 | |
| 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 originally launched in 2001 as a subsidiary of Lego's Technic series. Over the following decade, it became one of Lego's biggest-selling properties, turning into a franchise and being one of the many factors in saving the company from its financial crisis of the late 1990s. Despite a planned twenty-year tenure,[2] the theme was discontinued in 2010, but was rebooted in 2015 for a further two years.
Unlike previous Lego themes, Bionicle was accompanied by an original story told across a multimedia spectrum. It depicts the exploits of the Toa, heroic biomechanical beings with innate elemental abilities whose duty is to maintain peace throughout their universe. Bionicle's success prompted subsequent 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.