Bionicle 2: Legends of Metru Nui is a funhouse of half-realized ideas, mid-production rewrites and other compromises. Some scenes make more sense when compared to early script drafts, storyboards and the novelization. What do these tell us about the confusing Dume=Makuta twist?

Primer thread on Turaga Dume and how the movie Legends of Metru Nui piles a jumble of part-obvious, part-contradictory villain twists on top of each other. Fans have argued for decades on how to interpret these, with the actual twist the writers intended often getting lost in the confusion.

This bit in LoMN where Krekka abruptly jerks forward and looks sad used to confuse me, I thought it's an animation error. But looking at the storyboards, this was actually intended as a gag that got fumbled by the animation and editing.

Small thread on the Fire Drones, Vakama's little robot helpers who only show up for a handful of shots and are never acknowledged in the dialogue. They're recycled 3D assets composed of a Bohrok body and a Toa/Turaga head.

Lhikan's capture was originally a more elaborate action scene. This fanmade storyboard-to-film comparison shows some of the differences. Note how certain reaction shots from Lhikan and Nidhiki are reordered, reused or played in reverse to connect other shots. youtu.be/i9oZNYGjdJI

Nivawk's film design is another confusing phenomenon. Described as a black bird in the script (still under the preliminary name Ka-ki) and released as a black-grey/silver Lego toy, his movie version is anything but monochrome.

These flying bricks with mean faces are Krekka and Nidhiki.

Nidhiki's toy can hardly escape allegations of looking like a giant Vahki, mainly since his head is an unaltered Vahki head. The Lego box art colors his "nostrils" like glowing eyes, which at least gives him some distinction. Legend of Metru Nui's movie design makes him more unique.

Even by Bionicle film standards, Krekka's design is a notoriously radical departure from his toy look, so much so that a casual person might think they're different characters. Especially since his Lego promo art misinterprets his "nostrils" as his eyes and his one true eye as a headlight accessory.

Bionicle's Dark Hunters evolved from an early concept of a couple throwaway bad guys with minor narrative roles to a full-blown faction of diverse but functionally meaningless edgelords who bloated the lore with more characters and plot lines than the writing could manage.

Trying to find thematic links between the Toa Metru's characters and their mask powers, Vakama first confused me. His arc is about getting over his self-esteem issues and becoming a leader, but his power is to make himself unseen. I might have found a mostly workable angle.

Thread on some efficient and clever ways Legends of Metru Nui establishes and develops its main characters in conjunction with their powers. Not only do they each have a personal flaw to overcome, these also had to be tied to their mask powers, which were laid out back in 2001.

Some tool-related continuity gaffes end up in the film due to rewrites and deleted scenes. After Whenua, Nuju and Onewa escape their cell using their mask powers, Whenua drills a hole in the wall to help the whole team escape. Makes you wonder why he didn't use them to get out in the first place...

Thread on how Legends of Metru Nui handles the Toa tools. There are contradictions compared to the toys and other media. To begin with, according to the novel and the guide book, the tools were found in the Suva shrine's compartments. In the film, the tools materialize out of nowhere.

Thoughts on the Toa Metru's movie designs. The sets were developed concurrently with the film, so it's interesting to see the two take the same template into different directions.

Some musings on how the differences between the Toa Metru and the Toa Mata designs mirror the thematic contrast of their stories and character arcs.

The Questing Oculus deserves its own thread for being an interesting worldbuilding idea that was near fully realized but went nowhere, becoming an obscure piece of behind-the-scenes trivia.

Legend of Metru Nui's ambitious nature is reflected in the number of finished designs, environment concepts and 3D models that either didn't make it into the film or were only partially used. The early teaser trailer features some of these. www.youtube.com/watch?v=UQEd...

The Kanohi Vahi AKA Mask of Time is a can that Bionicle has been kicking ever farther down the road since 2001. It took a long time until it made it into its feature film, Legends of Metru Nui, whose original working title was in fact The Mask Maker. Was it worth the 4 year wait?

One reoccurring criticism against Bionicle 2: Legends of Metru Nui is that it has too many themes and characters to develop under its short runtime. In this thread, I will try to list most of the things the film tries to handle and how they fit together.

To discuss Legends of Metru Nui as a film, first I want to tackle the awkward placement and structure of Bionicle's 2004 arc as a whole. 2003's Mask of Light brought mass attention to the franchise's story and characters, though newcomers were still left with lots of questions...

2004's Bionicle 2: Legends of Metru Nui is a nexus for some of the franchise's biggest changes. A different timeline, setting and cast and overly ambitious plans for an expanded universe that quickly derailed, marking the gradual end of the "Seven Books of Bionicle" concept.

Trying out new ways to animate Godzilla's atomic breath.

Part 8 of "Godzilla Fan Animation Thing" out. Yet another animation from nearly 10 years ago that I just recently got around to finishing. youtube.com/watch?v=Nj09206UG4M

"New" part of the silly Godzilla fan film series out. By which I mean it's a 9 and a half year old clip that I finished recently. www.youtube.com/watch?v=x374...

