Amazing documentary, incredible detail and a burning heart for creativity, storytelling and Bionicle. Thank you for this🤩👍❤️would love to ad more details😉 best regards from Christian Faber and the CPH Rig crew

I remember loving Bionicle so much as a kid. I never understood the story entirely since I was very young. But the world, ambience, characters everything about it was so captivating and unlike anything I've seen.

The fact that so many people miss these, just shows how successful they were.

Only YT will have an hour long documentary on history of a toy that fully fleshes out how the designer’s illness impacted the art, story, and concept. I love this so much.

As a kid, there seriously was something about strangely eclectic sci-fi stuff. I remember first playing Halo: Combat Evolved and just LOSING MY MIND when I found the ruins in the second level, when I first charged up that green glowing plasma pistol... It had this mystical feeling I couldn't put my finger on. Bionicles had a very similar effect on me, that sense of wonder is unlike anything else, and I look back on it so fondly.

I am so glad that Bionicle is finally getting some recognition in how important it is to lego.

I have to admit, Bionicle played a big part of my childhood and knowing the facts behind it all now that I'm an adult kind of just hit a spot in me. Thank you for this man!

I’ve got a soft spot for bionicle. They were the best thing Lego did in my childhood. I’ll never forget being 8, and running around outside with my friends as we played with our bionicles anywhere we could. We’d go from place to place with them, like we went from one biome to another. We’d go from playing on the rocks, to climbing up into a tree so we’d have a forest canopy. It’s been 20 years, but i still have all of the ones i had as a kid. They stay in a small bin i keep up in the top of my closet. I plan on passing them on, one day in the far future. Its gonna be a special moment, and I’ll probably shed a few tears as i let them go.

I legitimately felt a wave of nostalgia wash over me, unlike anything I've felt in years. I unironically can't recall the last time I felt happiness and bliss like I did watching this video and remembering the fond memories I had with Bionicles as a kid. I'm usually unable to feel any kind of happiness anymore because I am dealing with severe depression and nothing has really helped me this far, neither medication nor therapy. Going back into long term therapy in 2-3 weeks from now, hoping something in me will change. At least this video made me remember what it feels like to be happy, even just for a short time. I genuinely want to thank you for showing me a glimpse of the light inside my heart that had sizzled out years ago. I didn't think it was possible but I guess there's still hope. Sorry for getting so emotional over a fucking Bionicles video. It just hit in a way that made me want to share my thoughts and feelings. That was everything I wanted to say. I hope y'all are doing better than me at this point in my life. Wish me luck for the future boys, I will probably need it.

Dude, as a kid I was so impressed by those Bohrok canisters. The design and how the figure could be folded up reminded me of transformer toys, which was like, the gold standard for robot themed toys. Definitely have fond memories of this time period.

It’s tough to see something go from the savior of LEGO as a whole to something of which a line the film based on their products directly stated nobody wanted to mention, whose only recent release was a simple brick figure in an anniversary set.

"Thankfully, LEGO avoided that PR nightmare and went ahead with 'Boneheads of Voodoo Island'" is an amazing sentence.

Actually the bionicle canisters where pretty action packed too, the original canister lids acted as mask seals like found in the OG games and media, the bohrok canisters allowed them to be suspended from the inside like their hibernation pods, and even the latest canisters could have two lids removed and combined to make the matoran pods seen in the movies!

21:19 Man, the parallels between the role of Mata Nui as a being where Matoran civilization resides and Chris' unfortunate medical complications really hit hard. I had no idea about this. Props to him for being so resilient and finding inspiration even in such a dark personal experience.

I have never once played or consumed a piece of Bionicle media, yet I currently find myself fully invested in its entire story and lifetime. Amazing Video

Been writing fiction my whole life (occasionally published). The very first story I've ever written was a Bionicle fanfic (at age 9). Something about the strange vibes the toys gave me... made me write. What a joy this video is to watch!

The 90s and early 2000s were a fantastic time for kids. You had Lego at their peak, cartoons were at their peak, video games were just video games, anime for kids was absolutely exploding and then you had all the toys and games from those animes. Not to mention the explosion in popularity of extreme sports. I don't think we'll ever see a time like that again.

My man Chris single-handedly carrying a huge chunk of my childhood into existence. Hats off to Faber.

