| Alt Name: | RBUK |
| Theme Music Composer: | Noam Kaniel |
| Composer: | Noam Kaniel |
| Language: | English |
| Num Seasons: | 1 |
| Num Episodes: | 26 (51 segments) |
| Company: | Funrise Toys Bardel Entertainment[1] |
Rainbow Butterfly Unicorn Kitty, officially shortened to RBUK, is an animated television series created by Rich Magallanes and based on a concept by Melissa Reale.[2] It was co-developed by Magallanes and Mark Palmer. The series was produced by American toy company Funrise and Canadian studio Bardel Entertainment.
The series follows Felicity, a spirited magical cat who is part rainbow, part butterfly, party unicorn and 100% kitty, as she goes on adventures with her best friends in the mashup city of Mythlandia.[3] In the United States, Nickelodeon acquired broadcast rights to the first season from Funrise Toys.[4] 26 episodes were produced.
Rainbow Butterfly Unicorn Kitty is about a young, magical cat named Felicity, who is part rainbow, part butterfly, part unicorn and 100% kitty. She has transformative powers that allow her to choose between Rainbow Power, Butterfly Power, Unicorn Power, and following the events of Purrfect Party, Kitty Power. Her best friends; Miguel, a down-to-earth Anubis chihuahua, Athena, a book-smart owl, and Yana the ditzy yeti, accompany Felicity on their various mythical adventures in Mythlandia, a city full of fairy tale creatures, wizards, giants, dragons, and much more,[4] while also occasionally hanging out together at Mythic Malts, a restaurant owned by Moona that sells delicious malts, to cool down.
Each episode has been stated to "explore female empowerment and non-conformity" as Felicity transforms into different forms using her magical abilities. The series is also a celebration of individuality and self-confidence.[3]
Rainbow Butterfly Unicorn Kitty is produced by Funrise, who took over production of the series for Saban Brands after its closure due to the sale of the majority of its entertainment properties to Hasbro. The series is animated by Bardel Entertainment, and it features photo-real elements. The series is targeted towards kids 6 to 11.
The first season has a total of 52 11-minute episodes.[8] For broadcast, each episode is paired with another to fill a 22-minute slot, which makes for a total of 26 half-hours. The final episode of the series however, is a two-part holiday special.[9]
Rainbow Butterfly Unicorn Kitty was originally planned to be launched in Fall 2018, but was postponed to 2019. In the United States, the series had a sneak peek premiere on the main Nickelodeon network on January 27, 2019, before it had its season premiere on Nicktoons a day after. Alongside the premiere, the same sneak peek episode was made available on the Nick App and Nick On Demand on January 18.[4] The sneak peek was successful enough to warrant the show remaining on Nickelodeon's schedule whilst also airing on Nicktoons. Episode premieres continued on the main network on February 10 with the episodes "The Green-Eyed Monster" and "Rainbow Butterfly Unicorn Cupid". During this temporary switch from Nicktoons to Nickelodeon, only the acronym for the show, RBUK, is used which differed from how the show was mentioned and displayed on promos, advertisements, most TV guides, and the theme song which was cut from all broadcasts. The series returned to Nicktoons on June 21, 2019, starting with the episode "The Trouble with Travis", and premiering all segments on separate days. The series was added to Paramount+ on September 22, 2021.[10]
Jetpack Distribution announced that it acquired international distribution rights in Canada, Latin America, Europe (excluding Italy and Russia), Australia, Asia, Africa, and the Middle East.[9] [11] The series premiered on some of Nickelodeon's international channels and branded blocks following the U.S. launch later in 2019.[12] In Canada, the series debuted on Family Channel on September 2, 2019.[13] The series premiered January 1, 2020 on eToonz in South Africa.
Emily Ashby of Common Sense Media gave the series 2 out of 5 stars; saying that, “Felicity's unique nature makes her a decent example of embracing uniqueness in yourself and in others, but the show's frantic pace and distracting visuals tend to overshadow this positive quality.”[14]
The associated toy line for the series by Funrise Toys is planned to cover many categories such as figurines, playsets, bobble heads, plush and dress-up. In February 2019, there was a preview of new toys from Funrise at the New York Toy Fair.[12] The toys were released at Walmart on July 1, 2019.