Movie Type: Family-Oriented Adventure, Children's Fantasy
Main Cast: George Hearn, Shirley Douglas, Trevor Morgan, Kyla Pratt, Diana Rice
Release Year: 1998
Country: US
Run Time: 75 minutes
MPAA Rating: G
Plot
This is the large-screen debut of famous (or infamous, depending on your POV) fuzzy purple dinosaur Barney, the oafish character who began a decade earlier on video (selling 45 million units) and then became a top-ranked public TV preschooler show in 1992, followed by 15 million stuffed toys and 25 million copies of Barney books, plus his own attraction at the Universal theme park. The story in this $15 million movie has Mom and Dad leaving son Cody and daughter Abby, plus Abby's friend Marcella, and a baby with Grandpa and Grandma down on the farm -- where a shooting star deposits a large colorful egg. After it's accidentally taken away, Cody and others chase after the egg, intersecting a Main Street parade and then continuing on through a French restaurant, a circus, and a big hot-air balloon launch, eventually returning to the farm. Music features more than a dozen songs, including "Old MacDonald" and "Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star". Dances devised by Cirque du Soleil choreographer Debra Brown. Filmed in the countryside near Montreal. ~ Bhob Stewart, All Movie Guide
David Joyner - Barney (body); Bob West - Barney; Jeff Ayres - Baby Bop (body); Julie Johnson - Baby Bop; Renee Madeleine Le Guerrier - Mildred Goldfinch
Credit
Collin Niemi - Art Director, Ronna Kress - Casting, Debra Brown - Choreography, Jim Rowley - Co-producer, Sean Dwyer - First Assistant Director, Steve Gomer - Director, Richard Halsey - Editor, Martha Chang - Executive Producer, Ben Myron - Executive Producer, Vincent Jefferds - Production Designer, Sandi Sissel - Cinematographer, Dennis DeShazer - Producer, Sheryl Leach - Producer, Diane Lamothe - Set Designer, Cinemotion Pictures - Special Effects, Don Cohen - Sound/Sound Designer, Dennis DeShazer - Screen Story, Sheryl Leach - Screen Story, Stephen White - Screen Story, Stephen White - Screenwriter
Cody, his sister Abby, their best friend Marcella, and their baby brother Fig are dropped off by their parents for a visit at their grandparents' farm. Cody hits a basketball 1 time by accident. that's OK. After a game of keep-away started by Cody, Barney the purple dinosaur appears. Cody refuses to believe in Barney, claiming that imagination is just for kids and that "real dinosaurs don't talk and real dinosaurs don't laugh." That night, Cody wishes for a real adventure for that summer, and to do something no one has done before. A shooting star deposits a large colorful egg in the barn, which is accidentally knocked onto a birdseed truck by Cody and is carted off. Barney and the kids begin their adventure to recover it through a parade. Barney's friend BJ catches it when it almost lands on the ground and breaks. Barney and the gang chase the egg throughout a restaurant, a circus, and fly through the sky on a hot air ballon while continuing their pursuit of the egg. BJ and Baby Bop arrive just in time to see the egg hatch. After they return the egg to the barn, it finally hatches. Cody says "Oh, my God, It's like a Rainbow."
The egg is a koala-like dream maker named Twinken who shows everyone Abby's dream and then Barney's. Cody apologizes to Barney for being mean to him and admits he thinks he's cool. Barney accepts his apology and tells Cody he thinks he's cool also and the two share a hug. Twinken shows everyone a magical fireworks display which lands in Barney's arms. Barney begins to sing "I Love You" followed by everyone else. Baby Bop gets sleepy, which prompts BJ to decide that they're ready to go home. The film ends with Barney turning back into a doll with Twinken sitting right next to him.
A subplot involves BJ's little sister Baby Bop searching for her lost "blankie" and frequently asking the audience if they've seen it.
The film received very negative reviews from film critics, and was nominated for 2 Golden Raspberry Awards. Despite the negative reception, however, the film was a moderate box office success. On Rotten Tomatoes, the film currently has a "Rotten" rating of 23%, based on 22 reviews with only 5 fresh, and a rating of 4.1.[1]
Songs
Barney- The Song (Main Title) - (Bernadette Peters)
