Rainbow Brite: Oh noes.

It's a looong story but I'll make it short:

I'm an adult woman filling voids in my life. Specifically the whole "single" thing. So me collecting toys and dolls is nothing but a way to hang on to happier times like my childhood. Whatever bullshit reason, I can appreciate figures for their esthetic value and since I have grown obsessed with TV shows about vintage items such as PAWN STARS and AMERICAN PICKERS that show the true value of antiques and well preserved historical items, I like to think I'm collecting a piece of animated history. Plus, I've surrounded myself with many other collectors, mostly Sailor Moon collectors, but also Twilight, Harry Potter, Transformers and Star Wars. I can see that toy collecting is a huge thing for people my age, where their old toys were thrown out by their parents and they are trying to get them back.

Of course if you ask my mom and brother, I must seem pathetic in their eyes, but I'M DONE trying to please them. I can't no matter how hard I try. My dad is kind of supportive, but mostly because we both have hoarding tendencies thanks to grandma's genes (huge hoarder).

AAANYway, this isn't couch time or anything. This is about MY fandom.

Mom clearly remembers my obsession with Rainbow Brite when I was a child. In May, I visited her in Mexico and heard there was going to an anime and comic exhibition there. We have never attended one of these before together, so I invited her so she could get a taste of my world. Little did we know she was going to enjoy it so much!! She went wild with shopping! Granted, she's a people-pleaser, most of her acquisitions were for somebody else: Aunts, cousins, nephews and nieces.

However, the minute we stepped foot on that floor, she said: "If I find a Rainbow Brite item, I'm totally buying it for you." I didn't really collect any RB items, my collections are very specific, mostly movie and oriented, but I had been looking at the new artwork and toys that have come out recently, and also I watched many of the old episodes for a research I was doing, and generally just getting into the vibe again, so I did have the desire to have one of my old RB dolls back. I said okay.

I thought she meant that if she came across a RB doll she'd buy it, but no, she was actually hunting it down, going from booth to booth asking if they had Rainbow dolls. At first it was awkward because she was asking stores that carried Star-Wars type things, but she got a hold of it and asked the right people until somebody actually told us where to buy one! I couldn't believe she had taken it so seriously! We went on to buy other things, I got a piece for my Coraline collection and a Wonder Woman one. Don't have a large WW collection but I like a couple of figures.

The moment we got the Rainbow Brite doll, she was satisfied, but she inadvertently switched a button on in my mind. Now I had to have a RB collection! D: It's as if I had finally had an approval from her! —we all seek approval, leave me alone— so I looked into it a bit more.

Rainbow Brite recently had a reboot, with character re-designs and new dolls, which to me are a huge huge fail. I'll just quote Feministe (whole article HERE):

"What they’ve done here is changed a round-faced, pug-nosed little girl with baby fat — the kind of role model girls have less and less these days — into a svelte and fashionable young woman who appears to be wearing makeup. It wasn’t enough for Rainbow Brite to be in charge of all the colors in the entire universe, in spite of being only somewhere between the ages of 6 and 10. Apparently she can only be considered marketable if she is older, acceptably thin, image-conscious, and conventionally pretty. As we know, for women professional success, while still a requirement for any sort of personal worth, is absolutely nothing unless you look hot while having it. (...) I’m tired of the fact that girls specifically aren’t allowed to look like kids. I’m tired of the idea that it’s not enough for female heroes to just be badasses, but they also have to be all primped up and mindful of their weight."

This new slutty girl is NOT the one that made me excited about colors, magic and rainbows, it's just a standard "Bratz" doll. So I'm going to focus on 80's style dolls. So far I have gotten 4 items. A RB fleece blanket, and these two plushies:

Isn't Starlite SOOO adorable?! x33

One day scrolling through eBay, I came across a doll I had never-ever seen before: A Moonglo doll. At first, I thought it might be a fan made doll, but it wasn't. It was simply a very rare doll. The thing was HOW RARE is it? Most Ebayers will say their items are RARE just to make it seem like the buyer is getting a good deal for a hard to find toy that most of the time is not so hard to find. I looked into this particular character more:

Hello :) My name is Moonglow :) While the other Color Kids use their Color Crystals to 'briten' up the colors you see during the day, I use my powers to 'briten' up the night! I work my hardest to make the stars and moon shine brite and beautiful! There are more colors to be seen at night than you think! Some stars are blue and some are even red! But it's hard to tell from way down here :) Next time you're outside gazing at the stars, think of me and my pal Nite Sprite - cause we're thinking of you too!

Via RainbowBrite.net




Apparently, she only came out in a handful of episodes and I can't even remember her at all. But she had blue, pink and moons. It simply cannot get any more Cycynesque than that, she had to be mine. But then I learned the Moonglo doll is the rarest of them all because she was not mass produced in the US, she had a very limited run in Germany right before the series was cancelled. Finding one is a very rare gem indeed. I won't mention the price, but definitely worth it. I finally have her and I can't describe how she makes me feel. Not excited but peaceful. It's so weird but I LOVE it.

Ultimate goal: No, I'm not going to get every single doll out there. Just a few more pieces. I do want a lunch box, a snow globe and the Hallmark ornament though. I need to get back my Starlite horse too. And when I saw this pic, I decided I need this trio as well. YAY! :D

Source

 Finally, just as an extra, HERE is an article that features Katie's complete RB collection. I don't envy her dolls, I envy her passion, i just want to post one of her pics here :)

The colorful End. :)

UPDATE: Somehow I have ended up with not one but TWO Moonglo dolls!! I will keep both and I'm sooooo excited by this turn in events! :D