The Year in Review: 2012

By: Andrew Bermudez

(LEGO Studios; December 26, 2012)

     Yet another year is coming to a close, with the next upon us. We all hope you had a very merry Christmas and we hope that you will also have a happy new year. With this comes our new holiday tradition: the year in review! "This was a year for substantial growth for us," said LEGO Studios CEO "In the course of just twelve months, we've released 6 films, re-released an additional 10, created 1 game, ran a promotional theme, hosted two contests, and participated in an additional two contests, among other things. In fact, we're well underway for what we'll be doing in 2013." Until we get to that, however, here is a look at what has happened since January.

January

     The year started with the introduction of a new series of films. "From the Vaults" was created as a way to host remastered editions of old Mustache Maniacs Film Co. movies online. In the meantime, the popular web comic series Tales of the Adventurers continued the adventure with the introduction of the story line "Race to Mariner's Cave," which introduced steam punk into the adventure.

February

     Besides more "From the Vaults" re-releases, February was the start of the 14-month long promotional theme, "Vacation: Unlimited." The promotion started with an animation contest and a travel journal, which is running an opinion poll right now. On leap day, the film Night Guard was announced, along with more content for the website and a prize for the Vacation: Unlimited Animation Contest.

March

     In March, the return of Mystery at Shady Acres was announced along with the built-in game, Shady Acres Super Sleuth. Later in the month, an opinion poll about favorite LEGO themes started, which will go a long way to improving future projects.

April

     The website expansion was finished this month with expanded pages, new features, and a newer style. Other than that, April was a month to work on projects, not release them.

May

     All other projects were halted as Gone Ice Fishin' and Night Guard were finished. This month was filled with work!

June

     Our work paid off! Gone Ice Fishin' and Night Guard were released amid the announcement for the Kitchen Sink entry, Late for the Soccer Match. Also, the Vacation: Unlimited Animation Contest ended, and HollywoodLego took home the prize with his film Johnny Thunder's Big Vacation. In the travel journal, reviews of new attractions, like Manta and Cars Land, were added. It was also announced that, between now and the end of 2014, all of our films would be adjusted to be able to watch them in 3-D.

July

     On the heels of the Vacation: Unlimited Animation Contest, the Vacation: Unlimited Scrapbook Contest started this month. The contest was tailored towards those who did not want to give out their home address online for prize shipping. There was also the re-release of Com 50 and 007 this month as well. At the end of the month, another website expansion began to further enhance the website and its services.

August

     Time came to go sleuthing for clues! Mystery at Shady Acres returned better than ever, with its interactive intermission game, Shady Acres Super Sleuth. However, the film did not prove to be as popular as planned. Also, the survey results came in after 7 months of taking opinions. Pharaoh's Quest proved to be the most popular theme. Next year's big event, The Film School Challenge, was also announced. At the end of the month, the hilarious short film Seth Masterson vs. Shark Hoops debuted.

September

     This month, the heartwarming and tragic animated film New Friends ~ An Environmental Fable was announced for release in December. While that release was pushed off until January, we expect it to be popular. Also, in the "Olympics Schmolympics" results, Seth Masterson vs. Shark Hoops got an honorable mention, which resulted in us receiving a prize: a Robots! poster! Otherwise, work continued.

October

     Our Kitchen Sink entry, Late for the Soccer Match, came kicking in, becoming the first one of our films to have 3-D options right at its release. Also, the Vacation: Unlimited Scrapbook Contest ended with TLF Scarheart to claim the prize with her vacation video Northern Illinois.

November

     The crew filming Johnny Thunder and the Wisdom of the Ancients were almost done with the England sequences at this point, but they still have a lot of work to do. In the meantime, the results for Kitchen Sink were announced, and Late for the Soccer Match won 2nd place in the 13+ category! Congratulations to the winners, and well done to all who participated. Finally, filming for New Friends was finished this month.

December

     Out of the three planned releases for this month, only one of them, Air Strike, made it on time. The other two have been delayed until January, along with Zoo Flight. However, the premiere of the rough cut of New Friends was widely popular, despite the failure of the Google Hangout. A THAC 10 entry was also planned, but due to time constraints, this project was cancelled. However, registration for The Film School Challenge started, and people have already registered! If you haven't registered yet, be sure to register today! Please check the latest teaser for rules for registration.

2013

     After the large amount of work in 2012, and the occasional chaos that ensued, we are going to take 2013 easier, mainly as a way to finish Johnny Thunder and the Wisdom of the Ancients and other projects. However, we are also planning a lot for the promotion replacing The Film School Challenge in 2014: "10 Years of Crazy Fun!" To prepare for it, voting for The Second Mustache Maniacs Film Co. Fan Choice Awards will be held summer and fall 2013, among other things. In the meantime, Seth Masterson will be looking for old LEGO Studios movies in The Old LEGO Studios Film Hunt. To kick it off, three new The Film School Challenge teasers will come in January: An Old, Old Film, Seth Masterson is in Trouble, and Some Guy in a Lizard Suit. There will also be more animated short films coming in the summer and next Christmas, so stay tuned!

     Well, that wraps up this year. We'll be doing more filming for Johnny Thunder and the Wisdom of the Ancients and other work, so we'll see you all again in 2013 with the next "Ask Mark Matthew." Happy holidays and happy new year.
     Update: Sometime in 2013, the official Mustache Maniacs Film Co. logo will get a makeover. More details are to come.