The defence The Sentimental Softie
“Sincerity is not manipulation.”
The film risks embarrassment to make emotion communal, and that openness is harder than fashionable detachment.
Back to trending 
Rainbow Brite and the Star Stealer
Animation · Family · Science Fiction · 1985
Rainbow Brite, and her magical horse Starlite, must stop an evil princess and her underlings from taking over the planet Spectra. When they meet Orin, the wise Sprite tries to make the two children get along and work together to stop the evil Princess. Orin tells them that they can only destroy her by combining their own powers against her. Getting in the way of their mission is the sinister Murky Dismal and his bumbling assistant Lurky who, as usual, are lavishing in the new gloom created by the darkening of Spectra, as well as trying to steal Rainbow's magical color belt.
Movie details
Rainbow Brite and the Star Stealer
“Rainbow Brite lights up the screen in her first big movie.”
1985 Animation · Family · Science Fiction 1h 25m
Critical arithmetic
One number, for now.
Scores change. Arguments endure.
TMDB
5.9 / 10
Community rating
Rainbow Brite, and her magical horse Starlite, must stop an evil princess and her underlings from taking over the planet Spectra. When they meet Orin, the wise Sprite tries to make the two children get along and work together to stop the evil Princess. Orin tells them that they can only destroy her by combining their own powers against her. Getting in the way of their mission is the sinister Murky Dismal and his bumbling assistant Lurky who, as usual, are lavishing in the new gloom created by the darkening of Spectra, as well as trying to steal Rainbow's magical color belt.
CriticWise case file
What this film says about your taste.
Not a recommendation score. A measure of how closely the film’s taste signals resemble yours.
The archetype split
Who fights over Rainbow Brite and the Star Stealer?
For the defence
The Sentimental Softie
“You came to feel something, and you will.”
Read their case For the prosecution
The Cool Ironist
“Feeling things is a little embarrassing.”
Read their objectionThe split comes from the same five-axis model used by the test, not audience ratings or review sentiment.
Taste neighbourhood
Nearby on the taste map.
TMDB supplies the candidates. CriticWise reorders them by craft, strangeness, prestige, emotion, and pace.
Strange World
Animation · 2022
A journey deep into an uncharted and treacherous land, where fantastical creatures await the legendary Clades—a family of explorers whose differences threaten to topple their latest, and by far most crucial, mission.
Animal Crackers
Comedy · 2018
A family must use a magical box of Animal Crackers to save a rundown circus from being taken over by their evil uncle Horatio P. Huntington.
The Monkey King
Animation · 2023
A stick-wielding monkey teams with a young girl on an epic quest for immortality, battling demons, dragons, gods — and his own ego — along the way.
Spellbound
Animation · 2024
When a powerful spell turns her parents into giant monsters, a teenage princess must journey into the wild to reverse the curse before it's too late.
Tom and Jerry's Giant Adventure
Animation · 2013
Tom And Jerry are among the last animals living in Storybook Town, a fairy tale-inspired theme park "where dreams come true, if you believe."
The Twits
Animation · 2025
When the meanest, nastiest villains pull a trick to take over their town, two brave children team up with a family of magical animals to bring them down.
The Magician's Elephant
Animation · 2023
Peter is searching for his long-lost sister when he crosses paths with a fortune teller in the market square. His only question is: is his sister still alive? The answer, that he must find a mysterious elephant and the magician who will conjure it, sets Peter off on a journey to complete three seemingly impossible tasks that will change the face of his town forever.
Plankton: The Movie
Family · 2025
Plankton's tangled love story with his sentient computer wife goes sideways when she takes a stand — and decides to destroy the world without him.
Welcome to Smelliville
Animation · 2021
The Oggly family arrive at the municipal rubbish dump of Smelliville and must look for a new home, but they never feel really welcome anywhere. They stink and are for most humans just a tad too oggly. When Firebottom, the family dragon, crash-lands on the run-down rubbish tip of the small town of Smelliville, the Ogglies at once feel at home. And it's here they want to stay.
My Father's Dragon
Animation · 2022
Struggling to cope after a move to the city with his mother, Elmer runs away in search of Wild Island and a young dragon who waits to be rescued. Elmer’s adventures introduce him to ferocious beasts, a mysterious island and the friendship of a lifetime.
Where it lives
Watch in your region.
Cinema release signals and current streaming, rental, and purchase options for your region.
Streaming availability data supplied by JustWatch.
Names above the title
The people responsible.
Cast & crew
Directed by
Kimio Yabuki · Bernard Deyriès
Written by
Howard R. Cohen · Jean Chalopin
Bettina Bush
Rainbow Brite (voice) (as Bettina)
Pat Fraley
Lurky / On-X / Buddy Blue / Dog / Guard / Spectran / Slurthie / Glitterbot (voice) (as Patrick Fraley)
Peter Cullen
Murky Dismal / Castle Monster / Glitterbot / Guard / Skydancer / Slurthie (voice)
Robbie Lee
Twink / Shy Violet / Indigo / La La Orange / Spectran / Sprites (voice)
Andre Stojka
Starlite / Wizard / Spectran (voice)
David Mendenhall
Krys (voice)
Rhonda Aldrich
The Princess / The Creature (voice)
Court is in session
Put Rainbow Brite and the Star Stealer on trial.
Two incompatible taste archetypes. One film. Read the arguments, then issue a completely binding cultural ruling.
The prosecution The Cool Ironist
“The strings are showing.”
Every cue tells you exactly what to feel and when, leaving sentiment to do the work character should have done.