Lego is a line of plastic construction toys manufactured by the Lego Group, a privately held company based in Billund, Denmark. Lego consists of variously coloured interlocking plastic bricks made of acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS) that accompany an array of gears, figurines called minifigures, and various other parts. Its pieces can be assembled and connected in many ways to construct objects, including vehicles, buildings, and working robots. Assembled Lego models can be taken apart, and their pieces can be reused to create new constructions.
Bionicle is a line of Lego construction toys, marketed primarily towards 8-to-16-year-olds. The line originally launched in 2001 as a subsidiary of Lego's Technic series. Over the following decade, it became one of Lego's biggest-selling properties, turning into a franchise and being one of the many factors in saving the company from its financial crisis of the late 1990s. Despite a planned twenty-year tenure, the theme was discontinued in 2010, but was rebooted in 2015 for a further two years.
This article lists notable events and releases in the history of the Lego Group.
Galidor: Defenders of the Outer Dimension is a science fiction television series created by Thomas W. Lynch and The Lego Group, and co-produced by CinéGroupe and the Tom Lynch Company in association with YTV. Galidor premiered on February 9, 2002, and ran for twenty-six episodes across two seasons, airing its last episode on August 24, 2002. It had limited reruns on other international networks. The series follows teenager Nicholas "Nick" Bluetooth and his friend Allegra Zane after they are transported to the Outer Dimension, where Nick uses his newfound "glinch" shapeshifting ability to aid resistance efforts against the tyrant Gorm who has conquered the Outer Dimension in search of the hidden realm of Galidor.
A Lego minifigure, often simply referred to as a Lego figure or a minifig, is a small plastic articulated figurine made of special Lego bricks produced by Danish building toy manufacturer The Lego Group. They were first produced in 1978 and have been a success, with over 4 billion produced worldwide as of 2020. Minifigures are usually found within Lego sets, although they are also sold separately as collectables in blind bags, or can be custom-built in Lego stores and on lego.com. While some are named as specific characters, either licensed from already existing franchises or of Lego's own creation, many are unnamed and are designed simply to fit within a certain theme. They are highly customizable, and parts from different figures can be mixed and matched, resulting in many combinations.
Bionicle: Mask of Light, stylized as BIONICLE: Mask of Light — The Movie, is a 2003 animated science fantasy action film based on the Bionicle toyline by Lego, and particularly serves as a direct adaptation to the latter half of the toyline's 2003 narrative. Set in a universe filled with bio-mechanical beings allied with classical element-themed tribes, the story follows two friends from the fire-based village of Ta-Koro on a quest to find the owner of the Mask of Light, a mystical artifact that can potentially defeat Makuta, an evil entity threatening the island.
Bionicle is a 2003 platform video game developed by Argonaut Games and published by Electronic Arts and Lego Interactive for GameCube, PlayStation 2, Xbox, and Microsoft Windows. A port was released for Mac OS X, and a version was also developed for the Game Boy Advance. In the home console version, the player controls the Toa, elementally-powered warriors, as they traverse through levels; some levels are 3D platformers, while others utilize mechanics like snowboarding or lava surfing. The game's story, which takes creative liberties with the official Bionicle story, follows the Toa as they defend the island of Mata Nui from the return of the evil Makuta and his minions.
Lego Batman is a discontinued theme and product range of the Lego building toy, introduced in 2006, based on the superhero character Batman, under license from DC Comics. The sets feature vehicles, characters and scenes from the comics and films. The inspirations for the design of these vary widely. For example, the Batmobile retains its basic sleek shape and prominent fins from the Tim Burton films, whereas the "Bat-Tank" seems to be based on the tank-like Batmobile in Frank Miller's The Dark Knight Returns. The theme was relaunched in early 2012 as part of the Lego DC Universe Superheroes line, which is a sub-theme of the Lego Super Heroes line. In total there were 17 sets, almost all of them including Batman.
Gregory Todd Farshtey is an American writer, best known for his work on the Bionicle series of novels (2003–2010), the Bionicle comics (2001–2010), and the Ninjago graphic novel series.
Lego Spider-Man is a product range of the Lego construction toy, based on the Marvel Comics character Spider-Man. When the theme first launched in 2002, it was inspired by the Spider-Man film released the same year and was part of the Lego Studios line. Additional sets were released two years later, based on the film's sequel, Spider-Man 2. The theme was discontinued before the release of Spider-Man 3, and the rights were sold to rival Mega Brands, who entered a multi-year licensing deal with Marvel Enterprises, giving them the rights to produce playsets, vehicles, and other building-themed products based upon various Marvel characters for their Mega Bloks toys.
Mata Nui Online Game is a 2001 point-and-click adventure browser game developed by Templar Studios to promote the Lego Bionicle line of constructible action figures. The game follows Takua, a villager on the island of Mata Nui, as he explores the island, encountering other villagers and the Toa, heroic elemental warriors, on their quest to defeat the evil Makuta.
Ben 10: Alien Force is an American animated television series created by team Man of Action, and produced by Cartoon Network Studios. It takes place five years after Ben 10 and takes a darker turn than its predecessor.
The Simpsons is an American animated comedy franchise whose eponymous family consists of Homer, Marge, Bart, Lisa, and Maggie. The Simpsons were created by cartoonist Matt Groening for a series of animated shorts that debuted on The Tracey Ullman Show on Fox on April 19, 1987. After a three-season run, the sketch was developed into The Simpsons, a half-hour prime time show that was an early hit for Fox, becoming the first Fox series to land in the Top 30 ratings in a season (1989–1990). The popularity of The Simpsons has made it a billion-dollar merchandising and media franchise. Alongside the television series, the characters of the show have been featured in a variety of media, including books, comic books, a magazine, musical releases, and video games.
The acknowledgement of Lego in popular culture is demonstrated by the toy's wide representation in publication, television and film, and its common usage in artistic and cultural works.
Lego Super Heroes is a theme and product range of the Lego construction toy, introduced in 2011, owned by The Lego Group and licensed from DC Entertainment, Marvel Entertainment, Warner Bros., The Walt Disney Company and Pixar.
Lego Bionicle: The Legend of Mata Nui is a canceled action-adventure video game developed by Saffire. Based on the Lego Group's Bionicle line of constructible action figures, the game was intended to release on Microsoft Windows computers in late 2001 and the GameCube in early 2002. The game was designed as a direct sequel to Saffire's Game Boy Advance game Lego Bionicle: Quest for the Toa, which was released in October 2001. The story of The Legend of Mata Nui was meant to serve as a conclusion to the 2001 Bionicle story arc, focusing on the Toa, heroic elemental warriors destined to defeat the evil Makuta, who is attacking the island of Mata Nui with corrupted Rahi animals.
Bionicle: Quest for Mata Nui is an upcoming fan-made action role-playing video game created by CrainyCreations. Based on The Lego Group's Bionicle line of constructible action figures, it is an open world action role-playing game and a reimagining of the 2001 Bionicle story. In the game the player controls the Toa, elementally-powered warriors who set out to free Mata Nui and its inhabitants from the evil Makuta, who have corrupted the native Rahi animals. A trailer was released in April 2020, with gameplay and combat trailers released in the following days. The trailers have been received positively by critics, who have praised the gameplay and visuals.
