Brickfilm/LEGO feature length film 'The Wars of Darkness Part 2'

PART 2! FULL CREDITS FOR BOTH PARTS AT THE END! I made this movie entirely for fun in 2004 and finished it in 2005 with re-editing in 2006. It was inspired by Lord of the Rings, Diablo, and Warcraft 3 as well as other films and games. I used Lego Studios(lego.wikia.com/...) which is why the image quality is crappy. Loved it for editing though. It's entirely stop motion animation, and uses no digital effects at all. It was meant to be a drama, but thats naturally difficult to do with Legos considering everyone dies with a smile on their face haha :) One thing to note, is that during battle scenes the good guys wear grey helmets and the bad guys wear black. Part 1 is also uploaded, there is a link at the beginning of the film. Thanks for watching, and I hope you enjoy!

[@ForlornCreature]

00:49:15 was one of the most creative bits of violence I've seen in a brickfilm

[@selavastbelongia5624]

Lol yeah I put a few gruesome ones in there haha

[@illinoismotionpicturestudi5065]

I discovered this two years ago during the initial phases of the Covid lockdowns. I was impressed with the length of the movie and always intended to watch it but never got around to it. Yesterday I finally sat down and watched the first part, just finishing the second part a few minutes ago. First of all I just wanna say, I'm beyond impressed that you managed to assemble this all on the Lego Studios set, I don't even know how that's possible. Considering this was made in 2004, I cannot imagine the technical limitations you must have had making this. There are days when I complain about my editing software, I have it easy compared to what you must have gone through. I am no stranger to making feature-length stop motions, but I've been so spoiled with the technology of my time, I cannot imagine how difficult this must have been assembling together. I was really invested in the lore and the politics of the world you created. Making a fantasy world is not easy feat, and I applaud everyone involved with their creativity. Admittedly there were a few times where I got confused on the names and which nation was which, but that didn't distract from the overall story. I may have not understood everything, but I understood what was at stake and what these characters were fighting for, and at the end of the day that is all that really matters. The battles were beyond epic. Even though I was looking at a grainy screen, with animation that was just okay (no offense, my animation isn't the best either lol) I got really invested into all of the battles. I could sense the influences from the likes of Braveheart, LOTR (which was still really recent when this was made) and others. I loved seeing the fantasy creatures such as the dragons, the elephants etc. Probably my favorite battle was the siege, I especially loved the moment when the orcs don't even bother with a battering ram and the elephants turn to stomp on the gates by themselves. That visual alone was so awesome. The only thing I wasn't really that big a fan of were the characters. Despite there being surprisingly not too many characters, I felt like they were all one note. Samuel was just the young hero, the king was just the old mentor figure, and the wizard was just the generic evil bad guy. I felt like their personalities could have been stronger, but it wasn't too big of an issue. There were also a couple characters that were clearly just voices from video games. I can understand using those voice clips for minor characters with one line, but the other wizard, the main orc (I think his name was Gorback) and the other captain were all pretty major characters. The humanity was kind of sucked out when I knew that there wasn't really anyone voicing them. (Also that main orc was so frustrating. I liked the influence from the Ralph Bashki LOTR with his horns. The reason I found him so infuriating was that he always gets away, which I guess is the point. "He can't keep getting away with it!". There were many moments where I kept on saying "Why won't you die?" because he always managed to escape by the skin of his teeth. It made his demise all the more satisfying) Despite making a film that's longer than Gone With the Wind, it held my attention throughout. There are movies that are less than 90 minutes that struggle to keep me invested, so this was quite an accomplishment. I had a blast watching this, it made me understand an era that I'm unfamiliar with (I was three in 2004) it almost acts as a sort of time capsule into the days of the early internet. If I may ask, how was this originally released, because KZbin didn't exist yet? Great movie, and great stop motion.

