Bionicle 2016 Story Discussion & Rumors

[Shakar]

Am I the only one who doesn't want CGI? Man, 3/4 of cartoons I see on TV are CGI these days. I used to think it was cool when I was 6 or so and I watched Beast Wars (which got butchered into Biocombat here, but that's besides the point) but it doesn't inspire anything to me now. Most of it just seems lazy and lifeless to me.

I just want them to keep the MNOG-esque style of the 2015 web episodes, I love it. The problem of those episodes wasn't the art style, it was the length and voice actors, or rather the lack of both.

[Voxovan]

Had a little talk with CM4Sci, apparently there was no mention of Netflix on Elves pages on the catalog at least and seeing that they are 10 minute flash animations I would guess the Bionicle animations will be on par with the Hero Factory ones.

I just hope they won't release one episode per year lol.

[ToaDraco]

I'm very excited by the prospect of a cgi Bionicle Netflix series! I know it won't be on the scale of Ninjago, but one can dream.

EDIT:Upon closer inspection on the background image of Umarak he appears be in some kind of... labyrinth. Given that he is basically a CCBS Pan, it might be safe to assume next year will take place in what is basically Pan's Labyrinth! I'm down with that.

Edited September 25, 2015 by ToaDraco

[GK733]

Dunno, it looks more like an ancient industrial area to me, it could very well be the jungle region's protector ruins.

And well it might not even be CGI but considering that they aren't going to put Elves on to Netflix means that the Bionicle animations must have a better production quality than those.

Elves animations are 10-minute shorts with a more detailed art and multiple voiceactors. Next logical step is CGI.

Edited September 25, 2015 by GK733

[Lyichir]

Am I the only one who doesn't want CGI? Man, 3/4 of cartoons I see on TV are CGI these days. I used to think it was cool when I was 6 or so and I watched Beast Wars (which got butchered into Biocombat here, but that's besides the point) but it doesn't inspire anything to me now. Most of it just seems lazy and lifeless to me.

I just want them to keep the MNOG-esque style of the 2015 web episodes, I love it. The problem of those episodes wasn't the art style, it was the length and voice actors, or rather the lack of both.

I would love for the Netflix series to continue using the current animation style, though CGI could also be acceptable if it's done well enough.

[Aanchir]

Dunno, it looks more like an ancient industrial area to me, it could very well be the jungle region's protector ruins.

And well it might not even be CGI but considering that they aren't going to put Elves on to Netflix means that the Bionicle animations must have a better production quality than those.

Elves animations are 10-minute shorts with a more detailed art and multiple voiceactors. Next logical step is CGI.

CGI is not a level of production quality... it's just another type of animation. You can have 2D Flash animation in a style similar to the current Bionicle webisodes with really high production values, just as you can have 2D hand-drawn animation or 3D CGI animation with really low production values.

I'd love for future Bionicle animations to keep using the same style but with higher production values (less recycled footage, smoother character movements, etc). A CGI style like the Hero Factory TV episodes could perhaps be acceptable, but overall I think the current style of the webisodes is a lot more expressive

[Tazakk]

I'm with the Aan- and Lyi-chir here, in no small part because I greatly prefer 2D animation to 3D (though that's subjective and I get that). That, and I just really dig the style of the current episodes in general, as a modern reinterpretation of Templar's work. For me it would be a dream come true to see it employed in a full series.

[Kalhiki]

T'would be cool if they made it CGI but in the Animation art style.

I just don't want them to drop the current style. It's simple but effective, and that's why I love it.

[The Outsider]

I would prefer 2D animation, since it's cheaper to produce and therefore allows for a greater variety and detail of characters and backgrounds (or at least that's the impression I got from every Transformers series I've seen so far. Which, luckily for my sanity, doesn't include Energon). If they manage to pull it off like Ninjago did, however, I'm all for 3D. Frankly, if the artstyle is good, I couldn't care less how it's made.

Edited September 26, 2015 by The Outsider

[Kalta the Noble Mind]

combination! 3D animation for the bulk of the content but 2D for storytelling like the retelling of the legend the prophecy and such.

the 3d art can be detailed enough to let kids recognize those characters as the toys and the 2d art can be stylized to illustrate the scenes being more or less mythologized happenings as well allow you to abstract some future sets allowing you to not spoil the reveal and add further interest. the mask of Ultimate Power is a good example of the former and the reaction to the mask of Control is an example of the latter.

and in my experience the expense of CGI is the computer resources needed to render lighting physics and FX rather than the movement of the characters themselves which are basically easier to control virtual stop-motion puppets. the benefits come from needing to "draw" (create) a character prop or environment once and can be used again and again for any scene. and with proper asset management you can use the same few assets to create new ones in economic modular fashion (which could benefit a franchise made from a building toy).

2D doesn't require extensive rendering or effects to make an animation look good but al the effort goes into the moving of characters themselves. due to being 2d graphics you have to draw the same asset multiple times in the form of keyframes and tweens with i believe most of a budget going into animators themselves keeping all those frames consistent on on model. cutting corners is glaringly obvious as seen in old hanna barbera cartoons and any low end flash animation .

both methods can produce masterpieces if utilized right in the right hands but i think studios use CGI all the time is due to long run efficiency where you can just replay old bone animation and a new character can just be a pallet swap. doubly so with the map based rendering technology modern video games are using.

though i bet lego will still be doing 2D animation because they still have the studio on retainer .

but i can see a wonderful marriage between the two styles, with the current animation’s geometric shapes being made into very simple polygon meshes with the colors/rendering being a pure painterly style texture paint that has built in shading allowing you to run the animation as flat color.

also doesn’t Lego itself have a sort of developer’s kit for games and tvshows/DVD movies that consist of pre modeled characters and elements that allow the animators to use as a foundation/platform for the project while keeping aesthetics consistent with the toys?

