Boneheads of Voodoo Island

[Fry]

Imagine if Bionicle had never left the "Doo-Heads" phase. Imagine that the Toa were Claw, Blade, Axe, Hook, Flame, and Kick, Makuta was the Voodoo-Master, and Mata-Nui was "Voodoo Island". If these things came to pass than I can guarantee that I would never have come close to it. I mean searously: Doo-Heads? That sounds like a play on words for **** Heads. "What were they thinking?!" -AVGN. No but for real, let's discuss what Bionicle would have been if it were Doo-Heads.

Edited July 17, 2014 by PrismWind

[Makaru]

It would have been tragically amazing and awful. And we would all remember Lego as the amazing company that went bankrupt in 2002.

[believe victims]

Children worldwide would be terrified, judging by what I've read about the focus groups for the Doo-Heads

[fishers64]

Pop culture would make fun of Lego forever. The internet backlash would be of epic proportions, and the few people who liked Lego would be relegated to an obscure TVTropes page.

 

The Bionicle story would be a comedy series that would make the current Comedies forum look like a work of art.  

[Makaru]

The Bionicle story would be a comedy series that would make the current Comedies forum look like a work of art.  

Be careful saying things you can't take back.

[fishers64]

 

The Bionicle story would be a comedy series that would make the current Comedies forum look like a work of art.  

Be careful saying things you can't take back.

 

*facepalm* Let me rephrase: The "Bionicle (i.e. Boneheads of Voodoo island)" story would be a comedy series that would make the current Comedies forum look like a work of art. I was thinking that "Boneheads" would be a name for a bunch of dim-witted characters, hence the idea. 

[Makaru]

I meant there's a great weight in the statement "comedies forum look[ing] like a work of art".

[Vorahk1Panrahk2]

I always thought "Boneheads of Voodoo Island" was just sort of a working, temporary name like the weird ones movies sometimes get. Would the sets have been any different? And assuming they would even sell with such a weird title, would it really have changed the story that much?

[believe victims]

Would the sets have been any different?

 

 

You tell me.

[Ballom Nom Nom]

 

Would the sets have been any different?

 

 

You tell me.

 

On the plus side, it would have meant (almost) Mixel-style eyes more than a decade early.

 

~B~

[Makaru]

Is that what those are? They look like olde timey licorice.

[Tuuli]

If you think carefully on the matter, bionicle has been boneheads since the beginning. The original Mata heads are essentially 'bone heads' as they are very mechanical, and we all know the mechanics in bionicles are "skeletal" or BONE.

 

As for the voodoo stuff, oh yeah. A lot of voodoo stuff was happening throughout the story. Vakama and the turaga were the bonehead shamans wearing tribal witchdoctor masks and the villagers are little bonehead matoran wearing tribal masks and partaking in bonehead activities such as koli. The characters are all dimwitted in their own ways, even makuta who was apparently the most intelligent bonehead in the universe.

 

Jaller in the mask of light movie references Takua being a bonehead in the opening scene.

 

"Kohlii -head-! You could've been lava -bones-." Put the words together, you get boneheads.

 

Even in the inika series they were boneheads. Well that's it.

[Master Inika]

 

 

Would the sets have been any different?

 

 

You tell me.

 

On the plus side, it would have meant (almost) Mixel-style eyes more than a decade early.

 

~B~

 

What ... the heck ... is that?

 

Greg has speculated that Boneheads was a placeholder name to keep the project secret, similar to Return of the Jedi's fake title "Blue Harvest." I think that's a possibility. Also, are you sure the Flame/Hook/etc. names were from the Bonehead stage of development? Those names seem to imply a somewhat more serious story than Boneheads.

 

I can imagine a future with Boneheads of Voodoo Island, and instead of the "Maori language controversy," LEGO goes through the "African stereotyping controversy."

[Fry]

 

Would the sets have been any different?

 

You tell me.

That a 2002 prototype not a bonehead

 

 

 

 

Would the sets have been any different?

 

You tell me.

On the plus side, it would have meant (almost) Mixel-style eyes more than a decade early.

 

~B~

What ... the heck ... is that?

 

Greg has speculated that Boneheads was a placeholder name to keep the project secret, similar to Return of the Jedi's fake title "Blue Harvest." I think that's a possibility. Also, are you sure the Flame/Hook/etc. names were from the Bonehead stage of development? Those names seem to imply a somewhat more serious story than Boneheads.

 

I can imagine a future with Boneheads of Voodoo Island, and instead of the "Maori language controversy," LEGO goes through the "African stereotyping controversy."

Yes, those are the names. They all come from the specific boneheads weapon Tahu/Flame ect.