I was born in 2007, so I never really got to experience bionicle, but I grew up on lego. Ninjago and Chima were a huge part of my childhood, and I'm still heartbroken about the loss of Chima to this day. Despite never playing with bionicle, this video really hit home for me and I salute all you bionicle fans for making Ninjago and Chima possibe. Thank you so much for making this video, and thank all you bionicle fans for making my childhood possible, from the bottom of my heart.

As a Lego and Bionicle fan I clicked on this expecting factoids, and fond memories with a hint of nostalgia but you also made a gripping case while making your point known without repetitive points and phrasing. Plus, your closer? I was ready to tear up, dead on gave me chills. This is peak video essay format and I hope more UKpostsrs find you and use this as a template for their videos. Seriously you nailed it. Subscribed

I almost started to cry while watching this. These toys were a HUGE part of my childhood and seeing them be brought up in these hard times took me back to better days. Thank you for this video sir.

46:39 wow... Feels good to appear in such a great video compiling such important aspects and history of Bionicle as not just a toy line, but much much more... It's nice to be a small part of something this big, were every Bionicle fan can help keep this alive and going for more years to come

So glad I was into bionicle as a kid. Now I have a massive container of old bionicle pieces that I’ve been able to mess around with throughout the years. Made a bunch of mocs and still play around with them sometimes. It’s awesome that there were toys like this that allowed kids to be creative and have fun at the same time.

This is an amazing video. I never got to experience Bionicle when it started, and only got a few of the reboot sets so I never really understood the IP. This video really showed me just how important this toy was to kids, and the company itself as well as being such an intriguing retelling of the story. So thank you, I applaud this work of art you’ve made surrounding yet another work of art

I remember the revelation that the great spirit Mata Nui resided below the island as one of the best plot twists of my childhood on par with KotOR1. I'm so pleased that they actually had it planned out from the beginning, even though it was only revealed around the end of the story. (Something like 7-8 years later.) That explains why it made so much sense.

BIONICLE did save Lego and it seems they forgot this after its first discontinuation. Thank you for the Making of BIONICLE series, I didn’t know the origins of BIONICLE went back to 1995 and thanks for covering its lifespan in this documentary.

I was born in '96, and was the exact market for this toy series but.. well it passed me by. I think I was really into dinosaurs, star wars and army men. That said, it's really really touching how much this world means to you guys. I'm so glad that it touched your lives like this. An aside, as a 26 year old, these toys look unbelievably cool. I like them much more now than I remember thinking about them as a kiddo. Such a cool and fresh world design, and the toys just look rad. Y'all had great taste!

I went diehard into Bionicle as a kid. I had even signed up for their monthly magazine, which came with Bionicle comic books.

I remember being obsessed with these things as a kid. My dad bought me my first one back in the early 2000s, and I still remember it being the ice warrior and thinking it was so cool how you got little weapons and could turn the little wheel to make its arms move. I remember using any money I got to get one or two since they were pretty cheap. Good times...

The revelation that Chris actually benefited from a medical breakthrough and was able to live like he hadn't in years made me really happy actually. I just assumed this was one of those "this guy got unlucky and had this problem for the rest of his life" things, but the fact that it wasn't the case made me really happy for Chris.

After watching trailer for Bionicle: The Mask of Power, my Bionicle nerd in me woke up from slumber. And here I am, buying old sets which I had to leave behing unwillingly as a kid, checking old lore, watching videos like these, putting old wallpapers on my wall in my office, re-learning Bionicle alphabet. Bionicle were trully something special and I realized how much they influenced me as an artist. First story (more like fanfic) I ever had was from Bionicle universe. Even my first fanart was Kopaka. My love for mysterious stories came from Bionicle. I miss Bionicle so much, LEGO could do amazing Bionicle movie again these days, with better writing, budget, everything. They have tools and all the money in the world. I had no clue about all the creative process but it's incredibly uplifting how many errors in the row created something truly special. Including finding about an amazing lore built around non-removable brain tumor. I never realized it as a kid, but Bionicle was truly something special.

I was obsessed with Bionicle as a kid, collected every figure I could and read and watched anything i found that featured them, this is all to say im embarrassingly familiar with the story of Mata Nui and its themes of infection and finding a cure to it. Learning the creator of my childhood essentially struggled with these problems within his own body makes me appreciate the work and creativity so much more. It feels so much more personal now.

