LEGO employees
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Technically speaking, my first exposure to it was when I was a toddler, when I played with my aunt’s Mata Kopaka, Mata Lewa, and Pahrak. I liked them because they were cool robots, but not much else, and kind of grew away from them. It was Nick on Planet Ripple’s LEGO Rewind video about Bionicle that really got me into the series, so I reached put to my aunt and she lent me her figures. That really got the ball rolling, and now I have a decent understanding of Bionicle’s lore, and a small but decent collection of the toys.
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Seeing as not giving a “no vote” option for the movies has sparked a big discussion about whether or not they’re any good, thought I’d share my opinion:
I don’t love any of the movies. They’ve all got weak spots, they’re all pretty flimsy as introduction points to the franchise, and the production quality isn’t top notch on any of them. Compared to nearly any “really good” movies, I’d choose those over the Bionicle movies.
But inversely, when you compare them to other direct-to-DVD movies, or other movies that basically exists just to sell plastic toys, they’re honestly not too bad. I was surprised to hear people who have seen the movies for the first time were “pleasantly surprised” by the quality, and I suppose that I’ve always viewed them as bad because I’m a lore nerd who knows that some of the Bionicle stories are easily capable of being told by way better movies than the ones we got, so often I forget that when you look at the actual market they were in, they’re comparitively strong.
(Also, Nathan Furst. 
)
I will say I’m surprised that WoS is as high scoring as it is - I’d personally easily prefer TLR to that.
In addition to the stuff other people have already mentioned, Quest for the Toa (Tales of the Tohunga, at the time) I believe actually launched a year prior to the main line, if memory serves. I put it there as a bit of a hunch, but obviously at least some people were hooked on the line before it even launched proper.
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I accidentally clicked water instead of light and now I cannot change it.
Click show vote and then you can change it.
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I disagree. Mask of Light was what got me into the series and I never heard of Bionicle before watching it (granted, the dubbed version is much better than the original, as I explained in this topic), and given the fact that I’m on this forum 17 years later, I’d say it did a pretty good job at introducing me to the franchise (and it’s pretty decent as far as direct-to-DVD kid movies go)
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Fascinating specimen.
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I would actually agree; compared to other direct to dvd realeases, what we got was pretty good.
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I am surprised to see 2001 so low for the “favorite year” survey. Although it makes me happy to see the Ignition Trilogy so high. 2007 and 2008 really knew how to up the stakes, and the character moments in those years were truly incredible. 2004 in third place also makes a lot of sense because of how vast Metru Nui is to explore, and the dynamics between the characters are unique.
If we’re talking about the sets and not the story though, 2007 had great builds with lots of variety and great titans. 2008 had some of the best vehicles, and 2004’s metru-build was a great halfway point for the G1 series.
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I’m surprised 2007 is so popular. Like I don’t think it’s bad or anything, but I always thought it felt like a sophomore dip after the vastly more interesting 2006.
I like 2007. This isn’t an anti 2007 post or anything. I’m just surprised it’s so many people’s #1.
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I think it’s just because '06 is very “edgy” compared to other years. Like, the spike mohawk mask and the chain link fence marketing and the All-American Rejects “Free the Band” thing.
'07, while also kinda dark, feels more true to Bionicle in some way, I suppose. '06 felt like it was trying too hard to be “in.”
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Favourite location is the only one I just can’t decide on. Mahri Nui is a favourite but mainly for its potential, the underwater environment and village could have been fleshed out way more. Same with places like Bota Magna or the not mentioned Aqua Magna I would have loved to hear more stories about survivors and people on those planets. Metru Nui was also not quite developed enough but is really cool. I think MNOG has cemented Mata Nui as my true favourite idk.
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I felt '07, tone aside, just had a more cohesive story than '06, myself.
In 2006, the Inika never really have any successes against the Piraka. The Piraka aren’t really there for any reason other than Teridax putting the idea in their heads. They only serve to slow the story down for a few books (including with that weird sub-plot where Brutaka’s power got stolen for a bit) and then it ends on this bizarre anti-climax where Vezon ends up being the one to wipe the floor with the Piraka, then when the Inika beat him the mask just decides to go on vacation because there was another story year in need.