More kaiju art I made some time ago.

More kaiju art.

youtu.be/mmZRXvgfgVs A re-upload of an older scene with better rendering and fixed audio. If YouTube takes it down, I'll edit it further.

Some recent kaiju art I made. Drawn on paper with effects/filters added in PowerPoint.

I like that most of the Rahkshi powers in Bionicle: Mask of Light were given a distinctive effect, despite censorship concerns greatly limiting how they could be used. Lerahk's poison is a spreading, bubbly gas or fluid that glows green.

Pewku thread. Bionicle focused so hard on super-powered heroes, villains and their millennia-spanning cosmic mysteries, it's easy to forget that one of the main heroes had a giant cute pet crab who behaved like a dog, complete with licking tongue and wiggling tail, and was ridden like a horse.

A Godzilla.

Thread on Mangaia, the Makuta's lair in Bionicle: Mask of Light. The underground realm below the island Mata Nui was always meant to show that there had been more to this setting than previously thought. Different media portrayed it as either technological or biological.

A thread on how Bionicle: Mask of Light handles Onua's character. In short, he's probably the one the movie gets the most wrong, portraying the opposite of what he's supposed to be like. I can't reconcile him as the same character from the source material.

The two Toa in Mask of Light I feel strayed the farthest from their established characterization are Lewa and Onua. This thread is for Lewa, whom the directors described as a cross between a Native American and a hippie. Basically, stereotypical nature lover and devotee of unity.

Kopaka, described by Mask of Light's writers as a mix between Clint Eastwood and Batman, receives a special role as the most effective Toa, making the most of his short scenes. He halts multiple Rahkshi, stops and helps purge Tahu of poison, even takes the time to save Pohatu and Onua off-screen.

A thread on how Bionicle: Mask of Light handled the Toa's personalities. Expect some subjective remarks that you may disagree with. To me, the film's most accurately adapted Toa are Tahu and Pohatu. I can imagine both of them being the same characters from the comics and books.

Nods to other films in Bionicle: Mask of Light. Directors Terry Shakespeare and David Molina learned animation by working on Don Bluth films like The Secret of NIMH, which they reference in the scene where Makuta with his glowing eyes threatens Takua.

Enough of Bionicle for a moment, time for some REAL Lego. This speed boat is important for me because this is the first Lego set I have memories of seeing, way back in kindergarten. My second Lego-related memory is my Mom telling me it's too expensive and that we can't buy such things.

One criticism I've seen once or twice regarding the films' handling of the Turaga is that they took the "elder" part of their role literally and made them old and weak, despite the concept of aging never being well defined in Bionicle. This idea evolved a lot during production.

Apart from lacking heartlights, the Turaga chests in Mask of Light are notable for another reason. Their chest armor carries elements of their respective masks, like Vakama's segmented "beard" motif. Jaller and Takua also share this design cue, as they're from the same tribe.

On the subject of heartlights, I like the thematic implication that Makuta's standard body lacks one, as he is "heartless" and light is his weakness. Once he merges with Takanuva whose light "cleanses" Makuta of shadow and corruption, their combined form gains a heartlight.

I wasn't sure if it was worth doing a thread on the Bionicle movies' Turaga designs. It's plainly obvious and very well known among fans that their bodies were based on the Bohrok Va toys rather than the actual Turaga toys. But there are other details worth taking a look at.

A thread for some fun oddities about Mask of Light's Kolhii scene. For example, Macku keeps disappearing from her goal. No wonder Hewkii scores so many points. Now, she does like to sneak away to be with him, but Hewkii is right there on the playing field in front of her the whole time.

The Kolhii shields are styled after Bohrok shields, mostly the Pahrak's Stone Shield and the Nuhvok's Earth Shield, but each has its own elemental motif. It's a fun way to incorporate familiar Bionicle details into the movie's world.

One persistent oversight in Mask of Light is how the Kolhii sticks of the fire and stone element characters are switched. Ta-Matoran have a tan/yellow marking on their sticks and Po-Matoran have a red marking. Should be the other way around.

The exchange about Takua's "new move" shows some rough but clever editing. Takua's optimistic "Of course. It's what the audience came for!" line is dubbed over a clip where he actually has a sad expression and isn't moving his mouth.

Mask of Light gives us a glimpse inside its Matoran CG models as Jaller clips into the camera on his way to the Kolhii stadium. Very insightful for aspiring 3D model makers.

Mask of Light's Kolhii tournament scene has many continuity inconsistencies. Some were deliberately done to make the scene flow better. Others are just odd. Like Turaga Onewa and Nokama standing behind the wrong elemental banners. Onewa is at the blue water banner, Nokama is at the tan stone one.

I'd like to make a detailed thread on Kopaka's movie design too, but there's not a lot to say. He looks great. He has proper symmetrical arms unlike his toy, his armor is more white but he has many grey bits that preserve his original colors, and his glowing eye-scope lens is a nice touch.