[@Blandeer]

Truly this was just as epic as Part 1. This film is so unique. It is the first time in a long time that I've truly enjoyed a brickfilm. I was on the edge of my seat, I laughed, I cried. I wanted to keep watching. This film brought me back to when I first discovered brickfilming and all the awe and wonder that comes with it. What I love the most about this entire film is the fact that it was made for sheer fun and nothing more. I appreciate the fact that you weren't looking for anything else except just the gratification of making this movie. It's something to behold. As a result, you have given the world this great film. I've enjoyed it so much, it spews creativity, energy, and craftsmanship. Even though this could be considered obsolete by today's standards I aspire to reach this level of artistry. Incredible work! I could talk about this for hours and still not manage to find the words that suite this film. Thank you!

[@selavastbelongia5624]

Thank you so much! It's a part of my life id never change 😊

[@SPGEN95]

This is the third time I’ve rewatched this film in its entirety. Everytime I get through it i end up wowed. Your film has served as motivation for me to continue filming mine. I’m working on a dark fantasy film myself. Currently I am 2/3 of the way done with filming. Your film has reminded me the importance of taking one’s time on something.

[@squidtasticvideos]

I like the Stronghold voices

[@Limze6979]

This brickfilm was a true piece of art!

[@kesterfae5447]

Wow, I havent watched this in years. After watching both parts on the edge of my seat, I'd have to say it still holds up as a truly incredible piece of animation. What an epic original and inspiration story to tell. Whilst it's own inspirations are pretty clear, that doesn't take away from what it has to offer on its own. The animation, despite being low fps, hits that golden sweet spot where all the motion and gestures are captured perfectly. I had to pause some parts and analyse your techniques, it left me in awe of how you achieved some of the effects! I'm so glad that this exists, and that so much heart and passion went into it. Lego animations are fairly common now online, but personally this stands well above many of them on a mantle that no others can steal. I haven't animated lego in years, but this makes me want to pick it up again! I certainly hope, even if the chance is slim, that you'll pull it the Lego once more and produce another epic tale for us to enjoy! Thank you for all the hard work, and for this wonderful achievement.

[@AltonJB1984]

Thank you very much! It was time consuming but very fun to make :)

[@zachmetry6124]

@@AltonJB1984 but will you make another

[@IronElephantProductions]

So glad I could witness such an amazing, fleshed out brickfilm

[@brickcraftproductions3065]

Even though this is a Decade Old, I find myself bingewatching this It's a curse that this has less views than the First Part

[@AltonJB1984]

Hey everybody, I've been answering comments lately with my android, but SelavastBelongia is still the same account. Anywho, I'd like to once again thank you for you're input on this film :)

[@zachmetry6124]

Hay are you going to make another one

[@VChen-vk1lh]

I can see how you did the set design - you focused on practicality. As a brickfilmer as well it is necessary to design a set that is good for filming with, not for display. Sometimes, when I do indoor scenes the walls are all seperate pieces so I can film from different angles; from a distance the set may look like a pile of rubble, but the brick 'formations' are all meant to be seen through a camera. I liked the siege bit; I am actually pretty interested how you achieved the red sky effect.

[@AltonJB1984]

Thanks! The skies, mountains, and hills etc. are just large sheets of colored cardboard. When the sky changes color, I'd simply swap out the backdrop during a shot for the one I needed for the next shot and use a transition that Lego Studios gave me to try to make it seamless. It was sort of pain sometimes, mostly when trying to keep mountains and hills in the same place as the previous shot. Also not knocking anything over in the process could be tricky lol

[@Rainlight7]

This brickfilm is one of best I have ever watched. It was engaging, wonderful in it's creativity and it has timeless animation. You truly made one of finest pieces created with the LEGO Studio Camera and of brickfilm in general. Be proud of yourself, you managed to achieve something unbelievable. Thank you for creating and sharing your great work.

[@selavastbelongia5624]

And thank you for the kind words!

[@LOTWStudios]

Glad I watched this! Easily my best experience watching a brickfilm in years!

[@Ian_R_Anderson]

Dude it's an awesome brickfilm you shouldn't apologize so much in the description about the voice actors and quality. We can tell it was animated a while back. The older and longer it is the more impressive it is like the magic portal was amazing and this brickfilm is incredible! You're an amazing brickfilmer I hope you didn't decide to quit you should make an other brickfilm :D

[@AltonJB1984]

Yeah I owned pretty much every castle lego set from around 1988-1996 (duplicates in a lot of cases), which is where most of these minifigures come from, and thanks for the kind comments! :)

[@reddalek555]

Some people wouldnt see the point in watching a brickfilm, let alone a 2 hour one. But they obviously havent seen The Wars of Darkness yet ;) This is amazing. I loved every second of it! You have truly succeeded in something great ;)

[@vivorproductions]

AMAZING! This deserves more views!

