 | This article needs additional citations for verification. (September 2024) |
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| Parent theme | Lego Technic (2001–2003) |
|---|---|
| Licensed from | The Lego Group |
| Availability | 2001–2010, 2015–2016, 2023 |
| Total sets | 452[1] |
Bionicle (stylized all caps) is a line of Lego construction toys marketed primarily towards 8-to-16-year-olds. The line was launched in 2001, originally as a subsidiary of Lego's Technic series. Over the following decade, it became one of the company's biggest-selling properties, turning into a franchise and subsequently becoming one of the factors in saving Lego from its financial crisis of the late 1990s. Despite a planned twenty-year tenure,[2] the theme was discontinued in 2010, citing low sales, but was rebooted in 2015 for a further two years.
Unlike previous Lego themes, Bionicle was accompanied by an original story that was told across a multimedia spectrum, including books, comics, games, and animated films. It primarily depicts the exploits of the Toa, heroic biomechanical beings with innate elemental abilities whose duty is to protect and maintain peace throughout their universe. Bionicle's success prompted later Lego themes to use similar story-telling methods.
- ^ "BrickLink Reference Catalog - Sets - Category Bionicle". BrickLink. Retrieved 12 April 2021.
- ^ Widdicombe, Rupert (27 April 2004). "Building blocks for the future". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 4 January 2022. Retrieved 6 November 2021.