Playmates tapped for Rainbow Brite relaunch
By Staff -- Playthings,10/06/2008
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.
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| Submitted by: | Chronia 9/14/2009 7:36:50 AM PT |
| Location: | Canada |
| Occupation: | Retail - Toy store |
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.
| Submitted by: | Jessie Gray 8/23/2009 6:24:36 PM PT |
| Location: | Elma, WA |
| Occupation: | volunteer |
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.
| Submitted by: | Shana Linton 1/22/2009 2:39:12 AM PT |
| Location: | Lancaster, CA |
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
| Submitted by: | Draco Cellestan (a1draco@yahoo.com) 1/1/2009 10:22:08 PM PT |
| Occupation: | Mother |
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...
| Submitted by: | AES 12/6/2008 3:14:00 PM PT |
| Location: | PA |
| Occupation: | Student |
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.
| Submitted by: | Joe Richards (sncb.1305@gmail.com) 11/8/2008 9:02:07 AM PT |
| Location: | Rainbow Land |
| Occupation: | Almost Retired |
Wow, how cool might that be???
On the other hand, the Playart relaunch was a short-lived disaster. They are going to have to do much better than that to stay around.
The original Mattel was good quality, but they were really slow to get out more charachters and more accessories and clothes for the existing dolls.
Could the new dolls have both original style clothes and new style clothes as well? That might be a solution that would please the traditionalists and new customers.
I wish this well, but I''''''''''''''''m curious why it is set for 2009. The original came out in 1983, so 2013 would be the 30th anniversary. Also the number 13 also was the launch date (December 13th, 1984) of the original TV cartoon series, which contained just 13 episodes. Obviously, there will have to be a special edition that somehow features the number 13 in 2013.
And don''''''''''''''''t forget to make a new TV series, movies, toys, people-size clothes and everything else they had for the original issue.
One last thing. Please make sure the tush tags on the new dolls say something like ''''''''''''''''Rainbow Brite Copyright 1983 by Hallmark Cards 2013 Edition." That will make life a lot easier for collectors.
| Submitted by: | Marysia 10/25/2008 1:52:08 PM PT |
| Location: | San Diego |
| Occupation: | Writer |
I am very excited about this. But I really don't want to see Rainbow Brite in a "tween" incarnation, just as much as I don't want the characters modernized in the same way that Strawberry Shortcake was. Fantasy is a valid creative medium--stick to it, please. I would also like to see some of the characters of which we only saw prototypes (i.e. Stormy) as well as characters from the movie that were never released (Krys, the Princess). I hope to see what's in store for the future. :)
| Submitted by: | Sharon Mills (Rigbypeep@gmail.com) 10/24/2008 9:09:50 PM PT |
| Location: | Maryland |
| Occupation: | Sales associate/ Animal Humane Society volunteer <3 |
I am BEYOND thrilled!!!!!! i grew up with Rainbow Brite, but i was always "creeped out" by how the doll looked, she looked NOTHING like the girl i admired, now that you guys are "refreshing" her look, i REALLY hope she looks as she does in the cartoon, I will buy everything that comes out for her!!!!!
*Pink sprites would be nice too!!!*
| Submitted by: | SEGAGIGA (fernandosamson@yahoo.com) 10/18/2008 5:51:15 AM PT |
| Location: | Philippines |
| Occupation: | Game Master |
This is indeed good news!
I hope they include characters from the movie as well.
Please make the look faithful to the original character designs while updating the materials, adding accessories and articulation!
| Submitted by: | Terry Allen (gwendolynprior@yahoo.com) 10/17/2008 9:58:37 PM PT |
| Location: | ohio |
| Occupation: | Service industry |
"Playmates tapped for Rainbow Brite relaunch!"
Now lets hope that they don't screw it up!
I think the original material, with minimal tweaking, could work just as well today as twenty years ago! Not every relaunch needs to be all tweeny and completely different from the creative source!
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