"Without a Blacksmith" has Arrived With No Anvils in Sight as "On The Theme Park Loop" is Announced!

 By: Andrew Bermudez

(Mustache Maniacs Film Co. Headquarters; March 12, 2021)

    We have some exciting news to share! We have a new film that's just out, another new series that's just been announced, and several other on-going projects that are sailing along for completion later this year! Here's all of the news!

Without a Blacksmith has Emerged from the Foundry!

    With just a quick turnaround, Without a Blacksmith has been released with not a single piece of refined metal to be found (at least in front of the camera). This short and funny alternate history film imagines an encounter in a medieval forest in an alternate reality where blacksmiths, and by extension refined metal, never existed (to a certain extent; see the next section for more information). We've released just the animation to the What If: Blacksmiths competition on LEGO Ideas (the sole reason this film exists), but Mustache Maniacs Film Co. fans get the whole treat, with the added logos and credits for its official release! You can watch the film on our website, on LEGO Ideas, or through the video link here.

Canonicity, Interest, and More: What Without a Blacksmith Means for Us!

    In the days leading up to today's release, we've evaluated how to tackle Without a Blacksmith with respect to the official cinematic universe, with story team writer John Hitchcock given the final say on how to use the film canonically. In evaluating the film, he said that the film reads more as a humorous caper with an unprepared knight rather than existing in a world where blacksmiths never existed. The title still holds weight, but now the cinematic universe and the LEGO Ideas contest will hold two completely different interpretations of this film. Therefore, here is what is new for the official cinematic universe.

• Without a Blacksmith is entering the official canon as events in 1306 Belgium. The Nobleman Knight (currently unnamed) is so haughty, he refuses to employ a blacksmith in his noble province, and thus has no refined metal beyond what is imported. Because of this lack of armament and armor, The Nobleman Knight and the knights under his rule have to...improvise, like in this film, when The Nobleman Knight is ambushed by a robber and uses a vine to tie him up. This description is not related to the contest version of this film (which omits the logos and credits).

    With that said, there is another way that this film could affect the cinematic universe. "We're going to use this film to gauge interest in a complete castle film," said LEGO Studios CEO Mark Matthew. "We've tried making one in the past with Cedric's Siege, but we never got that idea off of the ground. However, if this film performs extremely well, a castle film may very well come sooner rather than later." Castle is one of LEGO's four immortal evergreen themes (Space, City, and Pirates are the other three), but to date, the only one of the four currently scheduled to get its own feature film is LEGO City in the form of Alpha Team: Mission Deep City, set to be released in 2025.

An Original Editorial Docuseries, On The Theme Park Loop, is Coming April 19, 2021!

    On top of our previously-announced projects, we are also exploring ways to expand our audience, and with this development, we are pleased to announce a brand-new monthly series titled On The Theme Park Loop! This editorial docuseries, coming April 19, will offer analysis, opinions, thoughts, and studies of topics in the themed entertainment industry that is aimed to engage curious people, professionals in the themed entertainment industry, and fans of theme parks everywhere. Here is the official description.

Hailed by some as masterpieces of entertainment art and architecture and derided by others as empty distractions, theme parks have come to define a different form of entertainment. It's a form of entertainment where, rather than being a mere spectator, the audience is invited to become a part of the action, to become a character in the unfolding story happening all around. But they also present their own merits and challenges that make them distinct from other forms of entertainment. Coming with years of exposure to this unique form of story-telling, Andrew Bermudez will be taking a look at what it takes to design and operate a theme park, both from outsider and insider perspectives, as well as take a deep dive into some of the most common and sometimes controversial practices in this industry where every decision hopes to balance the scales between art and commerce.

The first episode will launch on April 19, with a trailer releasing on April 2, 2021, shortly after the debut of The Recycling Enigma. New episodes will debut once a month.

On The Theme Park Loop will be Spun Off into its Own Channel with its Own Website!

    With that said, this show presents one major problem: most of Mustache Maniacs Film Co.'s fans are here for fictional animated stories, so how could we possibly diversify with this show? It's rather simple, actually: On The Theme Park Loop will be spun off into its own channel! "We've been looking into how to handle this, and this is possibly our best option," said Mark Matthew. "Having grown up near Disneyland and visiting that park often, our host has had a passion about this topic for years, having also been to several other U.S. theme parks. He's read up on industry secrets, fan responses to the latest developments, and stories from the history of themed entertainment, so we feel confident in the success of this show. However, we feel that this success will be best achieved by giving the show its own YouTube Channel, which can build its own dedicated fanbase that could hypothetically cross-pollinate with our main network." Here's our multi-step process to make that happen.

