LEGO has never been shy about injecting humor and whimsy into its minifigures, and nothing exemplifies this better than the beloved "costume" characters, those quirky minifigs dressed as foods, animals, and other objects. From men in giant hot dog suits to kids sporting dinosaur costumes, these figures have captured the hearts of collectors and kids alike. They've become a staple of the LEGO Collectible Minifigures line, blending playful imagination with collectible appeal. In this article, we'll explore the origins of these costumed minifigs, highlight some fan-favorite examples (like the famous Hot Dog Man, Banana Guy, Corn Cob Guy, and more), and see how they've evolved into a mini-phenomenon in the LEGO collecting world.
Origins of the Costume Minifigure: Gorilla Suit Guy and Early Examples
The very first LEGO minifigure to don an obvious "costume" was the Gorilla Suit Guy, released in 2011 as part of Collectible Minifigures Series. This groundbreaking character looks like a person in a full-body gorilla suit, complete with a molded gorilla mask that fits over a standard minifig head and even a printed zipper down the back of the costume to drive home the gag. 
He came armed with a banana accessory, of course, adding to the humor. The Gorilla Suit Guy was an instant hit, establishing a new category of minifigs that were essentially mascots. LEGO designers have noted that including "wacky costumes" was part of the Collectible Minifigures formula from early on to appeal to both kids and adult fans. Sure enough, the success of Gorilla Suit Guy led to more costumed characters in subsequent series.
Over the next few years, LEGO kept the trend going. Series 5 brought us a green Lizard Man (a person in a Godzilla-like dino suit), Series 7 introduced the goofy Bunny Suit Guy (2012), and in 2013 Series 9 delivered one of the all-time fan favorites: the Chicken Suit Guy. This minifigure, dressed head-to-toe as a plucked chicken with a white feathery suit, red comb and an orange beak on his helmet, even carried an egg as an accessory. Chicken Suit Guy's cheerful expression and absurd get-up made him an instant icon for collectors, in fact, he's the most-owned Series 9 minifig among BrickEconomy users. By this point, LEGO knew they had a winning idea. As one reviewer wryly noted, "LEGO has recognized that people love costumed minifigures, almost without fail every Collectible Minifigure series has at least one figure in costume". This was certainly true; from Series 3 onward, nearly every series included at least one person in a funny suit, and fans began eagerly looking forward to each new "mascot" character.
Fan Favorites and Food Mascots: Hot Dog Man to Banana Guy
If one particular subset of costume minifigs can claim the most fame, it's the food costumes. LEGO really struck gold (or perhaps mustard) in 2015 with the release of Hot Dog Man in Series 13. This character, a hapless fellow wearing a giant hot dog bun suit with a big red frankfurter down the middle, kicked off the food mascot trend in earnest. The suit piece completely encases the minifig torso and legs, leaving only his smiling face and plain tan arms exposed, and features printed mustard drizzled on the hot dog.
Hot Dog Man's absurdity and charm made him wildly popular; BrickEconomy data even shows he's the most owned minifig of Series 13 among their collectors. This popularity all but guaranteed that more foodie figures would follow.
LEGO delivered. In 2016's Series 16 came the equally silly Banana Suit Guy, a minifig rocking a huge curved banana costume and cool sunglasses. The Banana Guy's bright yellow suit had no printed details (it didn't need any!) and left his grinning face visible, creating a hilariously "a-peeling" character. Fans loved him so much that LEGO turned the banana costume into a keychain and even reused it for a special "Party Banana" minifigure in a later set. By Series 17 (2017), LEGO was on a roll, unveiling the Corn Cob Guy, a mustachioed character wearing a giant ear of corn. The corn suit element brilliantly captured the look of a husk of corn with a smiling face peeking out. This "a-maize-ing" figure became the poster boy for Series 17 and even made a cameo in a LEGO City episode as Mayor Fleck's costume, showing how these mascots permeated LEGO culture.
The parade of food costumes kept coming. Series 19 (2019) gave us Pizza Costume Guy, who wears a triangular slice of pizza as a suit, complete with pepperoni and green pepper details. Interestingly, LEGO designed the pizza slice costume as a reuse of the same wedge-shaped mold created for another 2019 figure: the Watermelon Dude from The LEGO Movie 2 minifigure series. The Watermelon Dude, a character dressed in a juicy watermelon slice outfit with a matching green boombox, was one of the wild characters to come out of The LEGO Movie 2's eclectic lineup. LEGO cleverly repurposed that watermelon piece by printing it as a pizza, giving us two deliciously funny minifigs from one mold. By Series 20 and 21, even fruits and veggies joined the party, we saw a Pea Pod Costume Girl (2020) and a Chili Pepper Costume Fan (2022) extending the menu of minifig snacks. Notably, LEGO started calling these characters "Costume Fans" instead of "Costume Guy/Girl" around 2021-2022 to make the naming mor inclusive (for example, "Chili Costume Fan"). And let's not forget the sweetest disguise of all: the Birthday Cake Guy from Series 18 (2018), who literally pops out of a plastic cake wearing a tuxedo and top hat, as if shouting "Surprise!" That cake costume was a new spin (a cylindrical cake piece that fits over the minifig legs) and added one more dessert to our buffet of costume figs.
Whimsical Wildlife: Animal and Creature Costumes
A lineup of various animal-suit LEGO minifigures from over the years. Characters like the
Bunny Suit Guy, Gorilla Suit Guy, and Shark Suit Guy have become fan favorites, blending humor with creative design.
