Rainbow High (dolls)

Last updated
Rainbow High
Rainbow High Logo.png
Type
Inventor(s)Michael Scott Anderson
Company MGA Entertainment
CountryUnited States
Availability2020–present
Slogan
  • Collect the Rainbow (2020–2021)
  • Let Your True Colors Shine (2021–2023)
  • Shine Brighter Together (2024–present)
Official website

Rainbow High is a fashion doll franchise created by Michael Scott Anderson originally as Rainbow Surprise and released by American toy company MGA Entertainment in 2020 originally as a spin-off from their Poopsie Slime Surprise brand. The back story for the franchise revolves around an elite high school for the visual arts, featuring students who represent colors of the rainbow.

Contents

At the close of 2020, the brand became independent from other MGA brands and was complemented with an audiovisual franchise of in-universe-branded web series of animated shorts and episodes, which were predominantly released on YouTube and later made available on Netflix. In February 2022, MGA released the franchise's first official spin-off known as Shadow High to be the brand's rival school, with the spin-off brand spotting/representing grayscale colors in clear contrast to their hosts.

History

Rainbow High Dolls.jpg
Rainbow High dolls from its launch in 2020. The characters, shown from left to right, are Ruby Anderson, Poppy Rowan, Sunny Madison, Jade Hunter, Skyler Bradshaw and Violet Willow.

In 2019, MGA released a line of 14-inch fashion dolls under their Poopsie brand, named Rainbow Surprise. [1] Though these dolls bear some resemblance to the eventual Rainbow High dolls, they are scaled up and have painted eyes rather than inset eyes. These four dolls were later re-released the following year under the Rainbow High brand in new packaging. Rainbow Surprise also included a series of blind-boxed Fantasy Friends dolls which were also incorporated into the Rainbow High brand.

The first 11-inch Rainbow High dolls were released in 2020, with the initial lineup including Ruby Anderson, Poppy Rowan, Sunny Madison, Jade Hunter, Skyler Bradshaw and Violet Willow dolls. Each of the original dolls included two outfits and a doll stand, while the dolls themselves featured inset eyes and thirteen points of articulation. [2]

Web series

A web series of animated shorts was announced [3] following the release of the first dolls. The series is produced by Australian animation studio Pixel Zoo [4] with the financial backing from the Screen Queensland initiative of the Queensland Government with the first episode premiering on October 2, 2020 and additional episodes releasing at least every fortnight. The web series was complemented with spin-offs premiering every other week; looking at the activities and adventures of Rainbow High in the eyes of Violet Willow with her show, "The Vi Life" (pronounced "vie life"), and Karma Nichols with her show, "Kontent with Karma" with the latter debuting on 16 April 2021.

The web series concluded its first season on 11 June 2021 [5] The second season premiered on 16 July 2021 and concluded on 28 January 2022, with the third season featuring the rival school, "Shadow High", beginning 2 months later on 25 March, and concluded 23 November of that same year. The fourth season premiered on 8 June, 2023 [6] and concluded on 24 November of that same year, ending on a cliffhanger. The fifth season premiered with three episodes on 22 March 2024. [7] [8]

Reception

Following their release in mid-2020, the doll franchise appeared on multiple hot-toy lists including Toys "R" Us Canada [9] and The Toy Insider, [10] while The NPD Group reported in August 2020 that, Rainbow High was the No. 3 best selling fashion doll line and the No. 7 best selling doll line overall in the U.S. [11]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Barbie</span> Fashion doll brand by Mattel

Barbie is a fashion doll created by American businesswoman Ruth Handler, manufactured by American toy and entertainment company Mattel and introduced on March 9, 1959. The toy was based on the German Bild Lilli doll which Handler had purchased while in Europe. The figurehead of an eponymous brand that includes a range of fashion dolls and accessories, Barbie has been an important part of the toy fashion doll market for over six decades. Mattel has sold over a billion Barbie dolls, making it the company's largest and most profitable line. The brand has expanded into a multimedia franchise since 1984, including video games, animated films, television/web series, and a live-action film.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bratz</span> American fashion doll and media franchise

Bratz is an American fashion doll and media franchise created by former Mattel employee Carter Bryant for MGA Entertainment, which debuted in 2001.

