Straffi, an animator and comic book artist, founded Rainbow in 1995 as an "underfunded animation service". For its first few years, Rainbow provided animation services for other companies, and it wasn't until 1999 that Straffi finally secured enough money to try out an original animation: Tommy and Oscar. In 2006, Iginio Straffi opened a second studio in Rome for 3D computer-animated projects.
In 2011, Viacom, Nickelodeon's parent company, purchased 30% of the studio for 62 million euros. This paved the way for many collaborations between the studio and the network; Rainbow would become the licensing agent for Nickelodeon's properties (including SpongeBob SquarePants and Victorious) across Italy.
In 2013, Rainbow went through a financial setback. Rainbow's Gladiators of Rome bombed at the worldwide box office, earning less than €9 million against a €40 million production budget. Including advertising costs, the budget was upwards of €70 million, according to Straffi.
By the end of 2013, Viacom Italia had lost 15.8 million euros as a direct result of their co-ownership of Rainbow. The studio wrapped up The New '10s by co-producing Club 57 with Nickelodeon.
In 2023, Iginio Straffi retook full ownership of the studio.
Productions from the studio:
- Tommy and Oscar
- Prezzemolo
- Winx Club
- Monster Allergy (co-produced with Futurikon, Rai Fiction, ZDF and M6)
- Maya Fox
- Huntik: Secrets & Seekers
- Pop Pixie (loosely based on side characters from Winx Club but otherwise considered a completely seperate show}
- Mia and Me (co-produced Seasons 1 and 2 with M4E and Hahn Film)
- The Dark Side of the Sun
- Gladiators of Rome
- "Crazy Block" (Nickelodeon Animation Studio pilot)
- Regal Academy
- Maggie & Bianca: Fashion Friends
- World of Winx
- Club 57
- Forty Four Cats
- Fate: The Winx Saga
- Summer & Todd: Happy Farmers
- Pinocchio and Friends
" and a Maya Fox spin-off movie.