Behind BIONICLE

BIONICLE Documentary Series - Taking a closer look.

BIONICLE is a trademark of the LEGO Group, which does not sponsor or endorse this project.

[Behind BIONICLE @BehindBIONICLE]

Behind BIONICLE E1 premieres in just 20 minutes!

https://t.co/mK78BfLdId

[Behind BIONICLE @BehindBIONICLE]

Brian Ellis' BIONICLE set design retrospective:

https://t.co/ssW6Vjyg7F

[Behind BIONICLE @BehindBIONICLE]

How BIONICLE sets were designed (sources below):

[Behind BIONICLE @BehindBIONICLE]

Designers would then conduct research on the theme; identifying potential characters. For 2007, the team went scuba diving with sharks, eels, and other marine life for inspiration / a team bonding exercise:

https://t.co/zY9rQaTkoP

[Behind BIONICLE @BehindBIONICLE]

Here's an extract of the source:
https://t.co/796DfULwfc

[Behind BIONICLE @BehindBIONICLE]

BIONICLE vans were stationed at skate parks in order to target "shredder tweens" (sources below):

[Behind BIONICLE @BehindBIONICLE]

They were part of the “Find the Power Tour” which took place in 2001 and 2002.

“The campaign was tailored to appeal to the “shredder teen,” that savvy 10- to 12-year-old boy interested in multiple sports and active challenges”.

Case study: https://t.co/Ec6aOhaloa

[Behind BIONICLE @BehindBIONICLE]

Small update to this: In August 2024, Argonaut Games actually returned!

https://t.co/n8pfjcx34R

[Behind BIONICLE @BehindBIONICLE]

A BIONICLE game pitched as "Mario meets Tony Hawk" would've had players parkour across Metru Nui (sources below):

[Behind BIONICLE @BehindBIONICLE]

To clarify, Argonaut Games no longer exists, they were liquidated in late 2004. So the people Hexadecimal Mantis reached out to were former employees.

https://t.co/E9KO4iUcUA

[Behind BIONICLE @BehindBIONICLE]

@retrozaid Here's hopin'. Pretty recently someone did get a hold of the 35mm print for the Bohrok teaser animation and was able to get it digitized and color corrected:

https://t.co/yCLHLsdUk4

[Behind BIONICLE @BehindBIONICLE]

BIONICLE was designed with its own Iceberg Chart as part of a layered marketing strategy (sources below):

[Behind BIONICLE @BehindBIONICLE]

Thanks to a recent interview with Kun Chang by @e_milyrealms, we now have higher quality scans of his production sketches!

Interview: https://t.co/z5jI2tMRYT

Art: https://t.co/dZfOubEQcB

[Behind BIONICLE @BehindBIONICLE]

Kini-Nui production design sketches by Kun Chang (sources below):

[Behind BIONICLE @BehindBIONICLE]

Kun Chang was a freelance art director for Ghost VFX, having worked on the initial BIONICLE launch CDs and commercials.

Portfolio: https://t.co/kgv0MhDUzI

LinkedIn: https://t.co/o2g3MWMXYX

[Behind BIONICLE @BehindBIONICLE]

But since these stores didn’t usually carry toys, they’d be reluctant to compete with big outlets like Toys R Us and Wal Mart.

So in order to attract these high-traffic stores, LEGO would sell the Bohrok Va to them exclusively for one year.

OAFE: https://t.co/SsHbx6werW

[Behind BIONICLE @BehindBIONICLE]

The Bohrok Va were not allowed to be sold in toy stores for a year (sources below):

[Behind BIONICLE @BehindBIONICLE]

In the late 90s and early 2000s, LEGO had a strategy to expand their market base by selling their products to "high-traffic stores" or "everyday outlets" such as pharmacies, gas stations, and grocery stores.

MoD: https://t.co/RTyaLpvZrC

Brick by Brick: https://t.co/A7aOVIu3An

[Behind BIONICLE @BehindBIONICLE]

@ArcaneStrain BIONICLE Co-Creator Bob Thompson mentions that they didn't make a movie with Ghost because of how much it would cost:

"You couldn't make a whole movie with that team at that price."

https://t.co/HMas0GNfmh

[Behind BIONICLE @BehindBIONICLE]

A BIONICLE film script resembling LOTR caused the Ignition Trilogy to be made- to show Hollywood how its done (sources below):

[Behind BIONICLE @BehindBIONICLE]

@EssengerMusic Yeah, if we had more primary sources that discussed it, we'd definitely make a thread about the MoL script.

[Behind BIONICLE @BehindBIONICLE]

Took a while, but this is a follow up to one of our first threads. Though we still have more to say about this specific strategy:

https://t.co/Ynr7pdKvLA

[Behind BIONICLE @BehindBIONICLE]

BIONICLE commercials played in cinemas before screenings of Shrek as part of a broad marketing strategy (sources below):

[Behind BIONICLE @BehindBIONICLE]

The overall goal of the strategy was to make BIONICLE relevant and 'cool' to kids.

In 2002, results of surveys by the global research agency, Millward Brown, confirmed that 'coolness is definitely not an issue for BIONICLE.'

Source: https://t.co/18ujLJNRoN

[Behind BIONICLE @BehindBIONICLE]

According to a BZP forum topic, there was allegedly a press conference video with the All-American Rejects, where they commented on how scary it was to be captured by the PIRAKA.

No trace of this video exists online unfortunately.

https://t.co/f6WrDscfKg

[Behind BIONICLE @BehindBIONICLE]

The All-American Rejects were kidnapped at sea as part of a BIONICLE campaign (sources below):

[Behind BIONICLE @BehindBIONICLE]

According to a case study for Promotion Marketing Association's 2007 Reggie Awards, the Free The Band campaign lifted sales of "more than 30% for the BIONICLE line compared with the previous year".

Case Study: https://t.co/iSo69lBnkO

[Behind BIONICLE @BehindBIONICLE]

*Skateboard Deck

Thanks @Maniac4Bricks.

[Behind BIONICLE @BehindBIONICLE]

Generous benefactors stepped in to aid the rescue efforts on Voya Nui through a sweepstakes. Enter in and you could win fabulous prizes like a guitar, skateboard, and even a trip for 5 to meet the band on an official tour bus– provided they're freed, of course: