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How to construct a good theatrical Bionicle movie


Lenny7092

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Bionicle is known for its four direct-to-video movies in 2003-2009, but we never have a theatrical one, despite the Toa Mata having a one-second cameo in The Lego Movie in 2014. As much as Marvel has Spider-Man as their mascot, DC Comics has Batman, Nintendo has Mario, and Sega has Sonic (there is a movie more than a month ago), I look at Bionicle as Lego’s mascot for constraction. Throughout Bionicle’s life (19 years), there are two epic stories that sounds that they could have been cinematic universes (it’s a thing nowadays while this primarily involves adaptions). I mean, if you had read the books and comics and watched the movies, you would see what I’m talking about. I always feel that Bionicle may have the potential of getting a theatrical movie or even a cinematic universe someday. I mean, Sonic the Hedgehog, Captain Underpants, SpongeBob SquarePants, and Angry Birds got their movies because they are famous and successful in their lives (Mega Man will get one, too), so I wish Bionicle to do the same because it was famous and had done a lot of good in its 12 years of its life. No one had seen anything like Bionicle. My friends from my schools agree with me a lot. That’s just my opinion. 
 

If you would want a good Bionicle movie or cinematic universe with positive reviews, here’s how it goes: It would need a good director, writer, production company that distributes the movie or cinematic universe, a good story, good faithfulness to the source material (primarily G1), A-list actors, and visual effects/animation/CG/CGI specialists. I 70% would not want a Lego Bionicle Movie because constraction characters may look weird for how they could move their mouths and eyelids, you know (plus, the scripts are a little overly wacky)? I’d like it to be either a 3D animated movie with the feeling of How to Train Your Dragon movies and Moana (At least around 2 hours) or a live-action movie (perhaps with humans and the planet Earth if the Great Beings ended up hiding in there) with the Bionicle characters being people with CGI suits, like how you see Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s non-human characters (the Toa, Glatorian, and Skakdi for examples), and completely-CGI-made characters with voices from actors (like the Rahi and Elemental Creatures). Again, it would at least about 2 hours, like an average MCU movie. It’s sort of like the Transformers movies (at least the looks maybe), but much better by reception.  
 

For the production company, it would be either Warner Bros, Paramount or Disney (I recommend Disney the most). I don’t trust Fox, Sony, or Universal on this one because they made some bad movies lately. I mean, look at the X-Men movies, Venom, and the Hulk movie in 2003. They are not good or look good. Plus, Universal was planning to get the rights to make a live-action Hero Factory movie back in May 2012, but nothing new happened since. 
 

For the directors and writers, well, I would go with Steven Spielberg, J.J. Adams, that comic book guy who wrote the first two Avengers movies, and people who wrote the MCU movies. Greg Farshtey and that Faber guy can join in. 
 

For the story, well, I would go with G1’s way, and I would start with the Toa Mata (with their original looks from 2001, and they would be like the Avengers and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles) and Makuta Teridax (he would be like Thanos from the Marvel Cinematic Universe, and Darth Vader and Darth Sidious from Star Wars) just to make things classic and nostalgia, but things should go more smoothly and not overly simple (G2 was overly simply). Plus, things would be better if they would include the Turaga of Mata Nui, their Matoran, and Ekimu (he would be like the wise sensei for the Toa). Start it out fresh in other words. If the movie would be successful, it would get sequels, prequels (the Toa Metru and Glatorian), and maybe spin-offs (the Toa Inika) that could expand things, add more characters from Bionicle in general rather than adding new people that we don’t know (G2 made that mistake when it included a lot of new people, but I don’t mind putting humans and the planet Earth in there as long as they don’t get too much screen time. The Transformers movies kind of made that mistake) and give significant characters a lot of character development. It could also form a cinematic universe which would delightfully include Hero Factory as a part of their universe (I always look at Hero Factory that way in my head canon), and do crossover movies with it Avengers-style (also Hero Factory would be like the Guardians of the Galaxy movies to Bionicle). The script for the cinematic universe would be like the Marvel Cinematic Universe for how well it can be written (but this time no selling character rights. Lol.). It would also have some TV shows (the Order of Mata Nui and Matoran for examples). It could be around the MCU’s level as long as it is sort of kid-friendly and not use profanity words, because Bionicle doesn’t do profanity words. It could also put some humor, but not overdo it, and keep it mild, like how the MCU rolls, like one of the Toa Mata is wearing one of the others’ mask by mistake. 
 

For the Bionicle characters’ looks, well, it would be either 3D or live-action CGI. The characters should look like their original looks from the source material (the Sonic movie’s Sonic had a horrible look at first in the first trailer, but he got redesigned to look much more like his classic video game look in later trailers, and this gave him much better reception. The movie is loved because of this redesign). I would imagine the Toa to have some organic muscle in where the holes in their set forms are (like the Miramax Bionicle movies), their bodies would look like their original sets accurately (like Bionicle: The Legend Reborn in terms of a 3D feel sort of and The Journey to One by making characters not having their gear boxes coming out from their bodies and look much more like their sets). It would have the MCU feel and the “I, Robot” feel in 2004. For the face, well, I would think that the masks and helmets have this eyebrow movement thing when they are worn, kind of like how you look at Spider-Man’s mask’s eye things in the MCU (and the direct-to-video movies). Plus, these headwear would have mouth guard flipping function, like how you see Optimus Prime from the Transformers movies and the characters from The Legend Reborn and the Hero Factory TV show. Their mouths should look like actually mouths, like how the mouths in Hero Factory’s Invasion From Below episode and Bionicle G2’s 2015 online animations look by being organic with the lips. Their eyes would be like Transformers: Prime, the Transformers movies, and Invasion From Below. It would be much less cheap than in The Legend Reborn and the HF show, and less repetitive by using models. Also, use five-fingered hands. A much more budget put into it, too.

For the actors, they are the main focus. I would imagine a Tahu to be played by either Hugh Jackman, Gali by Gal Gadot or Scarlett Johansson, Lewa by Jackie Chan, Pohatu by Ben Affleck, Onua by Mark Ruffalo or Vin Diesel, Kopaka by Michael Fassbender or Jeremy Renner, Teridax by Josh Brolin, and a Turaga by Morgan Freeman or Anthony Hopkins. 
 

For the music score, I would go with Cryoshell, Daughtry, Imagine Dragons, Chainsmokers, or Post Malone to make the songs for the movie as far as I can think of. 
 

If such a Bionicle movie were to happen, Bionicle fans would give it positive reviews like this, like how Sonic fans do for the Sonic movie while it got mixed reviews by critics in general, I heard. That’s something that a good theatrical Bionicle movie should have. I know that Bionicle and constraction are not here, but Bionicle is the one that saved Lego from bankruptcy when G1 began, and Bionicle was one of Lego’s most successful, most memorable, and most famous themes in history and still is because it has a lot of fans, so it should have this kind of treatment. I know that some of you guys would like to have that. Bionicle needs a lot of help, like how Sonic has. Seriously. It’s something we would dream about. BIONICLE needs a lot more recognition, and I have a feeling that it’s worthy of that. Lego should focus on that. So, how can you construct a good Bionicle movie? :) It’s basically my opinion, as I said before. Don’t say negative stuff or say stuff like “Oh, this would not happen” or whatever. Let’s be positive and try your best in telling your vision of the movie adaption. Movie adaptions can give their franchises reputation.

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I like Lego, Bionicle, and Hero Factory!:)

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No prior generation of Bionicle needs to be adapted into anything. We need new stuff, not rehashes of old material. And a theatrical film probably isn't the best route, anyway; not only is it a huge gamble due to how expensive movies are, but the format doesn't allow for a whole lot of thorough worldbuilding and lengthy character arcs. TLA is a better model for what Bionicle ought to be: a hefty TV series that takes its time to explore a lot of the world and its characters and gives the audience a lot to chew on.

1 hour ago, Lenny7092 said:

If you would want a good Bionicle movie or cinematic universe with positive reviews, here’s how it goes: It would need a good director, writer, production company that distributes the movie or cinematic universe, a good story, good faithfulness to the source material (primarily G1)

That's...that's how making literally any good movie works. You need good people behind it to make it good. That's how commercial art is.

1 hour ago, Lenny7092 said:

A-list actors

"A-list" does not equal "the best." It doesn't matter if they're stars already or not; Chris Hemsworth and Tom Hiddleston were apparently nobodies before being cast in the MCU, but look how that turned out.

1 hour ago, Lenny7092 said:

For the production company, it would be either Warner Bros, Paramount or Disney (I recommend Disney the most)

Disney cannot be trusted with jack. The MCU was a fluke; the mouse needs as little given to him as possible. Disney can and will try to acquire everything that can be acquired, and giving it the rights to distribute a film is a dangerous step in that direction--one which, given all the terrible reboots and the disaster that was the SW sequel trilogy, really shouldn't be taken.

1 hour ago, Lenny7092 said:

For the story, well, I would go with G1’s way, and I would start with the Toa Mata (with their original looks from 2001, and they would be like the Avengers and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles) and Makuta Teridax (he would be like Thanos from the Marvel Cinematic Universe, and Darth Vader and Darth Sidious from Star Wars) just to make things classic and nostalgia

Nothing should ever be done JUST because it's "classic" or "for nostalgia." That is how bad reboots are made--through ham-fisted attempts to pander to fans. Again, we need NEW Bionicle stories. A NEW generation. Start from scratch, iron out the kinks, and go from there.

1 hour ago, Lenny7092 said:

For the directors and writers, well, I would go with Steven Spielberg, J.J. Adams, that comic book guy who wrote the first two Avengers movies, and people who wrote the MCU movies. Greg Farshtey and that Faber guy can join in. 

Spielberg's probably not gonna take this project seriously, Abrams isn't really good, Whedon MIGHT be an alright choice, and the rest are a whole lotta names I can't be bothered to address. Greg can stay right the away from any future Bionicle material; he is based, but he's also a terrible storyteller and worldbuilder. Faber is more based, but probably not good for the helm of the ship.

