We’ve all seen them.
We all love them.
Lets talk about them.
I like how the same guy has narrated the commercials since 2001.
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I actually think its been two. One narrator went from 2001 to 2005, and then Tony Wedgewood went on from 2006 onward. Though they sound similar enough that I wouldn’t be surprised if it was the same guy doing all of them, and he just changed his voice a bit half way through.
Compare the voice in this commercial
To the voice in this one.
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I have so much nostalgia for the 2007 commercials - they’re practically mini-movies.
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Some of the best there is. Beautiful narration, wonderful direction, amazing animation. There are few I can think of that top them in these aspects.
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Well you did forget about the guy who did narrated the Toa Mata commercial and that’s rapper in the Piraka commercial.
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“I’ll take it from here…” Ahh, the memories. Forgot that version of the commercial existed, actually - with Crashed instead of Face Me.
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It’s definitely two separate people. Wedgewood’s work with Advance/Lego predates Bionicle, and he sounds the same back then. Couple of examples:
[details=Summary]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oiS7JLz0XeQ&list=PLVrotqT19heupDLgQSpTX38gpe45EGRQm&index=7
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Loved these commercials. There was a sense of maturity about them, like the ad wasn’t talking down to you, instead opting for a more serious tone. That’s what I liked about Bionicle back then.
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The 2007 commercials are so nostalgic for me it hurts. There’s just something so epic about the way they show off the characters that’s enthralled me since I was a kid.
I would say the original 2001 commercials were top tier for me. The CGI ones with the impressive graphics at the time. Second would be the Toa Inika. I actually missed out on that wave, because my parents were forcing me to outgrow my childhood. Nevertheless, the commerical, and definitely the song, stuck to me.
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Hey, you’re back!
Anyways, I love the Mata commercials, they’re just dripping with atmosphere and mysticism. The Creeps From The Deep one was good as well.
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Bada bing, bada boom, I resurrect this rhyme from its doom!
Been thinking about the commercials the last day or two thanks to this topic, and I really just wanted a place to gush about Creeps from the Deep, which is probably my favorite of all the Bionicle commercials.
First off, Tony Wedgewood is at the top of his game with the opening narration, hitting a perfect balance of forebodance and intrigue. It strikes a balance with the visuals of the Ignika sinking further into the black depths: the further the Ignika sinks, the more you’re drawn into what’s happening. Indeed, the whole introduction from the start to when Dekar is blown away at the altar I dare say is perfectly paced and executed. When Kalmah destroys the altar, you’re as blown away as Dekar is.
Speaking of, the introductions of the Barraki are executed ingeniously. Each one has their own time to shine, which is remarkable considering the length of the animation. While that in and off itself isn’t unique (the Piraka commercial similarly had individual moments cut together to make a feature length add), the Barraki introductions here feel much more natural and organic, as befitting what this really is: a mini-movie. While the aforementioned Piraka commercial throws their names right at your face, this animation has no hand holding. Instead, it slaps you in the face and says “go find out for yourself if you want to know more.” Which I think is brilliant on so many levels.
But back to the Barraki themselves, their moments are just so good. Particular standouts from when I was a kid was Ehlek nomming down on that lightstone and getting all electrical, and Mantax arising behind Takadox from the bed of bones. The first time I realized that latter part was happening absolutely blew my mind. And nowadays, I just love the bit where Pridak gets his head stuck in the hole Dekar falls down. It’s a blink and you’ll miss it thing, but it just brings a smile to my face.
And the ending! That final narration! Just, ooof, chef’s kisses all around. And the very ending of it, the narration of “and if you think your troubles are over, you’ll soon find out, they’ve only just begun” paired with the enclosing darkness as Dekar is dragged off is brilliantly ominous. I don’t think I’ve ever seen a commercial (mini-movie or not) where a protagonist hecking dies like that at the end of it.
Just, everything about it is amazing.
And all that’s not to say I don’t like the other commercials either. The Inika walking up to that chain link fence is Iconic, with a capital “I”. And the Mahri commercial/mini-movie! I can’t tell you how many times I rewatched it from the “I think that mask belongs to me” part onwards as a kid. But, if there was one Bionicle commercial I had to choose from them all, Creeps from the Deep is the one. Hands down.
EDIT: And the music! How did I forget about the music!? The song fits perfectly with both the ad and the year as a whole. Bionicle’s no stranger to utilizing great music to its advantage, but this year is where the songs started to feel different, thanks in large part to Cryoshell’s breakout performance here. The more… soulful, I suppose is the word?, tone it has when compared to, say Hero or Move Along makes it a standout. Just another reason to love Creeps from the Deep!
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No …
Et tu, Bruté?
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It’s a fun rhyme!
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It is a prevarication of the utmost slander. A mantra of the occult forces, the battlecry of the demons. I don’t see what’s “fun” about that.
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wish the toa inika got a few more; hell, i think the paraka got more of a build up than them
I should have made this post a lot sooner, but here it is now:
There is a Hungarian toy review/commercial archive channel on YT, called: Játékok a polcról/Toys from the Shelf, which has uploaded
some of the early to late G1 TV ads in Hungarian.
Driven by curiosity and nostalgia, I decided to look into some of them.
The visual and audio quality varies from video to video, but I was still pretty impressed with how well-made the recordings are.
I also tried to analyze the Hun dubs under the videos, and the ones from the early years (2001-03) had deviated in a lot of ways in the script from the English versions.
A Few examples:
In the Toa Nuva commercial, the script, read by Gábor Vas, (Was one of the most well-known and beloved Hungarian voice actors back then, and also voiced Makuta Terridax in the Miramax trilogy.) was so drastically different from the original, that I had to show you:
Here is how the narration from the English version:
"From great victories, mighty heroes arise, the Toa had repelled the Bohrok swarms, and were forever transformed.
The Toa received makes of greater power.
Improved body armor.
And new enhanced tools, giving them surprising dual-action abilities.
Toa Nuva…
Bionicle.
Each set sold separately."
And the Hungarian Version:
"The new masks grant greater power, more resistant armor, and even more effective weapons.
From now on, the Toa are even stronger.
BIONICLE!
Six heroes, one mission."
Well, it’s safe to say, that it almost completely deviates from the one above.
It gives me the impression as, if someone threw the whole copy of the OG script out for some reason and came up with a new one halfway through the recording process.
It is bizarre how much the Hungarian version deviates in formulation compared to the ENG one.
It got shorter but was reworded to be more cryptic in language.
They also brought back the line from the 2001 ad “Six Heroes, One Destiny.” to here, but the word “Destiny” was changed to “Mission” for some reason.
Either way, it’s still a true treasure, and channels like this one, are very important for preserving this content for us fans, and audiences of tomorrow.
(BTW, if anyone is interested, I leave the Hungarian version’s link here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cFbgtVqRAcA )
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