't have made a difference.
• Killed Off for Real: Lady E kills Mamali, Harry Cane, Dr. Drewell, and Samuel Mason after she no longer has any use for them.
• Last Episode, New Character: Seymour TeeVee and Nehmaar Reem, if "Night of the Harbinger" is regarded as the last episode.
• Late-Arrival Spoiler: The 2020 sets make no effort to hide El Fuego's Heroic Sacrifice and subsequent return as a skeleton in the first season.
• Mad Scientist: J.B. fits this mold in wackiness and style, though she objects to being called "mad".
• Masquerade: The team goes to great lengths to maintain cover and prevent knowledge of the Hidden Side ghosts from reaching the public in order to avoid mass panic.
• Monster Clown: This theme provides LEGO's first non-licensed scary clown characters with the clown Boss Ghost Tragico and the possessed forms of Terry Top and Jimbo Loblo.
• Mysterious Middle Initial: It is unknown what the "L." in Parker L. Jackson's name stands for, even Vaughn refers to her as "Parker L. Jackson".
• Mythology Gag:
  • Both of J.B.'s vehicles contain references to BIONICLE, with the bus having a computer playing the canceled BIONICLE: The Legend of Mata Nui, and the fire truck having a Kanohi Hau decoration on one of the panels.
  • The robot character TeeVee is a direct reference to the character of the same name from LEGO Alpha Team. Both are robots that look like televisions walking on minifigure legs, though the original character gained a standard minifigure form later.
  • The bus features the Rock Raiders logo as a sticker. Its license plate reads "GG 4940", referencing set #4940 Granite Grinder.
  • The fire truck has a panel with Rocket Racer's logo from LEGO Racers.
• Names to Run Away from Really Fast: Lady E and nearly every single Boss Ghost have mysterious or threatening names.
• Older Than They Look: Lady E looks like a young girl but is actually several centuries old. Before being banished to the Hidden Side, she used Mamali as a fake nanny to give the appearance she was a normal little girl.
• Only Known by Initials: J.B.'s first and middle name have yet to be revealed.
• Pink Girl, Blue Boy: Reversed in Season 2 as Jack wears a red jacket and a mostly hat while Parker wears a blue jean jacket and blue pants.
• Pink Is Feminine: Averted. J.B. dyes her hair pink and wears a pink shirt but her appearance is unkept and behaves more like a man than a woman.
• Rhymes on a Dime: One of the boss ghosts, Nanny Mamali, speaks in verse akin to nursery rhymes.
• Royals Who Actually Do Something: Nehmaar Reem is the king of his world and took it upon himself to keep the Maw away from his homeworld, traveling and feeding it unpopulated worlds for eons.
• Screams Like a Little Girl: Jack screams like this when a gloomed Parker prepars to attack him and Douglas.
• Sdrawkcab Name:
  • Linda Jackson mentions selling shares in Ogel Tech. "Ogel" is LEGO spelled backwards, and has been previously used in media like LEGO Island and LEGO Alpha Team.
  • Nehmaar Reem's name, when spelled backwards and read aloud, seems to be a warped version of "Mirror Man".
• Shout-Out: In "Night of the Harbinger", Jack has a drawing of Banjo and Kazooie hanging in his room.
• Small Name, Big Ego: Jack believes he is the best ghost hunter and better than Parker even though she is more skilled, more experienced and usually ends up having to save Jack when he gets himself in trouble.
• Take Over the World: Lady E wants to take over both the Hidden Side and the human world. She already succeeded with the first part.
• Team Pet: Jack's late pet dog Spencer.
• Toilet Humour: The possessed port-a-potty in the school bus set shoots brown discs out its mouth.
• Tomboy with a Girly Streak: J.B. isn't afraid to get her hands dirty and has a deep interest and skill in mechanics yet she dyes her hair pink and wears a pink shirt. Parker also wears boyish clothing, flirting grosses her out and her mannerisms are not really feminine yet she dyes her hair light purple, has her hair tied in braided Girlish Pigtails and adores cats.
• Too Dumb to Live: Some of the minor ghosts died due to pretty dumb causes (mistaking rat poison for sugar, choking on food or ping pong balls, etc.)
• Town with a Dark Secret: Resident Lady Evelina has been killing people and stealing their souls for centuries in order to obtain eternal youth.
• Toyless Toyline Character: Lady E and the "boss ghosts" do not have physical minifigures in the LEGO sets.
• Trademark Favorite Food: Bacon for Spencer, lime slushies for Jack.
• Undying Loyalty: Spencer adores Jack and is determined to remain by his side even after Spencer died he became a ghost so that he could follow Jack around.
• Ungrateful Bitch: Lady E's friend voodoo priestess Belulah Demonay helped Lady E in her quest for power, and getting turned into Lady E's slave was the thanks she got.
• Villains With Good Publicity: Lady E appeared to be someone prominent in Newbury as she was a high-class citizen, the Newbury High School has a portrait of her in the hallway and she served as a judge in bacon-eating contests.
• Workaholic: In "Parents just don't understand", Parker's parents are revealed to be this since they spend as much time as possible on the phone, even during their parent-teacher conference to the point where they barely notice that their daughter's teacher had been gloomed until it's too late.
• Wham Episode: "Skeletons in the Closet" ends with Douglas jumping into Lady E's portrait to prevent her from being empowered by the Blood Moon, but by doing so he ends up as a ghost himself. Thankfully, he gets a new body in a Science Class skeleton.
• Would Hurt a Child: The ghosts will try to kill 13 year old Jack and Parker if they invade the ghosts' territory. After the Ghost Hunters foil Lady E's first attempt to return to Newbury, she sends more Boss Ghosts to kill Jack and Parker.
• "X" Marks the Hero: Jack has a criss-cross scar on his left cheek.
• You Have Outlived Your Usefulness: Lady E destroyed her fellow Boss Ghosts after she no longer has any use for them, despite the fact that they worshipped her and everything they went through to help her.
• Youthful Freckles: Parker has these.

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