[believe victims]

 

 

Would the sets have been any different?

 

You tell me.

 

That a 2002 prototype not a bonehead

 

Huh? literally every time I've seen that picture, I've seen it referred to as an "early Pohatu prototype", and it fits with descriptions I'd read of the Boneheads having "poseable eyes" and such.

[Fry]

 

 

 

Would the sets have been any different?

 

You tell me.

That a 2002 prototype not a bonehead

Huh? literally every time I've seen that picture, I've seen it referred to as an "early Pohatu prototype", and it fits with descriptions I'd read of the Boneheads having "poseable eyes" and such.

Yeah, go on to the way back machine to Kanohi Power and it is listed as a 2002 prototype. I have no idea what it could have been...

[Makaru]

I don't know about no wayback machine, but that is definitely a Toa prototype.

[believe victims]

 

 

 

 

Would the sets have been any different?

 

You tell me.

That a 2002 prototype not a bonehead

Huh? literally every time I've seen that picture, I've seen it referred to as an "early Pohatu prototype", and it fits with descriptions I'd read of the Boneheads having "poseable eyes" and such.

Yeah, go on to the way back machine to Kanohi Power and it is listed as a 2002 prototype. I have no idea what it could have been...

 

 

Huh. I dug through a bit and couldn't find it. Is it something they were told by LEGO was a 2002 prototype, or was it an assumption on the part of Kanohi Power? I mean, this site has always been a fansite, so I'd take something like that with a grain of salt unless it's specifically stated to have been named such by LEGO.

[Fry]

 

 

 

 

 

 

Would the sets have been any different?

 

You tell me.

That a 2002 prototype not a bonehead

Huh? literally every time I've seen that picture, I've seen it referred to as an "early Pohatu prototype", and it fits with descriptions I'd read of the Boneheads having "poseable eyes" and such.

Yeah, go on to the way back machine to Kanohi Power and it is listed as a 2002 prototype. I have no idea what it could have been...

Huh. I dug through a bit and couldn't find it. Is it something they were told by LEGO was a 2002 prototype, or was it an assumption on the part of Kanohi Power? I mean, this site has always been a fansite, so I'd take something like that with a grain of salt unless it's specifically stated to have been named such by LEGO.

I honesty don't know either way, their isn't much point in calling it "kick" if it doesn't kick :/

[Sybre]

Without BIONICLE being the way we all remembered it, my childhood would have been different, leading me to become a much different person. But putting that aside, I'd have my doubts about Lego's sales excelling in Boneheads's debut.

 

And how the heck was that monstrosity a 2002 prototype?! What even is that thing!!?

[Fry]

Without BIONICLE being the way we all remembered it, my childhood would have been different, leading me to become a much different person. But putting that aside, I'd have my doubts about Lego's sales excelling in Boneheads's debut.

 

And how the heck was that monstrosity a 2002 prototype?! What even is that thing!!?

It is a manifsestation of your worst nightmares

That thing punches with it's left arm so maybe it's some weird distorted satinanic Bohrok?!

[Sybre]

 

Without BIONICLE being the way we all remembered it, my childhood would have been different, leading me to become a much different person. But putting that aside, I'd have my doubts about Lego's sales excelling in Boneheads's debut.

 

And how the heck was that monstrosity a 2002 prototype?! What even is that thing!!?

It is a manifsestation of your worst nightmares

That thing punches with it's left arm so maybe it's some weird distorted satinanic Bohrok?!

 

For the sake of my sleep, I'll assume it's a Bohrok.

[Toa Brian Nuva]

that "prototype"... DID IRNAKK CREATE THAT THING????? in all seriousness, if bionicle never came to be... I would most likely be a lone soul,and have no social interactions. I am a sad, sad, sad person.

[fishers64]

 

 

Would the sets have been any different?

 

 

You tell me.

 

On the plus side, it would have meant (almost) Mixel-style eyes more than a decade early.

 

~B~

 

Isn't that old-style white rubber washers with Technic pins in the middle?

[Akavakaku]

A mind-spawn of the Skakdi maddened by Anonna, made real by the Golden Being.

[justin_verceles]

To be honest, I think that if Greg Farshtey was going to write the story, the toyline wouldn't have been so bad. Although I probably would've been pushed away by the lack of aesthetic appeal, such as the names of sets, the name of the whole franchise in the first place, and etcetera.

[Aanchir]

To be honest, I think that if Greg Farshtey was going to write the story, the toyline wouldn't have been so bad. Although I probably would've been pushed away by the lack of aesthetic appeal, such as the names of sets, the name of the whole franchise in the first place, and etcetera.

