Playmates tapped for Rainbow Brite relaunch
By Staff -- Playthings, 10/6/2008 11:03:00 AM
NEW YORK—Playmates Toys has been granted the master toy license for Rainbow Brite, Hallmark’s ’80s-era girls brand that licensing agent United Media is working to revive.
Playmates plans a line of fashion dolls, plush and role-play toys that will reach retailers in time for fall 2009. The toys will “honor the nostalgic look, indomitable spirit and energy that Rainbow Brite embodies with a trendy tween redesign that girls will adore,” according to United Media.
The property’s refreshed design will position Rainbow Brite as a role model who is socially-aware, inspirational and innovative, helping girls develop an inner strength, while focusing on the importance of being confident and caring about the world.
Playmates and Hallmark will support the Rainbow Brite product launch with character content online and in-pack and through a “Share A Rainbow” challenge, a socially-conscious program that taps kids’ desire “to help” and encourages girls to channel their energies into creating a better world.
Introduced by Hallmark as an animated television series in 1984, the Rainbow Brite franchise generated $1 billion in retail sales of dolls, toys and other licensed products, according to United Media. Mattel was the property’s original toy licensee. Toy Play, then a division of The Betesh Group, picked up the rights to the property in 2004.
Rainbow Brite is the third addition to the United Media and Hallmark licensing relationship, which also includes the hoops&yoyo and Maxine brands.
The fact they're turning it into a pre-teen (tween is an awful word) show is going to be it's downfall. Pre-teens don't even watch that kind of program anymore, they're already into thie images and make-up hey watch the live action drama shows with the latest heart-throb. They don't watch much in the way of cartoons at that age anymore. Keep it geared to 6 year olds and it'll do MUCH better.
The elimination of the common color kids makes me sick and the re-design is only going to encourage a negative body image in young girls. There's already enough girls out there with today's manipulative media, who have eating disorders and have low self-image concepts. Why would they choose to add to that?
The show isn't even about colour anymore by the sounds of it so why not just create something new and leave Rainbow Brite undamaged and good as it originally was? Why call it Rainbow Brite when it's got nothing to do with spreading colour to the world? Okay the 2 colour kids you've kept are responsible for certain colour hues, to what extent? It really sounds like that's just something to say about the characters but won't be included in the stories. Why chose two obscure and rarely seen colour kids and then eliminate entirely the rest of the common ones? This also suggests that colour (what the original concept revolved around) is not going to be much part in this "new" butchery of a classic series that was awesome as it stood.
Personally if they re-released plushy dolls and re-released the original show and advertised it towards 6 years olds as was originally intended, the show will sky rocket. With the new changes intended it's going to crash and burn and be a HUGE bomb and ruin the original for long time fans as well as the new generation that could've enjoyed something great if it had been done properly.
Chronia - 2009-09-14 09:36:00 EDT
The elimination of the common color kids makes me sick and the re-design is only going to encourage a negative body image in young girls. There's already enough girls out there with today's manipulative media, who have eating disorders and have low self-image concepts. Why would they choose to add to that?
The show isn't even about colour anymore by the sounds of it so why not just create something new and leave Rainbow Brite undamaged and good as it originally was? Why call it Rainbow Brite when it's got nothing to do with spreading colour to the world? Okay the 2 colour kids you've kept are responsible for certain colour hues, to what extent? It really sounds like that's just something to say about the characters but won't be included in the stories. Why chose two obscure and rarely seen colour kids and then eliminate entirely the rest of the common ones? This also suggests that colour (what the original concept revolved around) is not going to be much part in this "new" butchery of a classic series that was awesome as it stood.
Personally if they re-released plushy dolls and re-released the original show and advertised it towards 6 years olds as was originally intended, the show will sky rocket. With the new changes intended it's going to crash and burn and be a HUGE bomb and ruin the original for long time fans as well as the new generation that could've enjoyed something great if it had been done properly.
I'm so thrilled that Rainbow Brite is comming back! I remember having tons of the accessories and dolls from the 80's, and would love to add to my current collection. Just please don't make Rainbow Brite or the Color Kids into "new age" looks, like they did with Strawberry Shortcake and some of the My Little Ponies. Rainbow Brite should stay the way she looked back in the 80's.
Jessie Gray - 2009-08-23 20:24:00 EDT
Rainbow Brite is my favorite childhood cartoon. It will always be. But please do not ruin the original design of Rainbow Brite. I don't want to see any of the characters in modern clothes. That completely takes away the everything they are. It just wouldn't be right. When Rainbow Brite was relaunched in 2004, a lot of clothing came out with these characters as modern day "ravers". It was ridiculous. PLEASE modernize the characters, but don't completely change them. Keep in mind the original design of them
Shana Linton - 2009-01-22 04:39:00 EST
I am excited, and dreading this. I loved Rainbow Brite as a child and I like how she was originally. Saying they are modernizing her and the word "tween" makes me cringe... However, though I originally hated the redone Strawberry ShortCake, I have grown fairly fond of it now. Same for the new MLP, except for the "core 7" crud... Hopefully they don't mess it up... I have a daughter, and I hope she won't love it if I hate it, otherwise I might want to set her dolls on fire...
Draco Cellestan - 2009-01-02 00:22:00 EST
I am so thrilled to hear this. Rainbow Brite was and still is my all time favorite cartoon ever. Now I have an excuse to buy them now that I have a niece. :) The RB line in 2003-2004 didn't take off like The Care Bears, My Little Ponies and Strawberry Shortcake did. Hopefully that Playthings will be very successful in launching this new line of toys and have a variety of playsets/dolls/characters/etc.
AES - 2008-12-06 17:14:00 EST
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