The original animated Reading Rainbow opening evokes a strong sense of nostalgia for the legions of kids who grew up watching the show in the 80s’ and 90s’. Harold Moss, with his company FlickerLab, wanted to honour that as they worked to create an animated open for the show’s next chapter while creating something unique and suited to its new, live format. Like its predecessor, the new open celebrates the infinite worlds to be found between the pages of books, and the endless adventures to be had there.
The first virtual interactive event took place on Looped.com on 6th March. The events will then be made available to stream on ReadingRainbowLive.com for all ticket buyers for thirty days after every live event. Ohana Pictures in partnership with Buffalo Toronto Public Media produced this event for children between four and eight years old and reflects the same core values of the original Reading Rainbow program. The program is executive produced by Steven Beer and James P. Axiotis.
Moss added, “Reading Rainbow was one of the all-time great educational TV shows. Not only does it live on in the hearts of generations of kids who came up with it, but the show remains an absolute gold standard for anyone making meaningful learning content for kids. I was privileged to learn the art of making such media at the feet of some of the people behind the original show, so it’s just an incredible honour to be part of this reboot, bringing a wonderful participatory and live twist to the project. We’re on the edge of our seats, along with a whole lot of fans, to see this first, in what we expect will be many years’ worth of new Reading Rainbow shows, and I look forward to being part of that journey to com.”