1 hour ago, Lenny7092 said:

but I don’t mind putting humans and the planet Earth in there

One of Bionicle's greatest strengths is that it doesn't rely on any connection to our own world and place in the cosmos. Earth is irrelevant; it likely doesn't even exist in Bionicle's universe. To even imply that humanity might be out there and might matter in some capacity is to betray one of the founding elements of the franchise, and one of the most fun ones at that. Your call for nostalgia-pandering coupled with an apparent lack of understanding of the franchise beyond its most shallow elements makes you sound like the LAST person who should pitch a Bionicle film.

1 hour ago, Lenny7092 said:

For the Bionicle characters’ looks, well, it would be either 3D or live-action CGI

Why the actual quack would it be live-action??? None of the characters are human! If you want mocaps, that's one thing (except mocaps tend to be creepy as , just so you know), but what are you gonna do with live-action? Put 'em in Super Sentai costumes and make it goofy and cheesy beyond recognition?

1 hour ago, Lenny7092 said:

For the actors, they are the main focus

And a lot of the original actors from the B-movies would honestly be perfectly good to reprise their roles, they just need to be given better direction. Onua's voice acting didn't fit his character AT ALL, but the guy playing him could probably be fine if you just tell him to take a more character-accurate approach.

1 hour ago, Lenny7092 said:

For the music score, I would go with Cryoshell, Daughtry, Imagine Dragons, Chainsmokers, or Post Malone to make the songs for the movie as far as I can think of. 

Everything past Daughtry in this list is--and I'm being nice here--absolutely horrendous for this. ESPECIALLY Post Malone, an uninspired, vapid, pathetic excuse for a musician who needs to stay right the quack away from anything and everything forever. The score should primarily be by Nathan Furst--he's the guy who made the music for the original films, and by the Great Spirit's buttcrack, he did a bangin' good job at it. If you really can't get him, Paul Hardcastle, who composed the Bionicle Music, might be a decent second-pick.

2 hours ago, Lenny7092 said:

If such a Bionicle movie were to happen, Bionicle fans would give it positive reviews like this

They really wouldn't.

2 hours ago, Lenny7092 said:

So, how can you construct a good Bionicle movie?

As of right now, I am currently in no state to entertain this query. I will likely come back and chart out the important stuff later, since I don't think it's fair to rip into your post without offering my own ideas.

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Rule #1: Always listen to Kek.

Rule #2: If you break rule #1, kindly don't.

Rule #3: EVERYBODY TYPE IN THE CHAT "AVAK IS A STUPID TRIGGER"

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There are three big stumbling blocks I see here. The first is that Lego would never make a movie without having a corresponding toyline, and they've given up on constraction. Second, it would be hard for Lego to convince any studio to make an all-CGI blockbuster film out of an IP which failed pretty definitively the last time it was rebooted. Third, the Great Spirit Robot was foundational to the first eight years of Bionicle, and that twist has already been revealed. I think that to keep the feeling of Bionicle, you'd need a different big secret that underlies all of the mysterious goings-on. IMO, that's a tall order, but there's a reason I'm not a writer.

But, for the sake of argument, let's set those aside. Again, the foundation of Bionicle, to me, is its atmosphere of mystery. When it comes to Hollywood writers who are good at setting that kind of atmosphere, the big three that come to mind are J. J. Abrams and the Nolan brothers. That's not to say that I like much of their work, or that I necessarily trust them to pay off on mysteries in a satisfying way. All the same, I think they could do a decent job with the first installment in a series, so long as the reins were quickly handed off to someone else. (Preferably someone who actually carried those mysteries forwards instead of actively shunning them.)

I don't have a dream cast in mind, because good actors are frequently not good voice actors, and I don't watch enough cartoons to know any big name VAs. When it comes to the soundtrack, I think any kind of pop music would be distracting and take away from the atmosphere. I also wouldn't want something that sounded John Williams-y, so (with all respect) Nathan Furst would be out. Idk, maybe Hans Zimmer would be a good fit?

But to be honest, any future reinterpretation of Bionicle would probably disappoint me, because it wouldn't be enough like the idealized Perfect Bionicle that lives in my mind. More than any kind of reboot, I would like to see new creative projects done by people who were into Bionicle as kids, taking inspiration from the story but doing something radically different. Just my two cents.

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Read my blog, you cowards

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How to construct a good Bionicle theatrical film:

Hire Greg to write it, set the story in an alternate universe version of the Red Star. Have all the dead people fight each other and comment on their miserable lives while drinking refreshing beverages. Since the dead characters on the Red Star are all interesting characters with cool backstories, they could just be introduced to a new audience without getting too involved in the other stuff. 

Instead of randomly throwing Kopaka and Pohatu in there, make it so the characters’ backstories contribute to solving the mystery that allows the characters to escape the Red Star. That way we can throw in the old theme of teamwork to appease all of the fans from 2001. Then we also get the scene of overcoming everything, even death and the evil Kestora, and the heartwarming scene of all of the dead people being reunited with their friends. For added tears, set it during a war on Spherus Magna so the audience is rooting for the dead characters to escape. Would fly off shelves.

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