About

Bionicle is a line of construction toy action figures created by the LEGO Group.

History

Bionicle, short for Biological Chronicle, was conceptualized after LEGO decided to create a toy line with an overarching story. Following in the tracks of it's failed predecessors, Slizer/Throwbots^[1] and RoboRiders^[2], Bionicle was first released in Europe in December of 2000 as an online game, before sets were launched in early 2001, reaching North American markets in the summer. Though initially facing some resistance from within the company thanks to its new storyline-based format and more war-themed premise, the line was well received upon release, making £100 million ($161.7 million) in its first year^[3]. It also went on to receive Toy of the Year Award for Most Innovative Toy in 2001 from the Toy Industry Association. On November 24th, 2009 BZPower posted an article titled: "An Important Announcement Regarding Bionicle"^[4]. The email detailed that the toyline would be discontinued for the "foreseeable future" and that the story would continue on BIONICLEstory.com. BIONICLEstory.com continued to receive story updates through 2011. The site was finally shut down along with Bionicle.com on June 19th, 2013.

2015 Return

Beginning of July 2, 2014, an unknown image of a black and white display image surface the internet, the source is unknown and the community heavily speculated on this image.^[5]

July 25, 2014, a colored display with a similar design appeared and build more belief on the leaked content shown.^[6]

July 30th, 2014, various users across different fan sites noticed that when they typed in the term "Bionicle" into LEGO.com's search engine, they would be redirected to a "Coming Soon Page."^[7][8][9]

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On September 8th, 2014, BZPower Reporter Adrian discovered a picture of the golden mask featured in previous "leaks" of varying authenticity on the Lego website's servers.^[10]

On September 15th, Lego Announced on their Facebook, Twitter, and Google+ pages that "In 4 days time we´ll be revealing something very exciting."

Brickset user Bricklover2013 noted on Brickset's coverage of this^[11], that the URL for the image included at the end "Bionicle-4-new.jpg", which again, essentially confirmed the theme's return.

On September 19th, 2014, LEGO officially announced The return of Bionicle. LEGO Posted the announcement on Twitter^[12] linking to a video of a 3D view video of the Mask of Creation. The same video was also posted to LEGO's Facebook^[13] and a description of the powers that it contains. The Facebook post gained over 4,000 likes in 24 hours.

On September 23rd, LEGO put a link to the "sneak peek" of the new Bionicle website on their "Products" page. The website was later updated over the months with character profiles, locations, and videos.

On January 1st, the LEGO BIONICLE Mask of Creation App was released for iPhone and iPad.^[14]

Generation 2 Animation

The writers have comprised a web-series for the 2-year run:
2015, Lego released a 1-5 minute long animation short that shows the Toa journey into the land of Okoto to collect their golden mask, work together, save Ekimu, and retrieve the Mask of Creation against skull villains.^[15] The whole premise is to make it easy to understand and easily visible for a younger demographic.

2016, Unlike last year animation, Journey to One is a 4-part series that last around 20-minute episodes with a major animation redesign, new voice cast, and available only on Netflix.^[16] In this plot, the Toa's must find elemental creatures and new golden mask to discover the Mask of Control hidden location before Umarak the Hunter can take it for Makuta.

The end of Generation 2 [2015-2016]

On July 29, 2016, Lego Group announced a press release that Bionicle will be discontinued again due to poor sales and will not complete a 3-year run. People who lived in Asia and the Pacific markets would not receive a local shipment of the final set of Bionicle 2016.^[17]

Impact

Bionicle had a large impact on both the LEGO Group and the general public. Stephanie Lawrence, the global director of licensing for Lego, stated "We've created an evergreen franchise to complement the many event-based properties on the children's market. An increasing number of category manufacturers want to tap into the power of the Bionicle universe, and the key for us now is to manage the excitement to stay true to the brand and the lifestyle of our core consumer."

Since its launch, toy critics have said that Bionicle has changed the way children think and play with Lego products by combining "The best of Lego building with the storytelling and adventure of an action figure". Toy statistics have revealed that 85% of American boys aged 6–12 have heard of Bionicle while 45% own the sets.

Fandom

Over the years, Bionicle has amassed a large following, most of which discuss and celebrate the series on forums and wikis such as BZPower^[18] and BIONICLEsector01.^[19] On Tumblr Bionicle is tagged under at least two different tags,^[20][21] as well as inspiring several Bionicle themed single topic blogs such as BIONICLE Nostalgia,^[22] Custom BIONICLE^[23], thatbionicleblog^[24], Bionicle Captions^[25], as well as others.^[26][27][28] On Reddit there are several subreddits dedicated to Bionicles.^[29][30][31]

On YouTube there are various clips of official Bionicle animations, both unedited, as well as several that are edited in an AMV style (shown below).^[32][33] Many of these videos have near or over a million views.

Fan Films

Quite a few stop-motion and live-action series have been created on YouTube using official Bionicle sets and fan-made creations, in a similar vein to Brickfilms (shown below).^[34]

Fan Art

On DeviantArt there are various pieces of fanart depicting characters from the franchise,^[35] along with entire pages dedicated to Bionicles.^{[36][37][38][39][40][41]}

Notable Sub-memes

Voriki

Voriki was a photoshopped fake set from the early 2000's. Images of the set combined two toa images, added lightning bolts, and colored the set purple. It was rumored to be the seventh toa before the actual seventh toa Takanuva would be introduced in 2003.

Makooti the Bionic Man

Makooti the Bionic Man refers to a man in a 2003 commercial advertising Bionicle: The Game. In the commercial, the man claims t be dressing up as "Makooti, the Bionic Man" mistaking trying to refer to Makuta from Bionicle.

Lime Green Joints

Lime Green Joints specifically refers to Lime green colored joints present in some 2007 sets. These joints were notable for breaking extremely easily compared to other joint parts made previously and in other concurrent sets in other colors. This problem would become exacerbated in the following years with new molds that made all joint parts susceptible to snapping, though lime green joints often be viewed as what started it.

Good Guy

Good Guy was a 2006 Swedish promotional polybag set, and was mocked at the time for its limited parts and uncreative name. In the mid-2010s people became fascinated with this small set, many implying that he was actually extremely powerful. Other Bionicle promotional polybags have also been ironically appreciated, though not to the same extent.

Piraka Rap

Piraka Rap was a song released in 2006 to coincide with the 2006 Piraka sets. Many saw its use of rap and trying to tie in with the Piraka being seen as close to gangsters, but its lyrics were seen as pretty silly and did not match the mood of the story. It was mocked at the time and afterward many saw it as cringeworthy. However, it later received ironic appreciation.

BONKLES

BONKLES is a corruption of the word "Bionicle". While initially used in a derogatory way mock people who wanted the sets to return, it later became used by fans in a non-negative way.

I Wurk Alnoe

I Wurk Alnoe is a phrase associated with Kopaka. The first post of this was made by the Tumblr blog SuddenlyOranges on May 21st, 2014.^[42] Initially, it was meant to mock comic art of Kopaka being drawn with a disproportionally small head, though it later it was used with Kopaka in general, including with corrected spelling

I Didn't Slip

I Didn't Slip is a phrase said by Kopaka in the 2015 Bionicle animations. In it, he slips, but immediately claims to his companion that he did not. This is in contrast to his much more stoic and collected personality in the previous generation.

I Can Feel The Power!

I Can Feel The Power! is a phrase yelled by Tahu in the 2015 Bionicle animations. Many felt it was a silly phrase and the line's delivery was over the top to the point it was humorous.

Search Interest

External References