Rainbow Brite

[Blondine Arc-En-Ciel]

True, Tom-sprite. Small children should not have to follow nearly impossible standards of 'beauty' to be socially sucessful. RB wasn't beautiful on the outside but extremely beautiful on the inside. Today's children need to be taught to look at the entire person before making any judgements about them.

[Tom-sprite]

I'm right there with you !

Original 80s-Rainbow had a very good influnece on me too when I was a kid.
I took the cheerful attitude on board ... therefore I was fun-loving !
The high and valuable ideals the series embodied were pure gold for my soul.
Friendship and Peace meant a lot to me and still do.
RB s universe immensly inspired my fantasy.
I wanted to be as creative as Lala Orange so I practised my artistry without coercion and with a lot of passion.
There are so many aspects that made 80s rainbow especially lovely !
It was pure magic.
I love 80s rainbow and her sugar-sweet universe with all my heart !!!

[Blondine Arc-En-Ciel]

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Time to bring this back to the front again...

I earlier posted that the Gen 4 line would die off in 2011. It only lasted for seven months. Not even Gen 2 found the exit that fast.

My original take on Gen 4 was that it was a Comedy of Errors. I think I was correct. There were three (actually five) major actors in Gen 4...

1. Hallmark, owner of the RB Brand. Hallmark didn't seem to be too involved because they hired United Media to take care of that kind of stuff.

2. United Media, a licensing agency that works out agreements for companies to produce items when they do not own the rights to the intellectual property involved. They were the go-between between Hallmark and Playmates. They were involved in the operation and supervision of Gen 4 but maybe not to level needed to ensure its success.

3. Playmates, a toy distributor. I had never heard of them until the announcement came out saying that they would be 'making' the Gen 4 dolls and toys. I think that Playmates was the weakest link in this entire chain. Playmates said the Gen 4 stuff would be in the shops for the 2009 holiday shopping season. They actually arrived on...wait for it...December 24th in very small numbers and it was some time before there was any kind of quantity. The line was slow to expand and never reached the minimum needed to become viable. A Stormy doll was hinted at but as with Gen 1, she never made it to reality. Also, there were no villains or other sources of conflict for Rainbow to resolve and save Rainbow Land (if not the entire universe) by doing so. Rainbow's connection to the production, distribution and management of color was never fully explained. The new Color Castle was also a secret. It existed (although not yet as a toy) but what it did and how it was done have not been fully explained. It was also HUGE, many times larger than the original but for what purpose was this enlargement required? Worse yet, many fans of the original were shocked by the desecration of Moonglow and to a lesser extent by the changes to Rainbow Brite and Tickled Pink. The toys looked, felt and were dressed like large versions of Polly Pocket and had a cuddle factor of less than zero.

4. Various toy manufacturers in Asia that actually make the toys for others on a contract basis. Playmates seemed to have had a problem--during a worldwide recession when demand was well below normal, no less--in finding someone to make their toys during the summer of 2009 so they would be in the shops in September or October of that year in time for holiday giving. Or did Playmates just not have the cash on hand or credit available to pay for them at the time?

5. Various ocean shipping companies. Starting in 2008, an increasing number of large ships were 'parked' as worldwide demand for raw materials and finished goods declined as the recession deepened. This continued into 2009 and may (or may not) have caused some delays in getting the items from China to the USA.

OK, that's the rundown on the players. There are still a few problems left over that I don't know who the responsibility (from the first three players) belongs to.

1. Where was the Saturday morning Cartoon series? You know, those 30 minute long commercials that entice kids to pressure their parents into buying various toys for them? And what about a movie to go with the cartoons? And where was the oversweetened breakfast cereal?

2. Outside (non-Playmates) companies were slow on the uptake with supplying additional RB-themed merchandise. This is odd given the fact that the Gen 4 line was announced to the public about a year in advance of it originally planed launch date. There was plenty of lead time available. Or maybe no one bothered to inform the rest of the trade.

3. A Rainbow Brite girls' bicycle was sold in Canada even though none of the dolls and horses were sold there according to our Canadian members. I'd love to hear the explanation for that one. I was hoping the Gen 4 dolls for Canada would be released in bilingual (English-French) packaging as was done with the Gen 1 and Gen 2 dolls for the Canadian market.

4. The series lacked development. I've already mentioned the lack of a Stormy doll and a horse for her. The same with bad guys for Rainbow to triumph against. The original story that Rainbow Brite left Rainbow Land to return to earth for whatever reason was totally nonsensical. Why would she want to leave paradise? If she missed her family, she could have brought them to RBL to live with her there. And who would be running things in RBL in RB's absence? What caused it to be captured by evil forces? Why didn't Rainbow leave her Color Belt with one of the other Color Kids, Shy Violet maybe, to ensure the defense of her realm? There are too many black holes here.

