Bionicle: The Mask of Light

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	Audio		Video
	Goodies		Interface
	Value

The Movie

Review by Lisa Perkis, contributing writer

Takua is the island’s chronicler. It is his job to keep a record

of the history of Mata Nui and the Toa’s adventures. A reluctant hero

Takua discovers in the movie that he is the Herald of the 7th Toa, and

it is destiny to find the Toa of Light.

If the above paragraph makes any sense to you, you are either a boy between

the ages of 7 to 12, or a Legomanic of any age. Lego and Miramax films

released the direct-to-video Bionicle: Mask of Light on September

16 to videotape and DVD—and believe it or not, thousands of Bionicle

fans are very excited to see the first film release.

Promotional image © Disney.

The Lego Company’s Bionicle—a combination of the words “biological”

and “chronicle”—is the biggest toy franchise for boys.

It started as an interactive Web site and comic book line in 2000 and

expanded into action figures, video games, a Nike shoe line and many independent

fan sites. By August 2001, the toy line was outselling every other action

figure on the market, and was recognized with two Toy of the Year awards:

“Most Innovative Toy” and “Best Toy of the Year” by

the American Toy association.

Miramax Films partnered with the Lego Company to produce Bionicle:

Mask of Light, and even the Disney Company is in the act, with Buena

Vista Home Entertainment marketing and distributing the film This movie

is nothing like a Disney direct-to-DVD production, however. The production

values, storyline, and fan base make it a unique release.

Bionicle: Mask of Light is a CGI animated film, which, for non-computer

animation buffs, stands for Computer Generated Imaging. The animators

dissected Bionicle toy parts in order to make the characters true to the

original comic books and toy characters. One of the changes they made

from the original characters was the addition of hands so the characters

could be more expressive onscreen. Dozens of animators and artists worked

on the film, and the result is a rich, visually interesting movie.

Promotional image © Disney.

The storyline of Bionicle is rather complex for someone not familiar

with the background or characters from the toys or comic books, but the

film does a pretty good job of introducing them. In the “time before

time,” the great spirit Mata Nui brought the Matoran tribes to inhabit

his island paradise. His brother Makuta grew jealous of what his brother

had created and cast a spell over him to cause Mata Nui to fall into a

deep sleep. Makuta’s power soon dominated the land, yet all hope was not

lost. Legends spoke of six mighty heroes, the Toa, who would arrive to

save Mata Nui from Makuta.

Unlike a Disney story, which usually focuses on one hero or heroine,

the Bionicle story has six heroes, called the Toa, which have power drawn

from different elements (Gali, the Toa of Water; Kopaka, the Toa of Ice;

Lewa, the Toa of Air; Onua, the Toa of Earth; Pohatu, the Toa of Stone;

and Tahu, the Toa of Fire). The film introduces the Toa and explains how

they work together to defeat the villain Makuta. The names of the characters

and the lush island setting of Mata Nui are very reminiscent of Polynesian

myths and tales.

Lego has hit on a gold mine with the Bionicle franchise—it’s difficult

to capture the interest of 7 to 11-year-old boys, but with the fan base

Lego already acquired through the games and toys, this movie should do

very well.

The film carries a positive message of loyalty and friendship without

a lot of graphic violence. There are definitely scenes of excitement and

peril and of course a menacing bad guy, but nothing too intense for most

children. At one point in the story one of the characters appears to die

but is brought back at the end of the film.

Promotional image © Disney.

I was curious to see my daughters’ reactions to the film since they don’t

have any familiarity with Bionicle toys or story, and are not the target

audience. Surprisingly, the 6-year-old was very enthusiastic and spent

a lot of time cruising the extras on the DVD to learn more about the characters.

The 9-year-old was a little cooler in her reaction, stating, “that

would never happen in real life.” As this was the same girl who was

so enthusiastic about Lindsay Lohan and Jamie Lee Curtis switching bodies

in Freaky Friday, I explained that Bionicles was a fairy

tale or fable, a story to teach positive ideas about courage, loyalty

and unity. She tried watching it again and on the second viewing had a

much more favorable response. Now she’s asking for the constructible action

figures.

I enjoyed the film a lot more than I anticipated. It was an interesting,

well done story with sympathetic characters and an uplifting message.

