Rainbow (1996 film)

Rainbow
Rainbow promotional poster
Directed by	Bob Hoskins
Produced by	Robert Sidaway Nicolas Clermont
Written by	Ashley Sidaway Robert Sidaway
Starring	Bob Hoskins Terry Finn Jacob Tierney Saul Rubinek Dan Aykroyd
Music by	Alan Reeves
Cinematography	Freddie Francis
Edited by	Ray Lovejoy Ashley Sidaway (sup)
Production company	Filmline International Winchester (Rainbow)
Release date	1996
Running time	101 mins
Country	UK Canada
Language	English
Budget	US$8 million

Rainbow is a 1996 family adventure film directed by Bob Hoskins, written by Ashley Sidaway and Robert Sidaway and starring Bob Hoskins, Terry Finn, Jacob Tierney, Saul Rubinek and Dan Aykroyd. The story concerns four children and a dog whose journey in a magical rainbow results in an adventure that finds them on a race against time to save the world.

Rainbow was the world's first all digital film and was shot in high-definition video. Shot entirely with Sony's first Solid State Electronic Cinematography cameras and featuring over 35 minutes of digital image processing and visual effects, all post production, sound effects, editing and scoring were completed digitally. The Digital High Definition image was transferred to 35mm negative for theatrical release.

Mike "Mikey" Bailey is a rambunctious 10-year-old living in Hudson Harbour, New Jersey. His notable family members include his grandfather Frank, a magician; mother Jackie; and older brother Steve who is a loner and wishes to join a local street gang. Mike encounters a stray dog who he names Mutt, who leads him to a spot where he seemingly witnesses a rainbow actually land. He tells his friends Pete and Tessy of his encounter and takes them to the landing site, but they do not believe his claims. At the site they find a triangular crater, Tessy taking a soil sample and testing it, the soil illuminating in colour and vanishing in her hand. Mike, Pete and Tessy prepare a scientific project to track down the next rainbow and examine it.

Eventually, a rainbow appears and the three, along with Steve and Mutt, race across town on their bicycles to get to the rainbow. Upon arrival, they witness the rainbow land and are sucked into a colourful pathway, taking photographs as they go. They then enter a dark area of the rainbow filled with gold, Steve taking three pieces which causes the rainbow to vanish and drop the group in a cornfield. They are revealed to be in Kansas, and are taken to the local sheriff's office at an airport. Sheriff Wyatt Hampton contacts Jackie to pick them up, but the group flee into the airport to print their photos of the rainbow's interior. Jackie and Frank come to the children's aid when they arrive back in Hudson Harbour, but no one believes their story except Frank. Steve sells one of the pieces of gold to a pawnbroker's, and another to the street gang, and attempts to join, only to be humiliated and rejected. The children's school science teacher, Sam Cohen, obtains the photos and discovers the children's project.