<i>My Little Pony</i> Entertainment franchise developed by Hasbro

My Little Pony (MLP) is a toy line and media franchise developed by American toy company Hasbro. The first toys were developed by Bonnie Zacherle, Charles Muenchinger, and Steve D'Aguanno, and were produced in 1981. The ponies feature colorful bodies, manes and a unique symbol on one or both sides of their flanks. Such symbols are referred to in the three most recent incarnations as "cutie marks". My Little Pony has been revamped several times with new and more modern looks to continue its appeal to the market, with each new look called a "generation" by the show's collectors and fans. The franchise is mainly targeted at young girls, although in the 2010s, it gained a cult following by an unintended audience of adult, mostly male fans.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Care Bears</span> Fictional character group

Care Bears are multi-colored bears, painted in 1981 by artist Elena Kucharik to be used on greeting cards from American Greetings. They were turned into plush teddy bears and featured in The Care Bears in the Land Without Feelings (1983) and The Care Bears Battle the Freeze Machine (1984) before headlining their own television series called Care Bears from 1985 to 1988. They also had multiple feature films including: The Care Bears Movie (1985), Care Bears Movie II: A New Generation (1986), and The Care Bears Adventure in Wonderland (1987).

Rainbow Brite is a media franchise by Hallmark Cards, introduced in 1984. The animated Rainbow Brite television series 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 2014 with a three part mini-series released on Hallmark's online streaming video service, Feeln. A line of new merchandise by Hallmark online and in its shops debuted in 2015.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nicktoons</span> Animated series brand used by Nickelodeon

Nicktoons is a collective name used by Nickelodeon for their original animated series. All Nicktoons are produced partly at the Nickelodeon Animation Studio and list Nickelodeon's parent company in their copyright bylines.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">MGA Entertainment</span> American toy company

MGA Entertainment Inc. is a manufacturer of children's toys and entertainment products founded in 1979. Its products include Bratz, Num Noms, Lalaloopsy, and Rainbow High, as well as toys targeted at boys such as Scan2Go. MGA also owns Little Tikes and animation studio MGA Studios.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">My Scene</span> Fashion doll series

My Scene was an American series of fashion dolls that Mattel released in 2002. They were discontinued in the US in 2008, and worldwide in 2011. Mattel's Barbie character was one of the dolls in the toy line. The My Scene dolls' bodies were slim, similar to earlier Barbie dolls, but their heads were larger. The New York Times described their features as "exaggerated lips and bulging, makeup-caked eyes." My Scene were designed to appeal to the tween market and compete with the Bratz dolls from MGA Entertainment.

<i>Barbie</i> (media franchise) Multimedia franchise featuring Barbie

Beginning with the release of an eponymous video game in 1984, Barbie, a fashion doll manufactured by American toy and entertainment company Mattel and debuted on March 9, 1959, has been featured in a media franchise predominantly consisting of a film series and media formats across technologies like television and the Internet. Since then, it has become one of the highest-grossing media franchises of all time and has been referred to among fans as the "Barbie Cinematic Universe".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Strawberry Shortcake</span> Cartoon character

Strawberry Shortcake is a cartoon character used in greeting cards originally published by American Greetings. The line was later expanded to include dolls, posters, and other products featuring the character, as well as an extended cast of friends and pets. In addition, the franchise has spawned television specials, animated television series and films. The franchise is currently owned by the Canadian children's television company WildBrain through the holding company Shortcake IP Holdings LLC.

Monster High is an American multimedia-supported fashion doll franchise created by toy designer Garrett Sander and launched by Mattel in 2010. The show is aimed at children ages 7-14, the franchise features characters inspired by monster movies, sci-fi horror, thriller fiction, folklore, myths and popular culture, centering around the adventures of the teenage children of monsters and other mythical creatures attending a high school of the same name.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lalaloopsy</span> Line of plastic rag dolls from MGA Entertainment

Lalaloopsy is a line of plastic rag dolls from MGA Entertainment. Originally released in 2010 as Bitty Buttons, the brand name was changed to Lalaloopsy shortly after launch. They began to grow in popularity during the holiday season in 2010. A variety of Lalaloopsy dolls have been released, as well as several Lalaloopsy themed video games. In November 2012 and February 2013, Lalaloopsy TV specials and TV series began airing on the Nick Jr. Channel and Netflix.

