Rainbow Brite

Rainbow Brite was a little girl who lived in Rainbowland, and made gloominess disappear with the power of the rainbow. She spread color and cheerfulness with a magical color belt, which was powered by star sprinkles, mined from the Color Caves by the sprites who dwelt alongside her in Rainbowland. A small group of children called the Color Kids took charge of the sprites according to their color, and helped to process the star sprinkles. Their names were Red Butler, Lala Orange, Canary Yellow, Patty O’Green, Buddy Blue, Indigo, Shy Violet, Tickled Pink, Stormy, and Moonglow. With her personal sprite Twink, Rainbow Brite befriended and had the further assistance of Starlite, a magical talking horse who proclaimed himself ‘the most magnificent horse in the universe’.

Unfortunately, not everyone likes bright and shiny happiness. A colorless fellow named Murky Dismal preferred things gloomy and dark. He dwelt outside of Rainbowland in a lair called the Treacherous Pit, and used his inventions to sap color from the land and spread gloom. He and his sidekick Lurky — a bumbling, furry dimwit who loved color and beautiful things, but was nonetheless faithful to Murky — were constantly at odds with Rainbow Brite and her friends, one draining color and life from the land while the other returned it.

The 13 episode series began in 1984 as one single, and two, 2-part TV specials. An animated movie then came out in 1985 called Rainbow Brite and the Star Stealer. In 1986 the original episodes and new episodes premiered as part of a regular series on the 90-minute, syndicated cartoon package Kideo TV, which included the shows Ulysses 31 and The Popples. For the 1986 TV broadcast, a new opening theme and closing credits replaced the originals used in the specials.