I actually cried while watching this. I absolutely love playing with bionicles when I was little and have many precious memories with them

This is a remarkably well-researched and edited documentary. You've clearly got a knack for this, it's great to see someone who pretty much out of the gate has this video essay thing down. As someone very well-informed on Bionicle's history, this hits pretty much every major aspect of its development to a T, while also making it understandable for a general audience. Well-done.

As a kid it was 100000% the story telling that got me. The mini shorts, the tv commercials that didn't explain much. Looking back its interesting how much interest it drew from me at the time.

I never knew that Bionicle was such a pivotal brand for the LEGO company, but that was really cool to learn about even if I never got own any as a kid(they were too expensive for my parents to ever buy for me, but I always wanted them). Great documentary on the subject for me.

Being born in 2000, Bionicle was an undeniably huge part of my childhood from as early as I can remember I was surrounded by Lego, most specifically Bionicle. I've always held a deep fondness for the IP. This video is so incredibly well done, you have such a knack for storytelling that I greatly applaud. However it still deeply disturbing to be watching UKposts and get jump scared by a picture of your Dad. Not sure what I really expected thought to be honest.

My dad once threw out 2 of the containers for my bionicle because I quote “they were trash” Still haven’t forgiven him

I had never really been into any toy that much as a kid, until I saw my first Bionicle TV commercial for the Vahki. I remember being captivated in a way I had never been, it might have been the first genuinely awe-inducing experience I had at that age. For the first time I had a reason to save money, and I remember my heart beating with raw excitement every time my Mom asked if I wanted to join her to our local hyper market. It's been a privilege growing up in the early 2000s. Thank you from the bottom of my heart to every member of the Bionicle team for enrichening my childhood to an unimagined extent.

Those early development stages were even more dire than this documentary lays out. Let's not forget how Lego pretty much put all their chips into Galidor, even with an entire live-action TV show, and it bombed spectacularly. They bounced back big time with Bionicle. Of course, some people didn't get it. I remember when I was a kid, I heard some girl say she hated Bionicle because "They tell you how to play with it." IE; lore. But, for many, that was the best part!

woooow slizers were so cool. i still have all the disks and arms but forgot what they looked like. cool to see the old sets and ad material

The background music is superb. Thank you for showing me Shifty

This was absolutely stunning. I never knew the in-depth history of Bionicle, thank you so much for doing all of this research. The first ever book I read was the first Scholastic book by Cathy Hapka, and seeing all of these sets has brought so much nostalgia. Thank you for making this!

Thank you for this amazing documentary! It really taught me that just because something isn't so good or does not produce great results, it does not mean that it's a true failure. Bionicle stood on the shoulders of multiple failed or half-baked concepts, refined them, and became a truly great thing. And now, even though it's been discontinued, its DNA continues to live on in LEGO's other product lines. I will always remember Bionicle fondly for the great childhood memories it has given me.

I was always the kid to throw away the boxes and manuals for things right after opening them. But what you mentioned with bionicle utilizing the canisters in the story and making them useful after building the toys definitely holds true. They were the only toys I made a conscious effort to keep all that extra stuff. Unfortunately, my parents would be the ones to throw away all the canisters and manuals years later, making my remaining bionicle collection feel incomplete.

29:00 "fun to handle" This was a huge point I think. They were always more awkward to use than other action figures, but that didn't matter because they were just fun to move and modify

Thank you so much for this documentary. Bionicles are a very important part of my childhood development, and this nostalgia is probably one of the strongest feelings I’ve felt in a while. They were involved in so many parts of my childhood

