If you were a kid in the 80s (especially a girl), you couldn’t help but be aware of Rainbow Brite. A video and merchandising franchise, it was born out of Hallmark. That’s the same Hallmark which is known for greeting cards and a movie channel that specializes in romantic and sappy movies targeting women. But this article isn’t about that.
We’re here to talk about Rainbow Brite and all the toys that came out of it.
Back in 1984, the Rainbow Brite cartoon series debuted. It was produced by DIC Entertainment, a French film and television company which has been swallowed up by bigger fish. But, at the time, you would have seen their logo quite often on Saturday mornings.
Rainbow Brite ran for just 13 episodes from 1984 to 1986. But that was enough to drive many parents to search for the toys to put under the tree at Christmas. My own father was one of them.
The cartoon series tells the story of a young girl named Wisp who is sent to a dark and dismal land to restore it. Along the way, she makes new friends including Twink, a fluffy white sprite, Starlite, a white talking horse with rainbow mane and tail, the color kids, and Baby Brite, who is the Sphere of Light and the key to defeating the King of Shadows along with the Color Belt.
Friends of Rainbow Brite
Color Kids
Red Butler: Sprite Romeo
LaLa Orange: Sprite OJ
Canary Yellow: Sprite Spark
Patty O’Green: Sprite Lucky
Buddy Blue: Sprite Champ
Indigo: Sprite Hammy
Shy Violet: Sprite IQ
Each Color Kid, along with the corresponding color of sprite, is responsible for mining star sprinkles which are used to power the Color Belt.
It seems like they made a small attempt at diversity. It was pretty standard for girls’ programming of the 80s. All the kids are girls except for Red Butler and Buddy Blue. Because, apparently, they wanted to try to interest boys in the toy line. But to be fair, it’s nice to see a mix. All the characters are white except for Indigo who is brown-skinned and wears harem pants. (She was my favorite doll.) Shy Violet also stood out a bit because she wears glasses. And Canary Yellow has very short hair.
Each of the kids had different personalities and interests. I remember that Indigo liked to perform. More characters were introduced throughout the series and in the movie. Not all had toys produced for them.
The movie, “Rainbow Brite and the Star Stealer” introduced several characters. Tickled Pink who didn’t have her own sprites color sprinkles. Stormy who has control of the weather and has a flying horse called Skydancer as a companion. Sadly, only Tickled Pink would have a regular sized doll produced.
Moonglow, who oversees the light of the moon and stars, has one sprite called Nite Sprite. Episode 8, “Rainbow Night” introduces her to the show. During my research for Moonglow, I found an Instagram post from the doll’s designer, Stefanie Clark Eskander!
I learned that the character was meant to have white hair and the color scheme was very different. Her final design, which was used in the cartoon was not what she intended. Check out her post for all the details. Nite Sprite was designed and added in the cartoon and not by Mattel.
She also has a post about Stormy, Tickled Pink, and the dress up Rainbow Brite dolls where she revealed the name of their designer, Pam Sisk. I’ve always been sad that Stormy dolls didn’t materialize.
There was another horse added later, Sunriser, in episode 12, “A Horse of a Different Color.” She was pink and took an interest in Starlite.
Villains
There were several villains added in the series and movie. But only Murky and Lurky were released as toys.
Murky Dismal was the main villain. He was short, gray, and hated color. He was voiced by Peter Cullen who you would most recognize as Optimus Prime of The Transformers. His sidekick, Lurky, is a big brown creature with a huge nose. He’s furry like a sprite but otherwise doesn’t resemble them.
Lurky takes things literally which leads to a lot of misunderstandings. And Murky is impatient with him. But they stick together for some reason.
The Toys
The original license for the Rainbow Brite toys went to Mattel. They released nine-inch dolls for all seven color kids and Rainbow Brite. The dolls have plush bodies and plastic heads with yarn hair. Starlite was also released. He was stuffed rather than being plastic, but he was very firm, not squishy.
Each of the nine-inch dolls included their little sprite. Larger sprites were also released in many colors. Murky and Lurky were in the original release of toys as well.
Later, Starlite and Sunriser were produced as plastic horses in the style of Barbie horses. Tickled Pink and Moonglow came out as well as the dress up Rainbow Brite in her rainbow-colored dress. There were fewer of these dolls and horses manufactured so they’re difficult to find and expensive if you do find them.
Baby Brite, Kitty Brite, and Puppy Brite were additional toys made by Mattel. Baby Brite is large, not scaled to the nine-inch dolls. And the pets are larger as well.
There were a series of larger dolls, about 15-inches. These were manufactured by Emotions for Hallmark. Sources list different numbers of dolls so it’s not clear how many different characters were made.
Other Generations
There were several other iterations of Rainbow Brite over the years that didn’t resemble the original characters or premise. For that reason, they aren’t covered in depth here. But they existed.
In 2003, Toy Play had the license for toys, and they released a range of dolls and toys including plush and plastic as well as a Light Up Musical Castle.
In 2015, Hallmark brought out new toys and merchandise including the Itty Bittys and 11-inch Sunriser and Skydancer toys.
What’s New
So much has been happening with Rainbowland! The Loyal Subjects have been making new, high quality, dolls (and they’re making Strawberry Shortcake too) and there’s so much more to come. A film is in the works as well. It’s time for 80s kids to get excited!
Get Some!
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Want to read more?
Rainbow Brite Wiki. “The Color Kids.” https://rainbowbrite.fandom.com/wiki/The_Color_Kids
Wikipedia. “DIC Entertainment” https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DIC_Entertainment
Wikipedia. “Rainbow Brite (1984 TV Series).” https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rainbow_Brite_(1984_TV_series)
Wikipedia. “Rainbow Brite.” https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rainbow_Brite
YouTube. “Rainbow Brite: Everything You Didn’t Know.” (SyFy)
IMDB. “Rainbow Brite.” https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0174422/?ref_=ttep_ov
IMDB. “Rainbow Brite and the Star Stealer.” https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0089877/?ref_=ttfc_fc_tt
Wharble. “Rainbow Brite Dolls.” https://wharble.com/Rainbow_Brite_Dolls.htm
Edel, Victoria. “Attention '80s Babies: Rainbow Brite Is Returning with a New TV Show and Movie.” People, 16 October 2024, https://people.com/rainbow-brite-new-tv-show-movie-8729227