The Barraki, on the other hand, were thematically pertinent villains who had a genuine stake in the mask and relevance to the setting, plus the side/titan characters were also more relevant to the main story that year. It became a Dead Man’s Chest-esque mad rush where everyone had their own motive to go after this mask, and almost no faction wasn’t at every other’s throat. Plus we get these beautiful twin-foreshadowing moments with Teridax and Matoro that both ground the story with characters we’ve known since '01, and propel it toward the climax for both that year and the trilogy.
I’m kind of in the same camp, though - I don’t think '06 is bad or anything. But it’s not my top choice (and I’d be interested to hear the arguments otherwise).
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It’s not like there was a choice for those who preferred Hero Factory
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It’s a Bionicle survey, not a constraction one. 
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I became a BIONICLE fan in the 2nd to last year of HF’s run, and the only reason I wasn’t a fan earlier is because I was born in 2007.
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I have a right to be here
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Miramax was definitely weird in that respect (although I do prefer what they did with Pohatu Nuva’s proportions, which were pretty weird in his '02 canister set), but in terms of story-writing, the hierarchy of the movies/shows story-wise are:
- Bionicle 2: Legends of Metru Nui - Best plot and writing execution of all of them. Also, gives good character moments, and portrays its Toa as less flawless than Mask of Light did with its team, whilst at the same time, making references to Mask of Light that one would appreciate, but don’t come off (at least to me, anyway) as empty/rip-off-ish/SW Sequel Trilogy-esque, whilst at the same time, setting up a hefty amount of good/fascinating world-building and an ancient hierarchy of how the Matoran Universe worked. Imagine the SW Prequels, but better-executed than the Original Trilogy; that’s how Legends of Metru Nui is to Mask of Light.
- Bionicle: Mask of Light — The Movie - If not for Legends of Metru Nui, this would be at the top of the list, as it objectively has the best writing of any of the remaining entries here. You’ve got your good old hero’s journey, and also finally got official sources for what the Toa Nuva sound like (except Lewa,- his voice in that film has to be fake news, or something)
- Bionicle: The Legend Reborn - This film, story-wise, unfortunately suffers from the the side-effects of three things: 1) Bara Magna/'09. There’s a significant culture/story shock of the storyline being taken from the characters existing in a full-fledged universe with world-building, places and people the audience has grown to love, and just plain purpose;- in '01 thru '08, characters had a quest to save the world, a destiny to fulfill, a goal to obtain, a reason to exist, and then we’re just thrown into a world that not only feels barren geographically/world-building-wise, but also story-wise, if that makes sense (yes, I quite enjoyed Bionicle Graphic Novel #8, but its effects are little-felt in this film). 2) It suffers from the cartoony-ness of the Tinseltown Toons movies. The Clutch Powers movie plays to the strengths of this (“You know, when he did the ‘thing’ with ‘the thing’?” ), but I don’t think it’s ideal for a Bionicle film. 3) It suffers from Bionicle getting canned,- and while this is not the only symptom that is exhibited by the canning, it is a big one: this film ends in a cliffhanger that will never be absolved on-screen.
Please do not take my criticisms to mean that this is a bad movie as far as all five go, though: It is definitely a better one of these films, and the fact that we finally got set-accurate character models, as well as a voice cast more star-studded than any other film in the franchise, and finally getting to see Mata-Nui in action as a pseudo-Optimus Prime, is pretty dang enjoyable. - Bionicle: The Journey to One - Now we step onto the worse end of of the scale. This series (whilst having a nice visual style, set-accurate character models, and a decent voice-casting for Lewa), has writing that feels like a substance-less mess, and has been critiqued much further in-depth than I am willing to do here and now by a bunch of other people.
- Bionicle: Web of Shadows - Upon watching this film, one’s mind will shout something to the tune of “what baby dermis turtle did I kick to get condemned to this piece of Karzahni?” It doesn’t help when it’s the first film out of the franchise that you view,- as was my case. (Other than the Hagah, and the backstory for how the Avohkii got to that cavern beneath Ta-Koro, why does anybody like '05, again?)
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