Survey Results are in!
By: Andrew Bermudez
(LEGO Studios; August 18, 2012)
In the wake of the re-release of Mystery at Shady Acres, the results from the several month-long survey were collected. Surprisingly, many people didn't comment on the absence of certain themes, such as Adventurers, Atlantis, Kingdoms, and Alpha Team. With these exclusions aside, here is a short list of the most popular themes from the survey; five are retro themes, seven are contemporary themes (to compensate for a few ties), and one is a classic theme.
- Pharaoh's Quest (16 votes)
- Pirates (15 votes)
- Rock Raiders (15 votes)
- City (14 votes)
- Wild West (13 votes)
- Time Cruisers (10 votes)
- Monster Fighters (9 votes)
- Arctic (8 votes)
- Vikings (8 votes)
- Dino Attack (8 votes)
- Aqua Raiders (8 votes)
- Dino (8 votes)
- Town (7 votes)
As expected, several classic themes performed well, such as Wild West and Pirates. Several newer themes also performed well, such as Pharaoh's Quest and City. Unexpectedly, several themes that were thought to have been forgotten performed well, such as Aqua Raiders and Time Cruisers. "I am really unsure how these two themes in particular will appear as movies," said LEGO Studios CEO Mark Matthew. "Time Cruisers might tie into the same concept as When Barrels Fly, but I really have no idea how we're going to execute an Aqua Raiders movie and make it more than just a group of nameless divers blowing up sea creatures and taking treasure. However, considering the great work our scriptwriters did in interpreting the Adventurers theme, I think it will turn out well." Arctic was also a surprise hit, making it into the top 10 themes.
Along with the surprise hits, there were also some surprise failures. Ninjago, currently the most popular non-licensed LEGO theme on store shelves, performed dismally, drawing in a mere 2 votes. "It was a real surprise for us, but we aren't worried," said Mark Matthew. "Ninjago already has its own TV show on Cartoon Network, which means that any Ninjago movie by us would be no more than recreating an episode of the said TV show." Another surprise flop was none other than Island Xtreme Stunts, the line of sets based on the award-winning LEGO Island game. "Despite this feedback, I want to do a Lego Island movie," said Johnny Thunder and the Secret of Marco Polo director Steven Lawrence. "What I learned from this is that the concept should come from the games, not the sets." Other surprise flops include Classic Castle, Aquazone, and Bionicle.
Many newer themes also received several votes, including Dino Attack and recently-released Monster Fighters. This is probably because these themes are in more recent memory. "I am really glad that people love Monster Fighters," said Forest of Fear director Seth Masterson. "I think that this theme could really make a great movie. In Forest of Fear, we had this great character with Arthur Van Helbrick, but he was reduced to a bit role after the rewrites. I think that, by using Monster Fighters, we could finally treat him to his own movie and tell his story." Until then, though, the old script left over from the defunct Pharaoh's Quest: An Interactive Adventure will be mended and rewritten for new purposes.
However, many of the major projects that this poll will influence will not come to fruition until 2016 at the earliest. Regardless, this poll may affect a possible THAC 10 entry, or a possible short film in 2013. Until then, Late for the Soccer Match will be released on October 19th and Johnny Thunder and the Wisdom of the Ancients will be discovered summer 2014.
Along with the surprise hits, there were also some surprise failures. Ninjago, currently the most popular non-licensed LEGO theme on store shelves, performed dismally, drawing in a mere 2 votes. "It was a real surprise for us, but we aren't worried," said Mark Matthew. "Ninjago already has its own TV show on Cartoon Network, which means that any Ninjago movie by us would be no more than recreating an episode of the said TV show." Another surprise flop was none other than Island Xtreme Stunts, the line of sets based on the award-winning LEGO Island game. "Despite this feedback, I want to do a Lego Island movie," said Johnny Thunder and the Secret of Marco Polo director Steven Lawrence. "What I learned from this is that the concept should come from the games, not the sets." Other surprise flops include Classic Castle, Aquazone, and Bionicle.
Many newer themes also received several votes, including Dino Attack and recently-released Monster Fighters. This is probably because these themes are in more recent memory. "I am really glad that people love Monster Fighters," said Forest of Fear director Seth Masterson. "I think that this theme could really make a great movie. In Forest of Fear, we had this great character with Arthur Van Helbrick, but he was reduced to a bit role after the rewrites. I think that, by using Monster Fighters, we could finally treat him to his own movie and tell his story." Until then, though, the old script left over from the defunct Pharaoh's Quest: An Interactive Adventure will be mended and rewritten for new purposes.
However, many of the major projects that this poll will influence will not come to fruition until 2016 at the earliest. Regardless, this poll may affect a possible THAC 10 entry, or a possible short film in 2013. Until then, Late for the Soccer Match will be released on October 19th and Johnny Thunder and the Wisdom of the Ancients will be discovered summer 2014.
I feel your pain with the aqua raiders thing. I've been asked to do lego agents fan fictions before, but I never can because the agents, while they did get names, never had any individuality.
ReplyDeletepart of why I like Alpha Team better.