What we have here is such a professional and extremely well made documentary. Seriously, this is something I would expect to find on a history channel. Your video deserves far more views for all of the hard work put into it. I learned so much from this, like how the whole idea of Mata Nui being harmed by Makuta and the Toa arriving to fend him off was based on the human body, illness, and medication. I never knew that. I also didn't know that Lego leaned on Bionicle _that_ much back then, what with other Lego lines failing in 2003 while Bionicle was at the top of its game. I always assumed Bionicle got them out of that mess right from 2001, but no. Lego had to rely on this series far longer than I suspected. It makes me question how Bionicle went from being such a colossal hit to becoming a niche series within the Lego fandom and toy industry in general, but really, there are all kinds of reasons. Poor management and repetitive builds come to mind. The QC on some of the parts wasn't up to Lego's usual standards, standard Toa builds were beginning to feel bare bone, and 2008 and 2009 began to heavily rely on large vehicle sets, which I believe didn't sell very well. Ironic how Bionicle was created to be different from the usual Technic builds like their vehicle sets, only for said builds to be used later on and ultimately damage the longevity of the franchise. This series could have benefited from more creative minds and innovation, because after peaking in 2006, everything began to slowly decline. Regardless, I'm just happy that Bionicle had been around for so many years with such memorable stories, characters, and sets. It was such a huge part of my childhood and even now, I like to go back and listen to the old books I once read and watch the movies. Sometimes I would even track down old sets that I used to own, proudly displaying them on my shelves. It's also nice to see Lego acknowledge Bionicle these days, as well. ^^

It's been like a year and I'm sure someone has mentioned it but I can absolutely confirm that yes, the gears used in the original Toa were designed to be a Rock-em Sock-em style battle thing where you could knock off the opponent's mask. It was tunny because it was wasn't really part of the story and the system worked questionably because some of the masks, like Lewa's, didnt have enough forward-facing surface area to be reliably knocked off. But that was why all of the original Rahi and the Bohrok had the rubber band-powered punching features like punching arms for the Tarakava and Manas, tails for the Nui Jaga and Nui Rama, and the "punching" head on the Muaka/Kane-ra and the Bohrok- they would knock a Toa/Turaga/Matoran's mask off to replace with an Infected Kanohi or Krana to control them, and the Toa could knock off the Infected Masks the Rahi had to free them from Makuta's control. With the Toa Metru you also saw them see if the gear idea was still important without the mask gimmick, with the Toa's masks using cross pegs to stay on, the arms being too stubby to reach, and the weapons tending to be either too long and spindly or be disk launchers with little force. I get the impression it felt gimmicky in the Toa Metru and hurt their posability so they abandoned it entirely in the back half of Y2 in favor of iterating on Kanoka Disks, leading to their obsession with projectile launchers.

This is a fantastic video. You did an absolutely amazing job capturing what made Bionicle so special and telling the deep story of its development in a very mesmerizing way. I loved these toys as a kid and I have many fond memories of then, specially the first movie. What a blast. Thank you for making this piece!

I've never seen anything like Bionicle, nor anything since. The idea of living machinelike beings in a deeply mystical world was so captivating. Given it's stopped production, I'm somewhat disappointed another creator, studio or company hasn't made a spiritual successor as a new game or animation franchise that hits all the same beats Bionicle once did.

Bionicle was one of the most defining things of my childhood, connecting me to friends over decades, and even when I was alone, it kept my creativity alive and running, allowing me to create my own characters or trying to mimic things I saw in other media. It's probably one reason I became an author. Hopefully, Lego returns to these creative product lines someday, so my kids might enjoy a similar experience as I did.

Literally just happened to stumble upon this video, but it brought back so much nostalgia for Bionicle. Super well made and incredibly enlightening.

Excellent documentary! Had me tearing up at multiple points just from nostalgia and the way you wrapped it up. Thank you!

My first Bionicle was from a Gas Station - I had no idea that was an intentional part of their marketing strategy for the Buildable Action Figures. But I definitely remember the Bionicle having the "Craze Product" feeling! It certainly work! My local toy store had a massive display case stacked full of Bionicle just to try and meet the demand! Xalax racers were another fun, small series I remember getting at a gas station on a road trip

thx for making this documentary! means alot for us Bionicle Fans

Both my husband and I love bionicles! It was one of the first topics he talked about on our first date and he showed his love for the series with our kids.

I actually won the golden mask for the red bionicle. Its somewhere in my old lego boxes. I still remember the games, the toys, I had them all. It brings back such good vibes.

Knowing what the original concept of binonicles looked like... It's surprising they really nailed the final product. Binonicles we're so cool I loved them

This perfectly ties the episodes together

I have a pretty short attention span, but you captured it so well. I loved Bionicle and its world and vibe, and I learned so much about it! It was so special and you should be very proud.

