Rainbow Brite (1984 TV series)

1980s animated series

Rainbow Brite
Rainbow Brite title screen
Genre	Adventure Fantasy
Created by	Hallmark Cards Garry Glissmeyer Lanny Julian
Written by	Woody Kling Howard R Cohen Felicia Maliani
Directed by	Bruno Bianchi Osamu Dezaki Rich Rudish
Voices of	See Voices
Composers	Shuki Levy Haim Saban
Country of origin	United States
Original language	English
No. of episodes	13 episodes (+2 half-hour live-action specials and 4 read-along videos)
Production
Executive producers	Jean Chalopin Andy Heyward
Producer	Tetsuo Katayama
Running time	25 minutes
Production company	DIC Enterprises
Original release
Network	Syndication (Kideo TV)
Release	June 27, 1984 (1984-06-27) - April 23, 1985 (1985-04-23) (TV specials)
Release	April 5 (1986-04-05) – June 28, 1986 (1986-06-28)^[1]^[2] (TV series)
Related
Rainbow Brite and the Star Stealer (film)

Rainbow Brite is an animated series based on Hallmark's media franchise of the same name, that ran from 1984 to 1986.^[3] Produced by DIC Enterprises with animation provided by Japanese TMS Entertainment, the show began as a part of DIC's Kideo TV syndicated anthology package.^[4] In this series, Rainbow Brite uses her magical belt to protect the colors of Rainbowland from the bumbling Murky & Lurky.^[5]

Premise

Series

A young girl named Wisp is brought to a dark, desolate land with the mission to bring color to this fictional world by locating the "Sphere of Light." Along the way, she befriends a sprite named Twink and a talking horse named Starlite.^[6] She also finds a mysterious baby who turns out to be the key to her mission. With the help of her new friends, Wisp locates the legendary Color Belt and rescues the seven Color Kids, whom the King of Shadows had trapped. Using the Color Belt, Wisp defeats the King of Shadows, liberates the sprites, and brings color and beauty to the land, henceforth called Rainbow Land. Wisp is renamed Rainbow Brite by the Sphere of Light in recognition of her leadership role over the Color Kids. Together, Rainbow Brite and the Color Kids are responsible for managing all the colors in the universe.

The Color Kids spread color across the universe from the Color Console inside the Color Castle. Each member of the Color Kids is responsible for a specific color on the visible spectrum. They each have a personal assistant sprite, and are in charge of several sprites that extract Color Crystals from nearby caves. These crystals are processed into Star Sprinkles, which are the essential components to brightening and coloring any object or place. Rainbow Brite and the Color Kids' mission is often complicated by Murky Dismal, his sidekick Lurky, and other villains. Brian, a boy from Earth, sometimes assists Rainbow Brite in her adventures.

Feature Film

In the movie Rainbow Brite and the Star Stealer, the setting expanded to include the diamond planet Spectra.^[7] All the light in the universe passed through Spectra before coming to Earth. However, Earth soon fell into wintry darkness when the diamond-obsessed Dark Princess decided to steal Spectra for her own. Rainbow Brite and her horse Starlite teamed up with Spectra's boy warrior Krys and his robotic horse On-X. Together, they defeated the powers of darkness and saved Spectra, Earth, and the universe.

Characters

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Main characters

Rainbow Brite (voiced by Bettina Bush) – The protagonist of the series and feature film.^[8]
Twink (voiced by Robbie Lee) – Rainbow Brite's loyal friend and personal Sprite.
Starlite (voiced by Andre Stojka) – Rainbow Brite's faithful friend, a loving but egotistical talking horse.

Color Kids

Red Butler (voiced by Mona Marshall) – Red Butler is in charge of the color red.
Lala Orange (voiced by Robbie Lee) – She is in charge of the color orange.
Canary Yellow (voiced by Mona Marshall) – She is in charge of the color yellow.
Patty O'Green (voiced by Mona Marshall) – She is in charge of the color green.
Buddy Blue (voiced by Pat Fraley) – He is in charge of the color blue.
Indigo (voiced by Robbie Lee) – She is in charge of the color indigo.
Shy Violet (voiced by Robbie Lee) – She is in charge of the color violet.
Tickled Pink (voiced by Rhonda Aldrich) – Tickled Pink is in charge of mixing Color Crystals, and creating pastels and other new colors.

