Rainbow Brite and the Star Stealer

...and trampled many a little girl's heart in doing so (assuming little girls were watching Siskel and Ebert when the film hit the theatres).

I had vague recollections of Rainbow Brite. Most of them were of a corporate marketing creation, designed to garnish money through the promotion of toys, books, cards, a TV series, and, ultimately, a feature film.

No, I did not see this in the theater, but I remember catching portions of it on cable a year or so later. I finally sat down to see why people (mostly parents) were giving Rainbow's motion picture debut a unanimous thumbs down. Fast forward twenty-years, and a DVD of that same film comes out. And after a viewing I have some observations.

The bare bones of a good story are there, but the execution is horrid. The character design is standard stuff for offshore animation-big heads and over-sized eyes to accentuate "cuteness," but done with a western bent, presumably to make the character appeal to a North American and European audience (though I don't know if Rainbow ever emigrated across the Atlantic). But the actual animation, the movement and presentation of the story, is the absolute worst I've ever seen for an animated feature film.

All the cutesy girlish overtones, inflections, vocals and themes aside, none of which bothered this viewer (however uninteresting I found them), the actual technical aspects of the film, the staccato motions, poorly drawn perspectives, inclusion of off-shore animation gags and other techniques, really make watching this film an ordeal. The basic story is fine, but the presentation is the absolute worst I've ever come across for a major animated film.

To myself it's excessively clear that Halmark, and any companies holding hands with them, were out to mimic the Japanese media-toy marketing model. A model that they had fine tuned years before it was ever introduced into the United States, and ultimately, and deservedly, failed in the long run.

Which is a real shame, because the character of Rainbow Brite is actually a very responsible, albeit naive (as children are apt to be), caring and ingenious little girl. She's a heartfelt character created for the sole desire to snatch a percentage of parents' pay-cheques, and the film's technical quality demonstrates that all too clearly.

The film relies almost solely on what are called "key" animation frames, with practically no (or very few) "inbetweens"-the drawings created between the key segments to smooth out and sell the character's motion to the audience. In short, it ain't Disney.

And this is a real shame, because there's room for improvement. To mothers and grandmothers across the land who remember Rainbow Bright, do yourselves a favor and watch Rainbow Brite, then watch a Disney feature of your choice. Then decide which one you prefer. And from that choice, decide which is best for your daughter.

In the meantime, I'll go alone with Siskel and Ebert, and give this thing the obligatory thumbs down.

*EDIT* Rescreen June 12th, 2013 Well, I got a pirated copy (which I did not know was going to be a pirate) in the mail, and all I can say is I now see why I donated my original DVD. A kids' film yes. A good one? No.

This movie is tied with The Care Bears Movie as my favorite movie from when I was little. I used to watch the TV Show, I had all of the Rainbow Brite dolls, and I must have seen this movie 50 times. The cartoons of the 80's really were much better than the ones that are out today like Pokemon and those other stupid things. Anyway, if you have a young child I would definitely recommend renting this movie.

Rainbow Brite and the star Stealer is not for people who were born before 1980 or after 1989. Most of those people would not appreciate the great things that are 80's cartoons. The fact that Rainbow Brite was made into a movie is a guilty pleasure for many of us who remember watching the tv show as a child. Granted, much of the dialogue is quite amusing and silly, and the plot is nonexistant to pointless, but it's a very cool movie none the less.

Rainbow Brite was the very first movie I ever saw at a movie theater. Though the animation may have been poor and the quality cheezy, it was enough to thoroughly encaptivate and enthrall a little 5-year old girl. To this very day, I still remember scenes and clips in my head of my favorite childhood toy coming to life on the big screen.

This was one of the first movies I ever got to see in theaters, and for nothing else it's a nostalgia trip. I must have watched it a lot as a kid cause I remember it pretty clearly, without having seen it recently.

The script was a cheese factory, and the characters are pretty silly, but it was never meant for adults. I personally as an adult found the princess to be entertaining, but mostly I credit this movie, and the series from which it was made as being very positive for young girls. Rainbow Bright, while being a bit silly, was a strong female presence in network after network of male oriented cartoons intended for the same audience.

What ever sillyness and unrealness came from the movie are secondary to me. It's a nostalgia trip, and a good memory to boot. Show this movie to your young female children. The boys won't like it, but I think that most young girls will still see what I saw in it almost twenty years ago.