[Dr_Chronos]

I'm more a fan of 2d animation. The backgrounds are often more artistic, the colors pop, and it eggagerates emotions through mild distortion. In some ways 2d animation is an art form, the visuals are so simple the watcher interperts it in different ways. This makes conflict or emotional moments even more intense.

Edited September 29, 2015 by Dr_Chronos

[Voxovan]

It'd be cool if they used the style from Kopaka's test video (or whatever it's called).

[Bigger Fish]

I kind of want it in anime style, honestly. (Maybe get Tatsunoku or Trigger to animate it?)

[Voxovan]

I kind of want it in anime style, honestly. (Maybe get Tatsunoku or Trigger to animate it?)

Trigger may be a little bit... too fan-servicy for Lego :P Plus not all people would like its style. I honestly wouldn't mind CGI, as long as it's not super-set accurate, like Legend Reborn or HF animations. I honestly kind of want them to abandon the style of current animations - it was ok for one year, but I want to see something new in 2016. But as I said, it'd be glorious to have full animations done in that style of Kopaka's test animation video.

Edited September 29, 2015 by Voxovan

[Lyichir]

Trigger may be a little bit... too fan-servicy for Lego :P Plus not all people would like its style. I honestly wouldn't mind CGI, as long as it's not super-set accurate, like Legend Reborn or HF animations. I honestly kind of want them to abandon the style of current animations - it was ok for one year, but I want to see something new in 2016. But as I said, it'd be glorious to have full animations done in that style of Kopaka's test animation video.

I don't have strong opinions on keeping the current animation style vs. replacing it (I like it, but I could like another animation style as much if not more). But I seriously doubt I would be impressed if they did it in the style of the test animation video. That video had much of the simplicity of the current style, but none of the heart or emotion.

[TwistLaw]

I definitely want CGI. The commercials in G1 were the pure essence of BIONICLE for those countries who got no books nor comics, like mine.

Besides, the sets looked so close to their real appearance yet they managed to look like real robots. Magic I'd love to see summoned again.

[Lyichir]

I definitely want CGI. The commercials in G1 were the pure essence of BIONICLE for those countries who got no books nor comics, like mine.

Besides, the sets looked so close to their real appearance yet they managed to look like real robots. Magic I'd love to see summoned again.

They looked like real robots, that's for sure. But I'd rather they look like real people. Which isn't to say I want human actors or anything like that—I just want Toa who can show happiness, or sadness, or fear, or any emotion that allows the audience to relate to them as characters. That was one of the greatest strengths of the animation style used this year, and anything that fails to achieve that will feel like a downgrade.

[YellowCorvette]

I like the animation, but I think it still can be improved. The characters movement looks a little rough and unnatural, and the lacking of duel scenes bugs me.

[wghost]

They looked like real robots, that's for sure. But I'd rather they look like real people. [...] I just want Toa who can show happiness, or sadness, or fear, or any emotion that allows the audience to relate to them as characters.

It's interesting to see different stances on the topic - personally, I've always considered them robots and I wouldn't like it at all if they were presented as real people. That would feel really out-of-mythology. But just my opinion, of course.

[MakutaOfWar]

What about motion capture? Or is that still too expensive?

[TwistLaw]

They looked like real robots, that's for sure. But I'd rather they look like real people. Which isn't to say I want human actors or anything like that—I just want Toa who can show happiness, or sadness, or fear, or any emotion that allows the audience to relate to them as characters. That was one of the greatest strengths of the animation style used this year, and anything that fails to achieve that will feel like a downgrade.

How many emotions can you show while wearing a mask?

In all seriousness, The Legend Reborn did an amazing job in portraying the real sets while letting them show a degree of emotions.

[Logan McOwen]

How many emotions can you show while wearing a mask?

Edited September 30, 2015 by Logan McOwen

[TwistLaw]

Sorry, I clearly used the wrong term: how many facial expressions can you show while wearing a mask?

[Lyichir]

It's interesting to see different stances on the topic - personally, I've always considered them robots and I wouldn't like it at all if they were presented as real people. That would feel really out-of-mythology. But just my opinion, of course.

Again, I wasn't trying to say I want them to actually look like people. But I DON'T want them to look like they generally did in the old CGI commercials, where they felt like emotionless machines for the most part. For a 30-second advertisement for the toys, that can be great! It's true to the actual toy designs and manages to look sufficiently awesome. But for long-form storytelling, it'll take more than that for me to relate to them as characters.

How many emotions can you show while wearing a mask?

A whole lot, if the animation style allows for it. That's why I said that an animation style that doesn't would be a disappointment after this year.

Like you mentioned, TLR and the older Bionicle movies both managed to make that work with CGI, each in a substantially different way. The old set commercials, on the other hand, didn't. To be honest, that's why the more-story-driven-than-average Toa Mahri commercial didn't wow me as much as some of the others—my ears could pick up on a certain amount of emotional inflection to the dialogue, but there was a severe disconnect between that and what I was seeing on screen, which consisted solely of cold, emotionless robots fighting giant monsters. I can hardly imagine having to put up with that for an entire TV episode or movie.

[Dr_Chronos]

Bionicle found on Netflix (Bionicle: the Journey to One) Unknown if you can watch it currently.

Links:

https://www.netflix..../title/80062112

https://www.netflix..../title/80062112

Can anyone with a Netflix account share what they see? Is it watchable/has a release date? Are there any noteworthy differences between viewing it with or without an account?

Edited September 30, 2015 by Dr_Chronos