The woman who voiced the iconic cartoon character Rainbow Brite weighs in on the series’ longevity 40 years after its premiere.
Bettina Bush, who was just 12 when she first read the role of the title character, said the secret to Rainbow Brite’s enduring popularity was “very easy” to explain.
“She is a great ray of hope,” Bush, 52, said while speaking with People. “She envelopes and embodies all the positive things that turn kids on, that excite them.”
He added that the main character’s joy could be contagious.
‘If you feel down, look up. You might see a rainbow. “Everyone feels that way,” he added.
Bush went on to explain how he came to voice the classic children’s cartoon character.
Bettina Bush, who began voicing Rainbow Brite when she was just 12, weighs in on the series’ longevity 40 years after it premiered. She told People that the secret to Rainbow Brite’s enduring popularity was “very easy” to explain; seen in 2017 in Hollywood
“She is a great ray of hope,” said Bush, 52. ‘She envelopes and embodies all the positive things that set children on fire, that excite them’; Rainbow Brite still
He remembered how he was working on the series The Littles, his first show, back in 1984, when he was only 12 years old.
At that time, The Littles producers approached her to audition for a new show.
‘They brought in this black and white drawing of a girl called Wisp and said, “What do you think it sounds like?” And I only did the voice. And then they elected me,” Bush revealed.
Wisp would become the main character after teaming up with a fairy named Twink and Starlite, the talking horse, to obtain the colored belt.
With it, he was able to rescue the Color Kids, who had been imprisoned by the Shadow King, and restore color to the fantastical land, which was renamed Rainbow Land.
The original series consisted of five special television episodes, followed by a feature film, Rainbow Brite and the Star Stealer, released in 1985 and a standard television season that aired in syndication from 1986 to 1987.
Rainbow Brite originated the same year she began appearing on television as a Hallmark greeting card character, and Mattel subsequently licensed the design for a line of children’s toys.
A three-episode mini reboot of Rainbow Brite aired years later in 2014 on Hallmark’s Feeln streaming service, with Young Sheldon actress Emily Osment voicing the title character, while Molly Ringwald voiced the villainess. , the Dark Princess.
He added that the main character’s joy could be contagious. ‘If you feel down, look up. You might see a rainbow. Everyone feels that way,’ he added; seen in 2016
The original series consisted of five television special episodes, followed by a feature film released in 1985 and a television season that aired from 1986 to 1987; Rainbow Brite still
Last month, Variety reported that Crayola Studios and Hallmark had joined forces to develop a new theatrical film and television series starring the character Rainbow Brite.
According to the show’s tagline: “Rainbow Brite, a friend, hero, role model and creative inspiration who brings all the colors of the rainbow to the universe, is transported to a dark and gloomy place with the mission to bring color, light and happiness to the world.”
An image from the new series suggested that it would abandon the hand-drawn animation that gave the original series its distinctive look, in favor of the now-standard computer-generated animation.
While recalling her history as Rainbow Brite, Bush revealed that the show’s producers only realized what a great character they had on their hands when they saw the extreme demand for an album of music sung by the character.
She shared that the producers were originally looking for a professional singer for the album, which was eventually titled Paint A Rainbow In Your Heart, but after failing to find a singer who perfectly matched Bush’s tone, they gave him the opportunity to do the vocals. by Rainbow Brite.
She told People that they started by making her sing Happy Birthday, and then it went pretty well, she sang Tomorrow from the musical Annie, as she had recently appeared in a production of it.
After hearing the tune, Bush recalled, “They said, ‘Okay, cool. “Rainbow Brite is going to have an album and we’re going to need you to sing for it.”
He added: “When that album came out, which was so popular, that’s when I thought, ‘Okay, wait, this is something bigger.’
Bush didn’t realize how popular the character was until she was asked to also provide the voice of Rainbow Brite for a music album.
Bush is not currently involved in a reboot announced in October, but hopes to “play a role, write a song, just be a part of it, be included”; photographed in 2007 in Culver City, California.
Bush recalled his early interest in acting, which began at age four, when he appeared as a lamb in a nativity scene for a Christmas show.
“I was very meticulous about getting my lines right,” she said, adding that she “did them right.”
It helped that his parents, including his father, Charles V. Bush, the first black graduate of the U.S. Air Force Academy and the first black page to the U.S. Supreme Court, were “riding or dying” when it came to helping her achieve her dreams as an actress. .
‘My dad, because of his background… was very much like, you stay true to who you are and you don’t let anyone tell you who you are. You tell them who you are,’ Bush recalled fondly. ‘And then I walked out the door knowing who he was, and he was just going to support me, period. And as long as I kept my grades up, which I did, then there was no problem.’
She added that her parents’ support gave her a lot of “freedom” to experiment with an acting career.
Bush, who has two teenage children, daughter Cassie, 14, and son Jesse, 13, went on to have several acting roles, including voice parts on Rugrats and its sequel series All Grown Up.
She also made a name for herself in commercials singing some of the ‘I’m Lovin’ It’ jingles from McDonald’s advertising, and is also a popular video game performer thanks to her performances as Gloria (originally voiced by Jada Pinkett Smith ). in the Madagascar game series.
Bush doesn’t appear to have any current involvement in the upcoming Rainbow Brite reboot, but revealed that he “really hopes” to be a part of it if possible.
“It would be so much fun to play a role, to write a song, to just be a part of it, to be included,” she said.