BIONICLE
From Lego Bionicle
For the in-universe BIONICLE, see The BIONICLE.
BIONICLE is a line of Toys and a Storyline made by the Lego Group that is marketed towards those in the 7-16 year-old range. The line was launched in January 2001 in Europe and June/July 2001 in the United States.
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[edit] History
The year was 1997, an absolutely horrid time for the Lego Company. For the first time in the history of the company, it had posted a loss. The Lego Company needed a change in order for it to appeal to this new generation of youngsters. They realized that kids in this fast-paced modern world wanted something cool to play with that would encompass more than building blocks. Kids wanted a story behind those blocks, and to go with that story they wanted neat pieces that they could use to create their own play fantasies. No, this was not the start of BIONICLE as one may expect it to be, this was the birth of the Star Wars line. Star Wars was a smash hit, and it almost took Lego out of the red for 1999. However, although the sales for the sets were outstanding, a large number of royalties had to be paid to Lucasfilm in order to retain the licensing agreement for Star Wars. Lego now knew that bricks with a story and focus worked, but the licensing agreement with Lucasfilm kept Lego out of the black.
Meanwhile, Lego's Technic line, popular among adult enthusiasts but never well-received by the younger customers, had recently scored a surprise hit in the line of sets known in Europe as Slizers and Throwbots in the U.S., with elements of what would later be found in BIONICLE. Main characters had an elemental focus of sortsand a backstory that allowed for extensive playability. And to top it all off, they came in cool plastic cases and had neat, collectible discs.
Lego's next line, the RoboRiders, were a considerable failure, but were an obvious step toward BIONICLE: they had reduced the cast of characters from twelve somewhat ambiguous characters to six heroes fighting against an unseen evil. The story was becoming more focused, and a tie-in with the Lego website featured a game allowing visitors to battle monsters using the robotic motorcycles.
Therefore, sometime in 1999 Lego got the idea of creating their own story. No longer would they have to rely on Lucasfilm or any other outside company to create stories for them. This story -- this saga -- was BIONICLE. Lego thinkers and design staff wanted to create something that would appeal to boys ages 8-12, yet could also be appealing to other groups. This saga creation would be a challenge for Lego, as they have never actually created their own story before. As 2000 approached, it began to come together. 6 heroes. An Island. Magic masks. A dangerous villain. A fight for control. BIONICLE was a smash hit, and it took the continent by storm. Six months later, BIONICLE hit the shelves in the United States. The popularity of the sets was absolutely incredible. Lego finally found another hit that would not rival any other theme in the area of actual profits.
[edit] Navigation
- Characters - Factions, Toa, Matoran
- Islands
- Rahi
- Books - Bionicle Chronicles, Bionicle Adventures, Bionicle Legends
- Bionicle Sets
[edit] Word Meanings
For a time, the BIONICLE franchise used words out of Polynesian languages, most noticeably the Māori language.
However, after some controversy (see below) regarding Lego's use of words from other cultures, many of their names now either have no root word, or are based on English or Latin words.
[edit] Being-Names
- "Kopaka" is the Māori word for "cold" or "ice" and is the name of a Toa of Ice.
- "Onewa" is the Māori word for "basalt" and is the name of a Turaga and former Toa of Stone.
- "Pohatu" is the Māori word for "stone" or "rock" and is the name of a Toa of Stone.
- "Tahu" is the Māori word for "burn" and is the name of a Toa of Fire.
- "Whenua" is the Māori word for "earth" and is the name of a Turaga and former Toa of Earth.
- "Jala" was used as the name of a fire character and changed to "Jaller".
- "Maku" means "wet"; it was used as the name of a water character and changed to "Macku".
- "Kahu", meaning "cape" or "cloak", and "Kewa" were used for types of birds; they became one and the same as "Gukko birds". (However, a recent advertisement for the Toa Mahri mistakenly listed Kongu as a "Kahu" bird rider.)
[edit] Place-Names
- "Koro" is a Fijian word for "village" and is used similarly.
- "Turaga" is a Fijian title for village chief and is used similarly in BIONICLE.
- "Suva"- not likely a Māori Word- the BIONICLE name of shrines to Toa. It is the capital and largest city of Fiji.
[edit] Other-Names
- "Puku" means "stomach", "belly", etc.; it was used as the name of a pet Ussal crab belonging to Takua the Chronicler. The crab's name was changed to "Pewku".
- "Tohunga" means "craftsman", "expert", etc.; it was used for the race of villagers and replaced with the term "Matoran"
[edit] Controversy
After the BIONICLE toy line was released in 2001, Māori activists criticized Lego for the use of Māori words, saying that they were illegally patenting aspects of their culture for their recently released video game based on the toys. A lawyer, Maui Solomon, had written to Lego on behalf of three Māori tribes, demanding that sales of the game halt. Solomon later added that it was a trivialization of their culture, such as the use of Tohunga (meaning "Priest") as a word for the common people of the BIONICLE world, that brought up cultural and moral issues. Eva Lykkegaard, a spokeswoman for Lego, denied allegations of interfering with their cultural heritage, saying, "On the contrary, we have a deep respect for the history of the Polynesian people and for the richness and cultural diversity of the universe," adding that Lego had only registered BIONICLE for a trademark, but none of the other words. Lego would not use any more Māori words from then on, however they could not change many words that were already incorporated in the BIONICLE universe.
