Rainbow Brite | |
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Rainbow Brite Title screen
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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 |
Composer(s) |
Shuky Levy Haim Saban |
Country of origin | United States France Japan |
No. of episodes | 13 (half-hour animated episodes) 2 (half-hour live-action episodes) 4 (read-along videos) 1 (feature-length movie) |
Production | |
Executive producer(s) |
Jean Chalopin Andy Heyward |
Producer(s) | Tetsuo Katayama |
Running time | 25 minutes per episode |
Production company(s) |
DIC Entertainment Tokyo Movie Shinsha |
Distributor |
LBS Communications Inc. (original) DHX Media (current) |
Release | |
Original network | Syndication |
Audio format | Stereo |
Original release | June 27, 1984 – July 24, 1986 |
Rainbow Brite, also known in Japan as Magical Girl Rainbow Brite (魔法少女レインボーブライト Mahō Shōjo Reinbō Buraito?), is a media franchise by Hallmark Cards, introduced in 1983. The animated television series of the same name first aired in 1984, the same year Hallmark licensed Rainbow Brite to Mattel for a range of dolls and other merchandise. A theatrical feature-length film, Rainbow Brite and the Star Stealer was released by Warner Bros. in 1985. The franchise was rebooted in 1996, 2003, 2009, 2014 and then again in 2015 through Hallmark's online on-demand streaming video service Feeln. 2015 also saw with it a line of new merchandise sold only by Hallmark online and in its shops.
Creation and development of Rainbow Brite for Hallmark Cards is credited to both Hallmark's Vice President of Creative/Licensing Garry Glissmeyer, and a team of artists headed by Cheryl Cozad, and writers under the direction of Hallmark's Editorial Director Dan Drake. Hallmark's Vice President of Sales and Marketing, Lanny Julian, assembled a team of legal, marketing and public relations associates for this new licensing division.
Glissmeyer and Julian were tasked with breaking Hallmark into the licensing business with the creation of characters targeted at children. Glissmeyer's group's concept of a young girl with powers over nature evolved into her being responsible for all of the colors of the universe. Once the concept was agreed to, Cozad's and Drake's teams developed the backstory and characters needed to support it. Jim McDowell, a key player from Hallmark's marketing unit conceptualized a strategy to get the new brand in the public eye.
Julian chose Mattel as the manufacturer and distributor for the line of dolls and toys to follow. Julian chose DIC Entertainment of France as the studio to provide the brand with episodic animation for television. Glissmeyer placed Cozad in charge of the in-house creative group, to work with Mattel and other licensees. Glissmeyer and Drake continued with creative input, working with DIC on the animation development.