Sunrise

Sunrise was a 2000s animated/fashion doll franchise developed by Nickelodeon, the CBBC and MGA Entertainment. The first line first ran from 2001 and was no longer active by 2007.

SYNOPSIS
Originally a Fashion Doll line produced by MGA Entertainment, the story revolves around Liverpool in 2001. 13 year old Tabaqui Mirishisaanira lives with a proud and compassionate, but very protective and quite vain father who hopes he has the heart of a brain, brawn and beauty. But his life is changed when he discovers his heritage and the story of the festival of fire and lights (Diwali) as well as his family's traditions of fire and worshiping the God of fire Agni. Soon enough, at the crack of dawn he learns he has the power to transform into a Jackal with fire powers through the power of his own Choleric emotions (Such as anger and pride), now he must learn to control it and live his life hoping he can have as much fun as possible while dealing with wacky situations and living as a teenager. But hidden behind the curtains, there is a huge secret that could determine if he is the only mystical being of a family out there...

MAIN CHARACTERS
Tabaqui Mirishisaanira (Voiced By: Nigel Pilkington): A 13 year old Hindu-British boy who comes from a family of proud and fashionable people, who also follow a tradition of fire and light from Agni the Hindu fire God. He is described as a bit of a fashionista, who has a hobby for designing fashion and art. He is also a very proud and sassy person, but sometimes he accidentally comes across as a bit vain and still has quite a few fears. He has the power to turn into a Pyrokinetic Jackal when faced with prideful and wrath-like emotions. His birthday is February 19th (Pisces) and his theme colour is Orange.

Alfur Aldric (Voiced By: Rasmus Hardiker): A 13 year old Icelandic-British boy and is one of Tabaqui’s best friends. Alfur is a very kind hearted, idealistic and reliable person who has a love of literature and writing fantasy novels and poetry. He also loves animals and nature, owning a dog of his own and having plants in his room. However, he can be a bit stubborn and can hold a few grudges against those who bully him or his friends. His birthday is June 20th (Gemini) and his theme colour is Red.

Haruka "Hal" Mitsune Gibson (Voiced By: Tom Kenny): A 13 year old Japanese-American-British boy and is one of Tabaqui’s best friends. His family comes from a business related line of relatives from both Japan and America who moved to the UK, but still deeply care for each other. Hal is the most stoic and quiet of the group of friends. He is very intelligent, organized and is known for his high academics and love for science. He also likes STEM ideals. However, he can be a bit cold-hearted, but sometimes his more stressed out, insomniac side comes out when he is faced with a difficult conflict. His birthday is September 14th (Virgo) and his theme colour is Blue.

Sonali "Sly" DeCorazon (Voiced By: Ben Small): A 13 year old Hispanic-British boy and is one of Tabaqui’s best friends. His family, much like Hal’s, moved to the UK from Mexico. Sly is the most active and energetic of the gang as he’s in the school Photography club as well as taking Acro dance lessons and in the Gymnastics team. He’s also a very musical person and loves karaoke and music, especially latin rock and pop. However, he’s a huge airhead and can jump to conclusions way too easily, even having a short temper. His birthday is December 1st (Sagittarius) and his theme colour is Yellow.

Peridot Piri Selene (Voiced By: Shelby Rabara): A 13 year old Filipino-British girl and the newest member of Tabaqui’s best friends. She used to be Tabaqui’s rival and was a bit of a bully, making fun of him and being a “Gremlin”. However, after realising that she felt like she had some issues with herself just like the people she made fun of and decided to get help to change, even meeting at a concert with them. Eventually she became their friends, but still maintained a bit of her old personality. She’s very nerdy, independent, humorous and ambitious, loves to watch anime, read manga and play video games, but academically does well. However, she can also be a bit envious, crabby and come off as a bit rude. Her birthday is August 6th (Leo) and her theme colour is Green.

ANTAGONISTS
Larxene Bolts (Voiced By: Shanelle Gray): A 16 year old French-American girl who goes to Twilight High and the new main antagonist after Peridot was redeemed. Larxene is described as the new girl in town and recently moved to the UK from America to enroll in the school. However, Larxene uses this as a way to dominate over the other students and do what she wants, and that means demeaning them and getting what she wants. She targets the main 5 the most because of how they tried to wrong her. Her birthday is October 12th (Libra).