This documentary was amazing! As an old fan and someone who has tried to look for a lot of the history of the making of Bionicle it was great learning new things, great job :D

Being born in 2003, LEGO and bionicle was almost entirely my childhood. Seeing this video has made my day and overwhelmed me with nostalgia. Reminds me of how much I loved it, especially the 2003 movie and the Bionicle Heroes game on the PS2. Thank you for making this documentary.

you just unlocked a new memory for me cause i had the hero factory meltdown, the one with the toxic canisters on his back and i loved it so much, im happy i found him

Wow what a story! Art is so misunderstood and still a mystery in most ways. And how artists come up with their stuff is quite remarkable. loved this one.

Can we appreciate how avantgarde Chris was ? This guy literally created a never seen before toy. Sure, at the time it seemed like a one off thing.. But look at what his influence became.. Starting off as a wired toy with joints, he created a universe.

As kid, I was infatuated with the bionicles lore. I had several books, watched clips, and had a couple of bionicles figures. The lore was very captivating to me as a young kid and helped me develop my reading and comprehension. I remember being a kid and riding in the car pretending that I was one of those bionicles coming down to the island in a capsule. I was most captivated by the story and less so the actual figurines. My favorite Lego sets were from the the Lego city line and technic. My original collection of legos has since been donated, but this last Christmas I received a Lego Batmobile which contained some of those ball and socket joints to facilitate the angular geometry of the set. I believe that when I was growing up Lego was in a golden age with a comprehensive product line which spanned both the home, school, and with friends. Truly innovative sets and modular power functions. Now that I am older I sometimes want to connect with my younger self and build some more sets. I think Lego has reached me and others like me with their new marketing campaigns and sets centered around the phrase, “adults welcome”. I find the more sophisticated yet simple sets of architecture, vehicles, sculpture, and maps very appealing as a decorative piece. They bring enjoyment to build and nostalgia from times which have come and gone. I hope Lego can continue their legacy and continue to advance their product for future generations as a I feel it is a line of toys which fosters a great deal of creativity, ingenuity, and fun for people of all ages but kids especially.

Fantastic documentary. A whole new dimension to my childhood. Started on slizer and then was infatuated with bionicle, particularly the flash game. I actually preferred the mystery behind them, hence I didn't like them getting personalities.

bionicle was definitely one of the best toys i ever played with as a kid and i feel like they definitely had a huge impact on my childhood, i remember getting butterflies watching the bionicle edits people would put on youtube in the early 2000's and the feeling of waiting for the old sets to come after id order tthem on ebay. i cherish these memories alot

I really hope one day we get a Bionicle Re-release or even new Bionicles. To me they will forever be the best thing Lego has ever made, it truly was a special thing they created way back when.

Oh man, not knowing I played a part of saving Lego as a kid collecting a lot of Bionicles hits home. I remember spending allowances buying Bionicles and playing with my friends. First one I got was the green one with the axe, as the red was sold out.

I was obsessed with Bionicles as a kid. They were my entire childhood. I still have the same Bionicles I had as a kid to this day even. I'll never part with them, ever

I miss these toys. I feel so old despite being 19… Time flies.

Bionicle slapped so hard. I'm glad I live in a time where I can listen to someone else explain the history of one of my favorite Lego products (and I grew up a BIG Lego kid) right when I'm of the age to truly appreciate the nostalgia. Good stuff, thanks for this.

The concept of toa being like medication and the villains being like diseases makes crazy amounts of sense, if they subconsciously stuck to that longer I think they could’ve kept the story more interesting than what they chose in the Glatorian/gasleak storyline.

Oh man, this was SUCH a well crafted documentary! There was SO MUCH I never knew about Bionicle’s history (especially the metaphor of Chris Faber’s illness in the island of Mata Nui being over the Great Spirit’s head! Such personal investment in such a beloved franchise!) I loved Bionicle so much as a kid; it was such an influential part of my childhood. And even though I may not be as big a fan of it today, it still holds a deeply special place in my heart (though I am glad to say that I own all of the main Toa figures from 2000-2010, the main villain figures from 2001-2004 and a few additional characters such as the first Makuta figure, Keetongu, Axonn, and the grey/white Takanuva). Awesome job, sir! 😄👍

I remember the mask thing was a phenomenal element to the toy. As a kid I was desperate to get the different masks for my bionicle and was fascinated by the faces underneath.

