Rainbow Brite is officially getting a new TV series and feature film.
The beloved 1980s children’s franchise which spawned a cartoon series, specials, toys, books and more, is being reimagined as part of celebrations for her 40th birthday.
Introduced by Hallmark Cards in 1984, the original animated series ran for 13 episodes and followed a little girl called Wisp who travelled to a dark and desolate place and tasked with returning colour to the land.
After she triumphed having acquired a magical colour belt, she became known as Rainbow Brite and was responsible for bringing colouring to the whole world.
She was helped in this endeavour by a number of friends, including her Sprite sidekick Twink, magical horse Starlite, and the Colour Kids.
A feature film titled Rainbow Brite and the Star Stealer followed in 1986.
Then, in 2014, the series was rebooted with a three-part miniseries released on Hallmark’s streaming service, Feeln.
Crayola Studios and Hallmark are now teaming to develop the new-look Rainbow Brite with a first-look at some of the redesigned characters for the cartoon series, including Rainbow Brite, Twink, and Starlite have been unveiled.
Not veering to far from the original designs that people of a certain will remember fondly, they’ve been given a CGI makeover and Starlite now has eyebrows.
They can be seen against a backdrop of their home Rainbow Land, including Rainbow’s iconic Colour Castle.
Cake Entertainment is developing the new series, which they say will have “contemporary appeal” based on the themes of “friendship, teamwork and the power of colour and optimism to overcome darkness and negativity.”
Meanwhile, the producers behind the recent Sonic the Hedgehog film franchise, Neal H. Moritz and Toby Ascher are working on Rainbow Brite’s latest foray on the big screen.
Plans for both were originally teased earlier this year at a 40th anniversary panel event at San Diego Comic Con.
Fans were told there to expect the new series in 2025 and the film in 2026.
In the meantime, toymakers The Loyal Subjects have been releasing a number of dolls and figures based on the original designs.
So far, only the 12” Rainbow Brite doll has made it to these shores, with a limited number being stocked at B&Ms.
A number of 80s children’s franchises have been revived in recent years with varying success, including My Little Pony, Care Bears, He-Man, She-Ra, Strawberry Shortcake and Jem and the Holograms.
