Bionicle
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| Parent theme | Lego Technic (2001–2003) |
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| Availability | 2001–2010, 2015–2016 |
| Total sets | (See List of Bionicle toys) |
| Characters | (See List of Bionicle characters) |
| Official website | |
Bionicle (stylized BIONICLE) was a line of construction toys created by the Lego Group marketed primarily for 8-to-16-year-olds. Originally a subsidiary theme of Lego’s Technic series, the line was launched in Europe and Australia in 2000 and in North America in 2001. Over the following decade, it became one of the Lego Group's biggest-selling properties and played a part in saving the company from its financial crisis of the late 1990s. The theme was originally discontinued in 2010 after nine years of production, but was rebooted in 2015 for a further two years.
To accompany the sets, Lego created an original story told through an array of multimedia that expanded as the theme continued, notable as it was among the first themes produced by the company to possess a strong online presence. Set in a science fantasy universe featuring beings made up of bio-mechanical components, the story chronicles the tales of heroic beings called Toa in their fight against the Makuta, the arch antagonist, as well as the many other evils of their world in order to protect a widespread populace known as the Matoran. While the main story was told through comic books, online games and animated films, a number of additional serials were incorporated into the saga via alternative types of media that in turn expanded it. A similar approach was taken for the theme's rebooted story.
After suffering a ten-year downturn in the 1990s, the Lego Group decided to go with the idea of storytelling and thought a theme with a storyline behind it would appeal to their audience. Their first attempt was the Star Wars line based on the film series of the same name. Upon release in 1999, it was an instant success, but the royalty payments to the franchise owners Lucasfilm limited Lego's profit. The company later decided that an original story created by themselves would be more advantageous to them, with their first attempts ending up as the themes Slizer/Throwbots and RoboRiders, released in 1999 and 2000 respectively. Elements from Lego Technic construction series were incorporated into the sets, with systems such as the innovative 'ball-and-socket' (new to the Lego building system at the time) being used to create free joint movement. The system would go on to be used and greatly expanded upon in Bionicle.
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