A month ago I revisited my old Lego collection and i was tempted to sell my Bionicle pieces since they are mostly incompatible with the other systems, but I decided to wait. And boy was that the right choice since today this documentary perfectly answered the questions that were still open in my head since childhood thus bringing back a lot of great memories, the sheer awe for the first movie alone is enough to never forget this franchise. Thank you so much for your work, keep it up!

If there's any viewers who don't know about the bionicle lore, i highly recommend diving into it. The creativity of the writers still amazes me 10 years after.

I used to have a Lego magazine subscription as a kid and I remember a lot of this stuff image wise but name wise it was lost to time til now lol thanks bro, great video!

I remember as a kid collecting the Barraki sets while staging underwater battles in the pool with friends or while taking a bath with my snorkel to make it lore accurate while receiving Lego comics every now and then because I subscribed to some Lego subscription via mail. Those are the fun things I’m grateful for to have experienced in my childhood

huge shout out for shifty and nookie, absolute classics. the late 90's early dnb is truly something magical, you can dance to it, sleep to it, and it works as a great background track too. big up

A huge part of my childhood. I was even able to hold on to most of my Bionicle sets from back in the day. Thanks for making this

Amazing doc! My mom would get me a figure of the original Bionicle at Walmart every 2-3 weeks until I had all of them. I still have them and would never let them go.

Thank you for shinning lights to this series and reignite my interest in it. I loved it as a kid, read books and watched movies. I wasn't in a place where I can have the toys and hopefully I can collect some now as an older adult.

It warms my heart to see Bionicle get the love it deserves. Those toys were my childhood, I had all the Borhok, all the Rahkshi, all the Toa. Gods I loved them

First off - Bionicle has such a strong nostalgic place in my heart. Such a cool concept. Obviously it did well, but I would still consider it a pretty niche part of lego history, but it's a shame it didn't get absolutely massive Second - holy crap you've unlocked memories I had long forgotten. Before watching this I had never heard of "Slizers" and "RoboRiders", but I 100% remember having some of each growing up in the house. I'm guessing my older brother had them. Watching the segments on those two lines here, I see so many pieces that I have such strong memories of being in our giant collection of parts. No memory of them being built tho That's crazy

Thanks for this dawg. This whole video was such a sweet treat on the GOOD delicious nostalgia

Thank you for an incredible documentary. I've been very interested in this topic when I was a child. And I'm glad to see that a lot of people still remember it.

actually started crying during the video. very well made documentation of how my favorite toy came to life

This video unlocked so many memories I forgot of my childhood. Slizers, all the first bionicles. It has been more than 20 years .... damn. All I can say is thanks

This was such a cool and well documented video. Thank you for the insides!

Great job on the doc and thank you for putting it all together into a very informative and loving format. I remember playing with Bionicle and loving them so much. I had the figures, read the books, played the games and was so stoked when the movie came out was just in awe of it all. I wish they would bring it back and the newest fan made game that's in development looks very promising from the creator has shown to the public so far and will definitely be playing it when it comes out. Please keep up the great work dude and I will be looking out for your newest content when it becomes available. 🙏👌👍👏👏

I'm old enough that I had a few of the original bionicles when I was a kid and they were insanely cool. I remember the computer stuff even.

I have to say. This was... such a massive blast from the past.

Bionicles will forever have a place in my heart. It was a bright spot in a bad childhood, and I will never forget that.

There is more I remember than what is being said here. The Bionicle plastic label was transparent in some areas and you could rotate it around the Z axis to reveal previously concealed parts of packaging (I recall there were some high-tech looking texts). Also, LEGO partnered with Barcode Brothers (in that time something like a copy of Eiffell 65) and they made a CD with 2D Mario-like Bionicle PC game (you can look it up) that was pretty cool, and had one song by Barcode Brothers that played if you put it in a CD player and it was a pretty good song. Also this CD was in a packaging of Nesquik cereals. Look it up. This documentary brought a tear in my eye, amazing job.

Man, this was an unexpected and pleasant nostalgia trip. Thanks for unlocking the memories!

Great video man, crazy how much this made me feel nostalgic

Outstanding work, with great detail and research to present the whole story! Thanks for the nostalgia!!