Hero Factory (TV series)
Robotic heroes defend the galaxy from criminals.
Hero Factory is an animated television series based on the Lego toy line of the same name, produced by Threshold Animation Studios for The Lego Group and Geely. The series originally premiered as a four-part mini-series on September 20, 2010, on Nicktoons; further episodes followed as the theme continued as a toy line until its discontinuation in 2014. The series revolves around the Hero Factory, a crime-fighting organization that manufacture robotic heroes to fight and apprehend criminals across the galaxy and protect a similarly robotic populace. The main characters are a group of heroes that make up Team Alpha 1, the Hero Factory's most successful and praised team.
Quick Facts
- Genre
- Action; Science fantasy
- Writer
- Sean Catherine Derek
- Jesse Peyronel
- Adam Beechen
- Director
- Mark Baldo
- Howard E. Baker
- Michael D. Black
- Jay Oliva
- Jorgen Klubien
- Composer
- David Wurst; Eric Wurst
- Country
- United States
- Denmark
- China
- Language
- English, Chinese
- Episodes
- 11
- Executive producers
- Jill Wilfret
- Jan Faltum
- Kathleen Fleming
- Lawrence Kasanoff
- Jimmy Ienner
Facts from the source article.
Overview
Hero Factory is a fictional organization that manufactures robots called Heroes, training them to capture criminals and protect a robotic populace across the galaxy. Each Hero has distinct personalities and equipment, and they are organized into teams. The headquarters are in a towering skyscraper in Makuhero City on an asteroid-like planet. The series focuses on the Alpha 1 Team, the most praised and experienced team, led by veteran Preston Stormer. Members include senior members Dunkan Bulk and Jimi Stringer, original rookies William Furno, Mark Surge, and Natalie Breez, and later rookies Julius Nex, Nathan Evo, and Daniel Rocka. Heroes refer to each other by last name. From the episode "Ordeal of Fire" onward, Heroes receive upgraded "2.0" forms with new armor and weapons tailored to mission environments.
Characters
Preston Stormer is the strict leader of Alpha 1, haunted by a past mission failure and demanding of his team. He is a skilled, competitive Hero who targeted the leader position because he believed he would excel. After the Von Ness incident, Stormer became harsh on rookies, determined no rookie would jeopardize a mission again; many prior rookies under him gave up or transferred. He often blames himself for mission problems and is uninterested in popularity. Dunkan Bulk is a powerful senior member with less developed artificial intelligence, which he sometimes feels self-conscious about, but compensates with immense strength. He can withstand blows that would destroy armored vehicles and is one of the Hero Factory's strongest active Heroes. Bulk enjoys fighting and has been working to improve his intelligence through reading and vocabulary. Jimi Stringer is a philosophical, musically inclined veteran who incorporates sound-based functions into his weaponry. He is laid-back and cool under pressure, which occasionally annoys teammates but helps in stressful situations. Unlike other Alpha 1 members, Stringer enjoys working with rookies and applies his casual attitude to lyric composition.
Broadcast and release
The first four episodes aired over four nights in September 2010 and were released on DVD as Hero Factory: Rise of the Rookies on November 16. A fifth episode, "Ordeal of Fire," debuted in April 2011, followed by the two-part story Savage Planet in September as a one-hour special. These three episodes were released on DVD as Hero Factory: Savage Planet on October 4, 2011, with "Ordeal of Fire" as a bonus feature. The two-part story Breakout aired in April 2012. The tenth episode, "Brain Attack," premiered on the official Hero Factory website in March 2013 and aired on Nicktoons the following month. The final episode, "Invasion from Below," was produced by Lego with design partner Advance and animation company Ghost, sharing continuity with the series. It premiered as part of an online game in January 2014 and is the last episode due to Lego discontinuing Hero Factory after 2014. In mid-2011, Turner Broadcasting System Europe acquired UK TV rights for Cartoon Network, airing from August to October 2011.
Merchandise
Lego Hero Factory is a toy line by the LEGO Group marketed primarily to 6- to 16-year-olds, created in response to discontinuing the Bionicle theme in early 2010. The first sets were released in the United Kingdom on July 3, 2010, with remaining sets released on July 4, 12, and 24; all fifteen original sets launched in the United States on July 24. The sets included six hero characters, six villain characters, two vehicles, and a hero and villain limited edition set. Hero sets came in cylindrical canisters with 17 to 19 pieces, about 15 cm tall, with an age rating of 6–16. Villain sets came in rectangular boxes with 40 to 50 pieces, except Von Nebula (156 pieces) and Rotor (145 pieces) in larger boxes; villain sets were about 17 cm tall, with Von Nebula at 22 cm and Rotor at 20 cm, and age ratings of 7–16 (Von Nebula 9–16, Rotor 8–16). Vehicle sets included Furno Bike (165 pieces, 30 cm long, age 8–16) and Drop Ship (390 pieces, 43 cm drop ship, age 9–16). The Duncan Bulk and Vapour set had 89 pieces, age 8–16, with both figures about 15 cm tall. In December 2010, ten new sets were released: six hero sets in rebuilt "2.0" forms (Stormer 2.0, Furno 2.0, Breez 2.0, Surge 2.0, Evo 2.0, Nex 2.0) with about 30 pieces each, age 6–16, about 17 cm tall; and four villain sets forming the Fire Villain storyline. Three villain sets (Drilldozer, Jetbug, Nitroblast) had about 60 pieces, age 7–16, about 21 cm tall; the Fire Lord set had 125 pieces, stood about 26 cm tall, and had an age rating of 9–16.
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