Galidor
Galidor is a discontinued List of [Lego themes|Lego theme] released from 2002 until 2003. Noted for its departure from traditional Lego bricks in favor of customizable action figures, the theme was poorly received and is credited in part for the financial failure of the Lego brand prior to Jørgen Vig Knudstorp becoming CEO in 2004.
Overview
Inspired by the success of Bionicle in 2001, the Lego Group sought to create a new line of action figures that departed from the system of bricks for which the company had been known. During this period, the company produced a range of themes that did not focus on traditional Lego bricks, such as Znap, Primo, Scala, and Galidor. The Galidor line, first released in 2002, features customizable action figures with interchangeable pieces such as arms, heads, and legs. Galidor is similar to other action figure brands that were on the market on the time.The line features 21 sets, five of which were available as Happy Meal toys from McDonald's. One toy in the series, the Kek Powerizer, includes playable video games and makes sounds when receiving signals from the tie-in television series. The voice lines of the Kek Powerizer were recorded by actor Brian Hamilton. Galidor has one cancelled set that was never released, which is a buildable toy motorcycle with shark parts called the Mokarr.
Due to a combination of factors, such as each set using expensive specialized parts, competition with Lego's own Bionicle series, and the unpopularity of the tie-in television series, the toy line performed very poorly and the Lego Group was close to bankruptcy by 2003. In 2004, Jørgen Vig Knudstorp became chief executive officer of the Lego Group. He ended production of unprofitable lines in favor of the brick-based building system that the company had previously produced.