Is this Rainbow Brite doll from 1983?

This is a quick reference for checking whether your doll is a 1983 original release, or a  2003 RE-Release.  The 1991 olls are not reviewed- 

If you are looking for a guide for the 1983 dolls, check here: Stormy's Secrets - The Ultimate Vintage Rainbow Brite CHECKLIST w/pics. 

I am posting this info because the dolls are so similar.  However, your doll is vintage ONLY if it has a MATTEL tag.

You can not rely on the Hallmark 1983 trademark because the 2003-4 re-released Rainbow Brite dolls were made using the patented Hallmark 1983 images/names, and the tags will say 1983 Hallmark Cards on their tags, even if they are from 2003. As a result, sellers on ebay FREQUENTLY list the dolls as vintage, even if they are not! 

The dolls look VERY similar.  Especially if you haven't seen a Rainbow Brite doll since the 80s... or ever.

COMPARE!

Rainbow Brite was released as an 18" doll in 1983, as pictured on the right.  She had a metalic dress, and orange colored hair.  The TALKING Rainbow Brite was released in 2004 (on the left).  However, both are frequently sold as "vintage"

18" Rainbow Brite dolls

In 2003-4, Rainbow Brite, Patty, Red and Canary were re-released. 

There are differences, but only if you know what the original vintage doll looked like.  This can be hard if you haven't seen your doll since you were a kid.  However, ALL of the vintage dolls were made by MATTEL (copyright 1983 Hallmark cards).  ALL of the 2003-4 dolls were made by TOY PLAY (copyright 1983 Hallmark Cards).  Many ebay sellers confuse the copyright date with the manufacture date.

Here's another comparison of 18" vintage RBB (on left) and the newer doll (on the right)

These are the other 18" 2003 dolls. 

  ALL of The re-release 2003 dolls. They didn't make Shy in 2003.

SMALL DOLLS 11"

Below are ALL of the 2003 11" Re-released Toy-Play dolls.  They did not make Indigo, Shy Violet, Buddy Blue or Lala Orange during the second release.  So ALL of those dolls are original.  The ones to watch for are Rainbow, Canary, Red & Patty.  The re-released 11" dolls had bendy arms and legs, and were released seperately, or with plush sprites as seen below. 

Compare the above 2003 dolls with the originals, below. They look very similar! 

Up Close comparison between 2003 11" RBB doll with the 1983 11". 
  The one on the right is original.

SPRITES and PLUSH

The Sprites are even more difficult to spot.  The only difference between the vintage dolls and the new, is that the vintage sprites ALL had rainbow legs, whereas the 2003 sprites had colored legs (except Twink, the white one). 

They re-released ONLY the boy Sprites in 2003.

Compare Vintage Romeo (on the left) with 2003 Romeo (on the right).  See the differences in the arms and legs?  But the face and body is the same.

Puppy Brite has an especially good clone.  The 2003 version looks ALMOST identical to the vintage puppy (vintage on the left). 

Obviously this is not a complete list of the 2003-4 dolls, but hopefully you get the idea of what to look for.  For a complete list of the 2003 dolls, check  

What to do?

If you don't know the collection well enough to determine on sight, email the seller and ask them to look for a MATTEL tag.  If the doll was made by MATTEL, it is vintage.  If it is made by TOY PLAY or does NOT have a Mattel tag, it is from 2003-4.