[@konekostudio]

I am trying to make a long stop-motion movie, and I think, that this took a LONG time to make... I was impressed...

[@Snorgator]

Wow,all the storylines and sword duals were great!.Loved how the story goes but could have been better with better video quality.I liked the castle battle parts when the orcs swarmed the castle.How many armies of legos do you have?they seemed quite alot

[@JAStudiosDankestManLiv]

Man i Cant belive it it is a full movie this has to be one of the best flims of all time i wish you will make a prequel to it. it is so awsome also was there deleted scenes you cutting out. ?

[@AltonJB1984]

A few but they didn't help the movie. Kinda just random gore

[@AltonJB1984]

@FlameWheel7 hey thank you! I appreciate any feedback, negative or positive. I'm just happy to have finally put this up, and more so that people are watching it :)

[@AltonJB1984]

Originally that was the idea, but that'd be a 4 hour film, and I doubt anyone has the time or patience to sit through that

[@AltonJB1984]

Thanks for the view and the comments! I've been a lego collector most of my life, and during big battle sequences there were upwards of 200-300 mini-figures involved.

[@AltonJB1984]

As always thanks for the input and comments! To answer your questions, yes I broke several parts for special effects and battle sequences. It was ENTIRELY edited and filmed with Lego Studios because it has a very admirable drag and drop system for syncing audio. I made both parts entirely in about a year, but I reworked it several times until I got the ones I uploaded. Filming and editing was all done by myself, but I do value the help of my friends for their input and help on script editing.

[@JAStudiosDankestManLiv]

Thanks your flim inspried me so much that im making my own long stop motion its called Vania hope you could see it sometime wen its finnshed.

[@AltonJB1984]

Yup there were a few deleted scenes, but they were just a few shots or ideas that didn't help move the story along at all, so they were easy to cut. As always, thanks for the view and comments :)

[@AltonJB1984]

It took about a full year to complete both parts, but that's when I had a lot of time on my hands haha. And thanks for the view!

[@AltonJB1984]

All of the musical tracks I used are listed in the credits. They're mostly from games, but I used a few movies too. Which parts of the film had the music you were curious about?

[@superflipstudios1656]

How much time did this take? It’s amazing! I’ve made brickfilms that took me a month but they’re only like 5 minutes long

[@AltonJB1984]

Awesome! I'd love to check it out when it's done! :)

[@AltonJB1984]

@reddalek555 Hey thanks! I always loved stop motion animation and old school legos as a kid so at the time it seemed like a perfect fit! :)

[@thesupermariobrosplush1256]

49:20 wow

[@megamichael4021]

1:03:16 Just did that cuz i almost lost the time i did

[@AltonJB1984]

To those interested about the basics of the prequel's plot, this is a basic sum up brickfilms.com/forums/topic/wars-of-darkness-prequel/

[@JAStudiosDankestManLiv]

IT depends I don't know when it is going to be done but its pretty long too not 2 hours it might be a hour and a half

[@sillypenta]

Hey, I have attempted to email you about a brickfilm history project I am working on but I am not sure if I have an active email address. I am commenting here just in case; please let me know if you got it

[@selavastbelongia5624]

Sorry for the late reply, I'd be happy to chat with you about this

[@selavastbelongia5624]

[e-mail] is the one I normally check

[@sillypenta]

Thanks; I have sent an email

[@satan2073]

Are you coming back?

[@AltonJB1984]

I'd like to, but I'm currently working on a live action film as of right now. Thank you for your interest!

[@reddalek555]

@@AltonJB1984 Hope that live action film was successful! Any chance you'll be uploading it here, or anywhere, for us to see?

[@JAStudiosDankestManLiv]

your wrong castle vania is 146 minutes long the great disturbance is 75 minutes long.

[@VChen-vk1lh]

JSAProductions Bad news. Castlevania has been taken down.