Color Kids' Personal Sprites

Romeo – Red Butler's Sprite. He is in charge of the red Sprites that mine red Color Crystals.
O.J. – Lala Orange's Sprite. He is in charge of the orange Sprites that mine orange Color Crystals.
Spark – Canary Yellow's Sprite. He is in charge of the yellow Sprites who mine yellow Color Crystals.
Lucky – Patty O'Green's Sprite. He is in charge of the green Sprites that mine green Color Crystals.
Champ – Buddy Blue's Sprite. He is in charge of the blue Sprites that mine blue Color Crystals.
Hammy – Indigo's Sprite. He is in charge of the indigo Sprites that mine indigo Color Crystals.
I.Q. – Shy Violet's Sprite. He is in charge of the violet Sprites that mine violet Color Crystals.
Dee Lite – Tickled Pink's Sprite (post-G1 continuity). She helps mix Color Crystals.

Other Rainbow Land characters

Baby Brite – Alternate guise of the Sphere of Light.
Puppy Brite & Kitty Brite – Rainbow Brite's non-talking pets..
Moonglow (voiced by Rhonda Aldrich) – Moonglow is in charge of making the night sky beautiful.
Nite Sprite – Moonglow's personal Sprite assists her in making the night sky beautiful.
Shimmer – She is a blue horse with a violet mane and tail, and a violet crescent moon on her forehead.
Stormy (voiced by Marissa Mendenhall) – Stormy lives in the clouds and is in charge of storms and all other forms of bad weather.
Sunriser – A wild pink horse with a magenta mane and tail, and a golden sun on her forehead.
Krys (voiced by David Mendenhall) – The wearer of the Prism, and a boy warrior from planet Spectra.
On-X – (voiced by Pat Fraley) Krys's robotic horse. Formerly Orin's steed.
Orin (voiced by Les Tremayne) – An elder Sprite from the planet Spectra
Spectran Sprites – Bombo, Popo, and other Spectran Sprites are native to the diamond planet Spectra.

Villains

Murky Dismal (voiced by Peter Cullen) – The primary antagonist throughout most of the series, he is at various times under the employ of the Dark Princess and the King of Shadows. He resides in the last dark area of Rainbow Land called the Pits, along with his clumsy sidekick Lurky.
Lurky (voiced by Pat Fraley) – Murky Dismal's imposing but dimwitted sidekick. He resembles a giant brown Sprite with a furry nose.
Monstromurk (voiced by Peter Cullen) – Murky Dismal's genie-like creation. Monstromurk was sealed inside a bottle seven hundred years ago after Murky lost control of his own creation.
Robot Brite (voiced by Bettina Bush) – Murky Dismal's robotic Rainbow Brite double was Robot Brite, who was created to impersonate Rainbow Brite.
The King of Shadows – A dark and mysterious being who ruled Rainbow Land before Rainbow Brite's arrival.
The Dark Princess (voiced by Rhonda Aldrich) – The Dark Princess is the titular antagonist of Rainbow Brite and the Star Stealer.
Count Blogg (voiced by Jonathan Harris) – The Dark Princess's right-hand man, he is green skinned with pupil-less red eyes, a long gray beard and fangs.
Sgt. Zombo (voiced by David Workman) – Warden of the Prison Planet and minion of the Dark Princess, he has purple skin and wears partial plate armor with what appears to be a military uniform.
Glitterbots – Large golden robots charged with keeping the Sprites of Spectra under control by order of Sgt. Zombo. Glitterbots enslave prisoners through ocular Hypno-beams, powered by large crimson jewels embedded in their skulls.

Humans

Brian (voiced by Scott Menville) – Brian is an 11-year-old Earth boy. He is often accompanied by his dog, Sam, and is the only person on Earth who can see Rainbow Brite.