1. On April 1, 2021, the channel will go live with the trailer. A modified version of the trailer will also be released on the main YouTube Channel, with directions to go visit the new channel. This will be the only time On The Theme Park Loop will be mentioned on the main channel (unless the show warrants a nomination at The Fourth Mustache Maniacs Film Co. Fan Choice Awards).
2. The same day that The Recycling Enigma is released, the show's teaser page will be added to the official website, including an early release of the trailer.
3. Between April 2 and 19, the new channel's monetization system will be brought online. This will involve YouTube Ads (the channel videos will be edited to "train" YouTube's algorithm to place ads in non-intrusive points in the video), as well as a possible Patreon or a sponsorship deal.
4. Later this spring, after some additional content has been added surrounding this new show, an all-new website for the show will go online, which will feature everything related to the show (as well as links to the rest of our network, if anyone is interested). The main website's On The Theme Park Loop page will simply act as a jumping off point to this website.
5. On May 1, when we launch our store's merchandise event, we're also going to petition to have On The Theme Park Loop join the ever-growing Theme Park Tube community. Being in a community of creative minds that have a shared interest will do nothing but wonders for the new show.
6. Despite this, only the online store on the main website will carry On The Theme Park Loop merchandise. The show's logo will be featured as a day 1 product design, which will be showcased at the merchandise event on May 1, 2021.

While we hope to see some of our fans fall in love with this new series, we understand the differences in demographics. Needless to say, this does not mean that we're abandoning our animated films! Quite the contrary!

Summer Projects Update: Our Online Store, Venomosa: The Bounty of Billy, Ninjago: Master of Fear, and More!

    However, besides On The Theme Park Loop and The Recycling Enigma, we don't really have much else planned for the spring. Yet we see this as because of the work that needs to be done to get ready for our developments for this summer! For BRAWL 2021 (or Bricks in Motion's summer contest), we're planning Venomosa: The Bounty of Billy with a VERY rough outline that is in the works. Since we won't know the contest theme until it starts, we want this outline to be as vague and adaptable as possible. It exists mainly to get some of our points across for when production does begin. Since we're taking a different approach to BRAWL this time around, we want to be flexible while still ensuring that we're telling the type of story that would work best for the film's general premise. This is especially true of Venomosa: The Bounty of Billy, since that film is going to be a direct sequel to Patrick: The Movie.

    As for Ninjago: Master of Fear, we have our general story figured out, but our story team is getting hung up on the details. This film is, after all, intended to be a short celebration of Ninjago, but this film is also going to irrevocably introduce the six ninja to the greater cinematic universe. A balance needs to be struck in order for this film to work, but the story team is currently working on where to hit that balance. In fact, Steven Lawrence, the film's director, has resolved that if no solution is reached by the end of April, he will contact the greater Ninjago fandom and petition for a new writer from the LEGO theme's fanbase. Regardless, whoever is determined to resolve the story issues will also be given the task of writing the companion game Ninjago: Journey to the Master of Fear. Both the film and the game will debut on August 13.

    In terms of the online store, it is slowly coming together...provided that the hurdles of local and federal ordinances are easily overcome. T-Shirt designs are a work-in-progress, but the music shop is coming together swiftly. Currently, Dylan Johnson is finishing up remastering his soundtracks for When Barrels Fly, Pharaoh's Quest: The Curse of Amset-Ra, and Patrick: The Movie, with album covers already complete for all of the upcoming music albums. In fact, while it is inaccessible, the shop is currently installed and activated on the website, though it is invisible and empty. With everything going according to plan, the store is aiming for a July 1, 2021 debut, with a day 1 merchandise event scheduled for May 1, 2021. Expect to see several re-imagined designs from the original store, as well as new surprises!

    The Holy Land Paragon, however, is in a sort-of state of limbo. A shift in the direction for the narrative is hampering writing, and therefore illustration, efforts. What happens to this novel is currently anyone's guess, but a solution is expected to be reached by the end of this month on how to tackle these new developments. While character descriptions, early designs, and a rough outline exist, it will take some massive brain-storming to get parts of the narrative working again, which is still aiming for a September 1 debut.

In the meantime, Alms Pouch: Finished At Last! is completely halted, but since that film debuts on November 12, there is no cause for alarm. This film is scheduled to begin production on June 14, just as the summer kicks off, which means that a bulk of this film will be animated as many of the prior projects are preparing to be released.

New Studio Campus: What's Going On?

    In other news, construction on the new studio stalled again, mainly due to the winter wave of COVID-19 cases. However, as that is now behind us, construction is going to begin again, albeit slowly. Construction is aiming to have all of the structure walls framed by May, with the opening now being pushed back to 2022. However, crews want to have the sidewalk out front done by this summer. We will keep you informed on how this plays out.

Lead Out

    We have so much on our plate for this year, we're extremely glad to have our new affiliate network to help us out on our projects! If you would like to become one of our affiliates, head on over to our website and see what positions are open!