Food isn't the only theme for costumed minifigs, many have dressed up as animals, monsters, or other creatures, bringing a fun cosplay vibe to LEGO. We've already mentioned the pioneering Gorilla Suit Guy and his early "animal" colleagues (Lizard Man, Bunny, Chicken). In later series, LEGO continued introducing lovable critter costumes. Series 14 (2015's Halloween-themed series) gave us a Plant Monster that is actually a minifig in a Venus flytrap costume, a clever twist on the trope. Series 15 delivered the hilarious Shark Suit Guy (2016), complete with a big shark headpiece and flippers, looking like a goofy mascot you'd see on Shark Week. 
By Series 18's costume party, we got an orange Dragon Suit Guy and an adorable Elephant Suit Girl among others. LEGO even ventured into fantasy with a Unicorn Girl (Series 13) and Panda Guy (from The LEGO Movie series), proving that no animal, real or mythical, is off-limits for a minifig costume.
Most recently, Collectible Minifigures Series 24 (released in 2023) introduced a new fan-favorite creature costume: the T-Rex Costume Fan. This figure is essentially a person in a giant brown tyrannosaurus rex suit, a callback to the classic inflatable T-Rex costumes that went viral on the internet. The T-Rex Costume Fan (whose character is cheekily named "Gus" in LEGO's materials) comes complete with a tail and a roaring dino headpiece, but you can still see the minifig's excited face inside, loving every minute of it. By adding a dinosaur to the lineup, LEGO showed that even a fearsome predator can become a source of laughs as a minifigure mascot. From penguins and giraffes to wolves and dragons, the animal-suit characters bring endless variety. They're a testament to the creativity of LEGO's design team, who even noted that developing these complex costume molds (like big animal heads and tails) often pushes the limits of their molding techniques, but the end result is worth it for the personality these figures exude.
Celebremos! Special Series and Modern Developments
The popularity of costumed minifigs eventually led LEGO to dedicate entire series to the concept. In 2018, to celebrate the 40th anniversary of the LEGO minifigure, LEGO released Collectible Minifigures Series 18, effectively a giant costume party in a bag. Virtually every character in Series 18 was wearing some kind of outfit or disguise, from the previously mentioned Birthday Cake Guy to a Firework Rocket Guy, Cactus Girl, Flower Pot Girl, and two people dressed as giant LEGO bricks. 
As lead designer Tara Wike explained, a costume-themed series was the "natural fit" for commemorating the minifig's anniversary. Fans absolutely loved the festive theme, and Series 18 became one of the most memorable waves due to its sheer concentration of creative costumes (plus the bonus inclusion of a retro Classic Policeman fig as a nod to 1978).
In late 2022 LEGO released Series 23, another in-house series that leaned heavily into costumes, this time with a holiday twist. Series 23 featured characters like a Turkey Costume (just in time for Thanksgiving), a Reindeer Costume complete with antlers, a Snowman costume, and even a Nutcracker. Two standout originals from that series were the Cardboard Robot and Popcorn Costume minifigures. The Cardboard Robot is particularly charming, it portrays a child who built a homemade robot costume out of blue cardboard boxes, with painted-on dials and a pair of scissors as an accessory to "make" more costumes. It's a delightful meta-joke celebrating kids' craftiness. The Popcorn Costume, on the other hand, is a person popping out of a red-and-white striped popcorn bucket, complete with a mound of popcorn on top of their head. LEGO even left the Popcorn Kid's torso plain white, because the bucket costume covers nearly the whole figure, talk about fully committing to the look! By Series 23 and 24, LEGO had also started giving many of these costume characters alternate hair pieces or faces, acknowledging that after the "show" the person might step out of the suit (for example, the Chili Costume Fan came with a hair piece so she could remove her chili pepper hood). It's a small touch that adds even more play value and personality.
Collectibility and Legacy
It's worth noting how these costume minifigures have performed on the secondary market. Generally speaking, the popular costumed characters tend to hold their value well and often appreciate, thanks to enduring fan demand. For instance, the original Gorilla Suit Guy that cost $2.99 in 2011 now sells for around $15 in new condition, a price jump of over 400%. Other early costumes like Chicken Suit Guy and Hot Dog Man routinely fetch higher prices than many of their contemporaries from the same series. Part of this is because of their unique molds (the specialized costume pieces aren't reused often, so supply is limited) and part is pure fan nostalgia, these figures just make people smile, and collectors love to hunt them down. LEGO has also capitalized on the popularity by producing related merchandise: there have been plush toy versions of Banana Guy and Watermelon Guy, keychains of Hot Dog Man, and even LEGO Store employee minifigs have been known to suit up (e.g. the LEGO Store Build-a-Minifigure stations have offered a Cake Costume and other exclusive food suits). All of this cements the costume characters as a little sub-genre of LEGO collecting.
From the first guy in a gorilla suit to the latest kids in fruit and dino outfits, the history of LEGO's costume minifigures is a lighthearted saga of creativity. These minifigs embody what makes LEGO so special: the ability to surprise and delight us, and to turn even a simple idea, like dressing up, into a cherished collectible. Whether you're an investor who recognizes their steady value growth or just a fan who enjoys the fun designs, there's no denying the appeal of these costumed characters. It's safe to say that LEGO will keep the tradition alive (and keep us guessing) with new costumes in future series, after all, there's always another wacky idea waiting to be worn by a minifigure! As LEGO's design team has hinted, they have a "vast font of ideas" and an endless imagination for new characters, and you can bet that wacky costumes will remain front and center in that lineup for years to come.