I wouldn’t mind sitting through it several times on the couch with my

children–and that’s high praise considering I avoid most direct to video

productions.

The DVD: The Goodies

Review by Kevin Krock

My boys are not yet old enough to be hooked by Bionicle, so I have to

admit that I, too, was new to the rather extensive background story behind

Bionicle. When I first read about the Bionicle: Mask of Light DVD,

I was a bit skeptical about not only the movie but also the disc presentation.

After a little indoctrination from the disc bonus material, I agree with

Lisa’s assessment of the movie, and the goodies end up playing a rather

critical role in helping parents and neophytes understand the world of

Bionicle.

Promotional image © Disney.

The first time I watched the movie, I was also being distracted by a

number of other activities around our house, and I found myself completely

lost. Characters and locations just did not make any sense to me, and

it was clear that your attention is necessary to follow the movie. I then

took the time to browse through the Mata Nui Explorer, which does a nice

job of introducing the island of Mata Nui, each of the Toa (the heroes),

and several of the other key characters in the story. It takes about 15

minutes to explore, but if you want to understand either the movie or

what your children are talking about, it is well worth the time.

Promotional image © Disney.

There is also a short making-of documentary, which does an adequate job

of filling in some of the behind-the-scenes development work that went

into the movie. It features several interviews with artists, producers,

directors, and voice actors, and it also has video from story and design

meetings. It does not go into the normal depth that I like to see in a

making-of, but in combination with the other bonus material, it is a good

place to start.

The next step to gaining a better understanding behind this unique story

and world is to listen to the full-length commentary from the two directors,

David Molina and Terry Shakespeare. It is interesting to listen to, and

it seems like the directors are making an attempt to target their commentary

towards the target audience more than parents. However, there is plenty

of information and stories to keep parents watching and listening.

As an unfamiliar viewer, I found it interesting to both listen to the

commentary and turn on the “Wall of History” mode, which uses

a subtitle channel to put pertinent Bionicle historical information on

the screen. It is almost information overload, but I really helped me

understand what was going on in the movie.

Promotional image © Disney.

Finally, there are a few other items that are very nice additions that

should be on any DVD. First, there is a series of deleted scenes, which

feature an optional filmmaker commentary, and it is nice to be able to

listen to the director describe why a particular scene was cut. The disc

also includes two trailers and a storyboard-to-film comparison, and while

brief, they are perfect compliments to the rest of the material. Finally,

there is a “sneak peek” into the next Bionicle storyline, which

is less than a minute long and only confirms what is revealed at the end

of the movie. All in all, there is much more bonus material than I expected,

and it is encouraging to see all this material on a standard DVD edition.

The Video, Audio, and Interface

Simply stated, the audio and video transfers on this disc are wonderful.

The video is crisp, clean, and detailed, and the colors are stunningly

balanced. The abundant saturated reds, blues, and greens look great, and

the subtle surface textures of the characters and environment shine with

the high level of detail. Additionally, the video transfer is done in

anamorphic widescreen, and it should look very nice on any home theater

system.

Promotional image © Disney.

The audio transfer is equally impressive. The disc contains both Dolby

Digital 5.1 and DTS 5.1 surround soundtracks, and given the active surround

effects, those of you with DTS decoding systems will be especially pleased.

The Dolby Digital track is clean and nicely balanced, and the aforementioned

abundant surround and directional audio effects work well with the vibrant

visuals.

As for the user interface, it is well themed, clearly laid out, and features

animated menus and transitions. It is on par with most of Disney’s recent

DVDs, and it does a good job of getting you into the Bionicle world before

you even get to the movie. It truly helps round out the technical features

of this disc and enhance the viewer’s experience.

Promotional image © Disney.

The Final Evaluation

Bionicle fans should be very pleased with both the movie and the DVD.

It is a nice extension of the storyline, and the look and feel of the

movie should be close to those you or your children have dreamed up with

the toys. Along with a beautiful video transfer and active Dolby Digital

and DTS 5.1 surround soundtracks, the movie is action packed and successfully

maintains a decent plot and pace throughout the move. Top those off with

an ample amount of bonus material for both parents and young Bionicle

lovers, and you have a pretty solid DVD. So, if Bionicles have invaded

your house, this disc is worth adding to your video collection. Next Fall,

we will see if Lego and Miramax can pull if off again.

Promotional image © Disney.