<i>My Little Pony: Equestria Girls</i> Entertainment franchise developed by Hasbro based on My Little Pony

My Little Pony: Equestria Girls, simply known as Equestria Girls or EQG, is a product line of fashion dolls and a media franchise launched in 2013 by the American toy company Hasbro as a spin-off of the 2010 relaunch of the My Little Pony line of pony toys and its Friendship Is Magic television series. Equestria Girls features anthropomorphized versions of My Little Pony characters from that period; as with My Little Pony, which features a colorful body and mane, Equestria Girls characters sport non-human skin and hair colors, while incorporating their pony counterpart's cutie marks in their clothing. The franchise includes various doll lines, media tie-ins, and licensed merchandise.

<i>Little Charmers</i> Canadian TV series or program

Little Charmers is a Canadian CGI-animated children's television series produced by Nelvana and Spin Master Entertainment for Treehouse TV. The series premiered on Nickelodeon in the United States on January 12, 2015, and ended on April 15, 2017. Treehouse TV announced a week later that it was scheduled in Canada on January 31; however, the second episode debuted six days after this announcement, and six days prior to the scheduled debut. 57 episodes were produced.

Bratz is a stop-motion animated web series, based on a line of toy dolls of the same name. It is produced by MGA Entertainment, and premiered on the Bratz YouTube channel.

<i>Rainbow Ruby</i> Childrens animated television series

Rainbow Ruby is a CGI animated television series aimed at children, produced by 38 °C Animation Studio and CJ E&M Corporation in South Korea and China Entertainment Corporation in China, and distributed by WildBrain.

<i>Care Bears: Unlock the Magic</i> Childrens animated television series

Care Bears: Unlock the Magic is an animated children's television series and the sixth television series based on the Care Bears franchise, following Care Bears and Cousins.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Moonbug Entertainment</span> British media company

Moonbug Entertainment is a British children's media company and multi-channel network headquartered in London, with an overseas office in Los Angeles, United States which creates, produces, and distributes children's video and audio content. It is currently owned by Candle Media, an American media company led by Kevin Mayer and Tom Staggs. Moonbug distributes children's entertainment intellectual property, including the YouTube channels Cocomelon and Little Baby Bum and YouTube series such as Mia's Magic Playground, Blippi, and My Magic Pet Morphle.

References

  1. "MGA's Rainbow Surprise Girls take over London Fashion Week". Toy World Magazine. Retrieved 7 November 2020.
  2. "MGA Entertainment details "more innovative products than ever before" for 2020". Toy News. 24 July 2020. Retrieved 7 November 2020.
  3. "New Animated Rainbow High Series to Launch Today". The Toy Insider. Retrieved 4 November 2020.
  4. "Rainbow High". Pixel Zoo. Retrieved 4 November 2020.
  5. "🌈 No Rain, No Rainbows 🌈 | Episode 18: The Final Runway Show". Rainbow High. MGA Entertainment. 11 June 2021. Archived from the original on 10 December 2021. Retrieved 1 September 2021 via YouTube.
  6. "Rainbow High™ Celebrates National Best Friend Day with New Survey Data: 90% of Moms Want Positive Friendships Portrayed in Kids' Entertainment". Yahoo Finance. 2023-06-08. Retrieved 2024-04-16.
  7. Media, aNb (2024-03-22). "Rainbow High Debuts "Rainbow World" in an All-New Fifth Season of the Hit Rainbow High Series". aNb Media, Inc. Retrieved 2024-04-16.
  8. "Netflix's 'Rainbow High' Releases Book Series via HarperCollins | License Global". www.licenseglobal.com. Retrieved 2024-04-16.
  9. "TOYS 'R' US CANADA UNVEILS 2020 TOP HOLIDAY TOY LIST". Toybook. Retrieved 9 November 2020.
  10. "What are the hottest toys for 2020?". Penn Live. Retrieved 9 November 2020.
  11. "MGA Entertainment Leads August Doll and Toy Sales". Gifts And Dec. Retrieved 9 November 2020.