5. I think what was lacking most was something I briefly mentioned above. Money. I think that all concerned were trying to make this happen on a shoestring and it just doesn''t work like that in this day and age. A project like this would have taken a LOT of money up front and no return on investment in the first two or more years. I don't think the players were prepared for this.

6. There were either too many or not enough people in charge. Did Hallmark leave all supervision to United Media because they were pros at that sort of thing and would make everything work correctly? Did United Media leave all day-to-day running of things to Playmates because they were pros at that sort of thing and would make everything work correctly? Did Playmates leave all daily operations to their contract manufacturers because they were pros at that sort of thing and would make everything work correctly? Or was it opposite with too many different cooks keeping the kettle constantly stirred up?

7. if you haven't caught on yet, my impression is that the Rainbow Brite Gen 4 line was underfunded, unprepared for, and undermanaged. To put it another way, the clowns were running the circus and the big top collapsed right on all of their heads.

8. As I recently said in another topic, there's an abundant oversupply of blame to go around for Gen 4's premature failure, more than enough to paint the first three players with the stuff several times over. In rainbow colors, of course.

9. I'm expecting that any promised future products from Playmates or anyone else (pajamas...) will never make it into the stores if they haven't already been paid for, produced and shipped by now.

10. Feel free to reply to this topic.
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[Wardah]

I don't think Hallmark is done with Gen 4 yet, they are seeking a new licensee to succeed where Playmates had failed. I think what Hallmark had showed us was just the tip of the iceberg. It would not make sense to reveal new characters or a villain if there was no accompanying product. As for the dolls there was nothing too bad about the dolls themselves they were just released at the wrong time. They actually sold pretty good for it being off season and with no advertising. I don't think it is quite time to call the death knell on this generation quite yet. I still believe if the right toy company came along then Rainbow will shine again. I highly doubt that Hallmark expected Playmates to mess up so royally and they are likely as disappointed as we are.

[Blondine Arc-En-Ciel]

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I think you are too optimistic. The best thing to do in this situation is to cut your losses by pulling the plug.

[Wardah]

It almost sounds like you want Rainbow Brite to die out!

[Blondine Arc-En-Ciel]

It almost sounds like you want Rainbow Brite to die out!

Did you bother to read this all the way through or did you just click on Go To First Unread Post?

I NEVER said that I wanted RB to fail as that would be bad for her future prospects. I've never been a fan of Gen 4, but it's better than nothing. Apparently, the majority out there thinks differently and feels that she's not worth having. As mentioned in my discussion above, Rainbow Brite has been plagued by poor management from the start of Gen 1. I fully understand that the poor management of this generation, which I called a Comedy of Errors, is largely responsible for her premature failure. Realistically, no company is going to keep throwing money at a failed project and that's why I think that Gen 4 has already met its end. Personally, I think the Gen 4 line deserved its fate based on how far they removed it from the original concept, the ill-advised launch time and what looks like a severe lack of the money needed to support the dolls with animation and TV commercials. Keep in mind that my thoughts on this particular misbegotten project are not at all the same as my thoughts about Rainbow Brite herself and everything that she stands for. The two are totally separate and different.
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[Clinozoisite]

Realistically, no company is going to keep throwing money at a failed project
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Exactly. Anyone with an MBA will tell you the same. If a product line is sinking fast, cut the line to save the ship from being dragged down with it.

[Blondine Arc-En-Ciel]

Realistically, no company is going to keep throwing money at a failed project
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Exactly. Anyone with an MBA will tell you the same. If a product line is sinking fast, cut the line to save the ship from being dragged down with it.

Thank you, Clinozoisite. I'm glad that someone else has an understanding of what I'm getting at here.

[Blondine Arc-En-Ciel]

I don't think Hallmark is done with Gen 4 yet, they are seeking a new licensee to succeed where Playmates had failed. I think what Hallmark had showed us was just the tip of the iceberg. It would not make sense to reveal new characters or a villain if there was no accompanying product. As for the dolls there was nothing too bad about the dolls themselves they were just released at the wrong time. They actually sold pretty good for it being off season and with no advertising. I don't think it is quite time to call the death knell on this generation quite yet. I still believe if the right toy company came along then Rainbow will shine again. I highly doubt that Hallmark expected Playmates to mess up so royally and they are likely as disappointed as we are.

And where do you get the information that Hallmark is looking for another toy maker to continue Gen 4?

I promise you that no rational major toy maker or distributor would be willing to take over a failed line (and perhaps the financial liabilities that went with it) from the company that made it fail. Business just does not work that way. Neither does retailing. I seriously doubt that Target and TRU would ever carry a reincarnation of the Gen 4 dolls again.

Please just let it go and patiently wait with the rest of us until Gen 5 is announced for the fall of 2014. Maybe Hallmark will finally get it right...
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