Greg Farshtey WASN'T going to write the story at that point — in fact, it's unclear whether there would have BEEN a really complex multimedia story back before "Bone Heads" became "BIONICLE".

 

If I remember correctly, Greg's involvement in the official story was actually a bit of a last-minute thing. They needed somebody to write the comics and he happened to be available and qualified. Before that I don't even know if he was on the story team — I think he may have just been a writer or editor for the magazines and catalogs at that point.

[Kopekemaster]

YES. THIS TOPIC EXISTS.

My life is complete.

 

I highly doubt LEGO would ever have actually entitled a finished product BoVI. It's just... so...

Maybe it's sorta like those miliary mission code name things?

 

I kinda wonder how much of a story they actually had planned out at the time. Like, by the name, you'd think that the whole thing happened on one island.

 

Which, I guess, it, in a way, did.

[Aanchir]

YES. THIS TOPIC EXISTS.

My life is complete.

 

I highly doubt LEGO would ever have actually entitled a finished product BoVI. It's just... so...

Maybe it's sorta like those miliary mission code name things?

 

I kinda wonder how much of a story they actually had planned out at the time. Like, by the name, you'd think that the whole thing happened on one island.

 

Which, I guess, it, in a way, did.

There were actually a lot of names being tossed around before BIONICLE was settled on. "Bone Heads of Voodoo Island" was just one of them. Others included "Voodoo Heads", "Woo Doo Heads", and "Doo Heads" (glad they didn't settle on THAT one). It's clear from the logo concept for "Doo Heads" that some aspects of the final story like the face-shaped island were settled on by that point, but it's not clear quite how much.

[Kopekemaster]

Yeah, I know about the other names. I just kinda take them all as derivations of BoVI.

[Fry]

Is it sad that I am actually trying to build that monstrosity of a prototype?

[Pranciblad]

Is it sad that I am actually trying to build that monstrosity of a prototype?

No, not at all, actually. That's pretty cool and I'd love to see it if you can finish it.

[Fry]

What is the whitish piece on his face?

[Aanchir]

What is the whitish piece on his face?

It's a Slizer leg piece that's been modified. Early prototype sets, especially constraction prototypes, often use modified parts as placeholders, so that the next designer they're handed to can replace them with either a brand-new piece or a solution that uses existing unmodified pieces.

[Fry]

I mean the one under it tht is grey sorry

[Aanchir]

I mean the one under it tht is grey sorry

It looks like a Throwbot head and visor glued together and cut in half with a sort of crinkle-cut pattern at the bottom.

[Fry]

 

I mean the one under it tht is grey sorry

It looks like a Throwbot head and visor glued together and cut in half with a sort of crinkle-cut pattern at the bottom.

Dovyou know what the eyes are? I'm making my own because why not?

[Lyichir]

 

 

I mean the one under it tht is grey sorry

It looks like a Throwbot head and visor glued together and cut in half with a sort of crinkle-cut pattern at the bottom.

 

Dovyou know what the eyes are? I'm making my own because why not?

 

No idea, but the best actual piece to replace them would be Mixel eyes.

[Toa Smoke Monster]

 

YES. THIS TOPIC EXISTS.

My life is complete.

 

I highly doubt LEGO would ever have actually entitled a finished product BoVI. It's just... so...

Maybe it's sorta like those miliary mission code name things?

 

I kinda wonder how much of a story they actually had planned out at the time. Like, by the name, you'd think that the whole thing happened on one island.

 

Which, I guess, it, in a way, did.

There were actually a lot of names being tossed around before BIONICLE was settled on. "Bone Heads of Voodoo Island" was just one of them. Others included "Voodoo Heads", "Woo Doo Heads", and "Doo Heads" (glad they didn't settle on THAT one). It's clear from the logo concept for "Doo Heads" that some aspects of the final story like the face-shaped island were settled on by that point, but it's not clear quite how much.

 

I didn't know Bionicle had these kind of names before its official name was settled on. I never even heard of Bone Heads of Voodoo Island until I read this topic. I'm really glad that they went with Bionicle and not one of these. Especially 'Doo Heads.' Because if they had stuck with that name, I think it would've been the laughing stock of all Lego themes past, present, and future.

 

As for that prototype, that thing would give Rahkshi nightmares.

[Jakura Nuva]

The concept art for Doo-Heads is unconvincing as a children's toy line. Not to mention the fact that their early gimmick was, when hit at a certain spot, their entire head would shoot off of their body.

Mortal Kombat meets voodoo, Rock 'Em, Sock 'Em Robots and Lego all at the same time.