Episodes

TV specials

No.	Title	Original air date
1	"The Beginning of Rainbowland, Part I"	27 June 1984 (1984-06-27)
A colorless wasteland is ruled by an Evil Force that took the form of wind and storm. A little girl named Wisp is sent to find the light and color of this desolate land and set it free. Her only hope is to find the magical color belt, but many obstacles stand in her path.
2	"The Beginning of Rainbowland, Part II"	4 July 1984 (1984-07-04)
After Wisp has found the magic Color Belt, she and her friends Twink Sprite and Starlite, find the seven Color Kids. Together, they defeat the King of Shadows to set the colors free. But Murky Dismal and Lurky, the evil force's minions are still trying to stop her! When Wisp and her friends succeeds at her mission, the land becomes bright, colorful, and is remained Rainbow Land. Wisp is renamed Rainbow Brite and becomes its leader.
3	"Peril in the Pits"	5 December 1984 (1984-12-05)
While attempting to cheer up an 11-year-old boy named Brian, Rainbow Brite accidentally covers him with colors and must take him to Rainbow Land to remove them. While in Rainbow Land, Murky Dismal and his assistant Lurky have plans of their own and cause trouble by kidnapping the Color Kids! Aided by her horse Starlite, favorite Sprite Twink, and new friend Brian, Rainbow Brite must now save the day.
4	"The Mighty Monstromurk Menace, Part I"	22 April 1985 (1985-04-22)
Rainbow Land is a mess when one of Murky Dismal's most dangerous creations, called the Monstromurk, escapes his prison with plans of becoming King of Rainbow Land and destroying all the colors!
5	"The Mighty Monstromurk Menace, Part II"	23 April 1985 (1985-04-23)
The Plot continues and thickens in this second part of the Monstromurk Menace adventure as Murky has trapped Rainbow Brite in a magic bottle and it is now up to her friends to rescue her.

TV series

No.	Title	Written by	Original air date
6	"Invasion of Rainbowland"	Howard R. Cohen	May 10, 1986 (1986-05-10)
A space alien named Wajah has crash landed on Rainbow Land and needs Rainbow Brite's help to return home. It ends up that the alien himself eats colors and when Murky Dismal finds this out, he plans on keeping Wajah in Rainbow land with hopes of destroying it!
7	"Mom"	Howard R. Cohen	May 17, 1986 (1986-05-17)
Murky Dismal's mom comes for a visit, Murky goes above and beyond to try to impress his mother by telling her HE is in charge of Rainbow Land. This little lie takes on a life of its own as he attempts to take over rainbow land and murk it up while Rainbow Brite is away.
8	"Rainbow Night"	Howard R. Cohen	May 24, 1986 (1986-05-24)
Murky Dismal attempts to take all the color from the night when he kidnaps Moonglow, the color kid who makes the night shine. Now Rainbow Brite must rescue her or risk dark nights forever.
9	"Star Sprinkled"	Howard R. Cohen	May 31, 1986 (1986-05-31)
When a sneaking intergalactic salesman tricks Twink into signing over the Color Caves, Rainbow Brite and her friends have to convince him that they need them back for more than just profit.
10	"Chasing Rainbows"	Howard R. Cohen	June 7, 1986 (1986-06-07)
Murky Dismal tries his greatest trick yet, creating a "Rainbow Brite Robot" to trick her friends! But can they be tricked.
11	"Murky's Comet"	Felicia Maliani	June 14, 1986 (1986-06-14)
When a wizard barters for spaceship repairs with a magic spell to destroy Rainbow Land with a comet, Rainbow Brite has to find a way to stop it before it crashes into the color caves and destroys the Rainbow Land.
12	"A Horse of a Different Color"	Howard R. Cohen	June 21, 1986 (1986-06-21)
Murky Dismal kidnaps Starlite and On-X in a horse race with a plan to pollute Rainbow Land, but with the help of Sunriser, a new Rainbow Land horse, his plans soon become undone!
13	"The Queen of the Sprites"	Howard R. Cohen	June 28, 1986 (1986-06-28)
The Dark Princess from the Star Stealer film returns for another showdown with Rainbow Brite and her attempt to become Queen of the Sprites and take over Rainbow Land!

References

^ "New York Magazine". April 7, 1986.
^ "New York Magazine". June 30 – July 7, 1986.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: date format (link)
^ Mogan, Kenyth (November 20, 2017). "This Christmas is going to be Rainbow Brite!". Huffington Post. Retrieved September 24, 2018.
^ Perlmutter, David (May 4, 2018). The Encyclopedia of American Animated Television Shows. Rowman & Littlefield. p. 488. ISBN 9781538103746. Retrieved September 26, 2018.
^ Perlmutter, David (2018). The Encyclopedia of American Animated Television Shows. Rowman & Littlefield. pp. 487–488. ISBN 978-1538103739.
^ Garofalo, Alex (October 15, 2014). "'Rainbow Brite' 2014 Reboot: 5 Things To Know About The Original Before The Nov. 6 Premiere [VIDEO]". International Business Times. Retrieved September 24, 2018.
^ Mogan, Kenyth (June 26, 2016). "The Colorful History Of Rainbow Brite™". Huffington Post. Retrieved September 24, 2018.
^ Queen, Glitter (June 15, 2013). "10 Fierce Females of our Childhood". D20 Girls. Le Nurd Mystique LLC: 37–28. Retrieved September 24, 2018.