The year 1997 was a hard time for The LEGO Company. For the first time in the history of the company, it had posted a loss. The LEGO Company needed a change in order for it to appeal to this new generation of children. They realized that kids in this fast-paced modern world wanted something cool to play with that would encompass more than building blocks. Kids wanted a story behind those pieces, and to go with that story they wanted neat parts that they could use to create their own play fantasies.