Namine Mirabella (Voiced By: Meghan Jette Martin): A 15 year old mixed Brazillian-Caucasian girl who goes to Twilight High and is one of Larxene’s friends who gets bossed around. Namine is the more artistic and sensitive of the group and loves to sketch. She usually goes along with Larxene’s plans but with hesitance each time. Her birthday is November 11th (Scorpio).

Xion Hua-Sung (Voiced By: Alyson Stoner): A 15 year old Chinese-Korean girl who goes to Twilight High and is one of Larxene’s friends who gets bossed around. Xion rarely speaks and is the most introverted of the group. However, she has a hobby for marine life. She usually goes along with Larxene’s plans but not without offering a less harmful solution. Her birthday is January 4th (Capricorn).

JEWELZ
Jewelz is a popular Irish-American girl pop band that the main gang admires and loves to listen to. They each have different traits that each of the 5 can relate to and favourite the most. They have nicknames and fashions designed after birthstones.

Renee "Ruby" Connors (Voiced By: Leslie Mills): The American-Irish lead singer of the band who Tabaqui most admires due to her fashionable, proud and romantic personality. Her gemstone is a Ruby, her birthday is July 4th (Cancer) and her theme colour is Cerise pink.

Tori "Topaz" Tao-Zong (Voiced By: Brenda Song): The Chinese-American drummer of the band who Sly most admires due to her energetic, optimistic and sporty personality. Her gemstone is a Topaz, her birthday is November 3rd (Scorpio) and her theme colour is light yellow.

Emirah "Emerald" Kuri (Voiced By: Andrea Remanda): The Persian-Irish guitarist of the band who Alfur most admires due to her idealistic, poetic and kind-hearted personality. Her gemstone is an Emerald, her birthday is May 8th (Taurus) and her theme colour is aqua green.

Sylvie-Anne "Sapphire" Yvette (Voiced By: Melissa Lyons): The French-American Bassist of the band who Hal most admires due to her intelligent, quiet and calming personality. Her gemstone is a Sapphire, her birthday is September 27th (Libra) and her theme colour is sky blue.

Amanda “Amethyst” McDougal (Voiced By: Anika Noni Rose): The African-American keyboardist of the band who Peridot most admires due to her quirky, creative and ambitious personality. Her gemstone is an Amethyst, her birthday is February 15th (Aquarius) and her theme colour is purple.

DEVELOPMENT
The concept was referenced as far back as 1999 by a staff member on board with the concept team at MGA Entertainment. The Staff Member saw the big changes that would occur at the end of 90s as well as the upcoming start of the new millennia and the 2000s. They wanted to make an attempt at appealing to the new modern agenda of tweens approaching the 21st century and going through becoming a teenager with a small fantasy approach to appeal to the young audiences without going overboard with the fantasy element to the point of being too humorous. The idea was accepted and was put on board, but it was put on hold to expand further and find more ideas.

Eventually towards the end of 2000, the idea was once again utilised and was put into work as one of 2 doll lines made to combat Mattel's success (The other being Bratz). This would be the time where MGA started experimenting ideas and developing concept art for the main character and their friends. Their original plans were to create a diverse cast of characters who fit in with the age demographic of not only the character settings but the audience, without full on focusing on just the diversity. Originally, the main character was going to be of Japanese-American descent who transformed into a mecha-robot whenever their emotions became too much. However, MGA thought that did not fit in with their idea of a fashion doll line and felt too similar to other products, worried that others would catch them and want to file any lawsuits due to an accidental copyright. The early version was scrapped, but a character of Japanese descent was later utilised for one of the other characters. Eventually designers and staff members would settle with continuing to utilise a POC character, but instead make the character of Hindu-British descent and utilising a new idea to express a tween/young teenager's emotions as well as representing the culture. The character would have the magical power from the Hindu fire God Agni to transform into a flaming jackal whenever he felt any choleric emotions (Passion/Excitement/Anger/Shock). They would also decide to go with a more story driven route for the franchise, and wanted to showcase the daily life of a young teenager alongside their friends, which would also result in the creation of 4 more characters. From 2001 to 2003, the dolls and characters would be designed by Lily Martinez. After 2003 however, Martinez left MGA Entertainment to continue working for Mattel's My Scene.