Strictly average movie

just watch it!

Highly Overrated But Still Good

Best movie ever!

I grew up watching Barney tapes but just today on June 27th, 2018 I saw his movie. And it, admittedly, was cute. I enjoyed myself. I would even put it in my top 10, but of course i would not watch it on a regular basis. Did you know Roger Ebert gave it 3/4 stars? Grown ups also get this recommendation if they want something to poke fun at. For examples, Barney comes to life in the shower and a boy opens the curtain on him. Also, Barney changes a diaper while singing "If You're Happy And You Know It." This can also be seen as an allegory on faith. So, yes, this 19 year old highly recommends this baby movie to you. Bring out the child in you and enjoy!

Reviewing a film like Barney's Great Adventure is especially difficult because while you're trying to consider the target audience, you don't want to undermine your own opinions as well. I'm firmly aware I'm outside of this particular film's target demographic by about fifteen years, but that doesn't mean I don't see some nostalgic merit in Barney's first, and thus far only, theatrical feature. However, nostalgia doesn't always equate to on-screen success, and Barney's Great Adventure struggles with some tonal problems that are apparent from the very beginning, along with a general frugality to the production despite a medium-sized budget for this kind of project.More on that later. The film concerns three young kids, the stubborn Cody (Trevor Morgan), his instigating sister Abby (Diana Rice), and their friend Marcella (Kyla Pratt), all of whom are headed to Cody and Abby's grandparents' farm. Abby and Marcella are playing with a stuffed Barney doll, who they believe will come to life if they use their imagination and believe hard enough. Cody, on the other hand, is cynical to this idea, even after Barney does indeed come to life, bring his cheeriness and infectious personality to the natural world.Frustrated and bored out of his mind, Cody wishes for a spectacular summer adventure one night, and the next morning, he's greeted with a large colorful egg. The egg turns out to be a dream maker, but finds itself in harms way when it's dropped on a truck. Now, it's up to Barney and the three youngsters to obtain the egg, occasionally seeking the help of their friends B.J. and Baby Bop in their adventure.To begin with, Barney's Great Adventure is captured in a relatively ugly way in terms of its photography. It's a film that bears a look to it that would more fall in line with a horror film or an incredibly micro-budget TV movie; not a film about a lively, cuddly Television character meant for ages five and younger. The entire look to the picture feels off; the color palette is so unmoving in its drab, grayness that it seemingly does everything in its power not to immerse you in the environment. Furthermore, the film is never as adventurous as it could be, especially given the title. Most of the time, we get petty moralizing amongst the characters, which is fine if that wants to be the climax or the concluding scene, but Barney's constant interference that involves some kind of wraparound, larger-than-life idea wears on the audience to the point where one feels they're being sermonized to and not entertained.Barney's Great Adventure has a chance to amuse the young, but not as much as your average episode of Barney & Friends, in my opinion. The scenery is too drab, the action too routine, and the kind of situational humor in the film alludes the kind in the show, as it's much milder and less engaging. There is a disconnect evident here, as if those who worked on the show weren't committed or allowed to be involved with the film adaptation, and thus, executives took over with the notion that they thought they knew what kids wanted rather than actually knowing. It's disconnects like these that make me sad, especially when a product with a great deal of potential was sacrificed.Starring: Trevor Morgan, Diana Rice, Kyla Pratt, George Hearn, and Shirley Douglas. Directed by: Steve Gomer.

Currently, "Barney's Great Adventure" is #87 on IMDb's Bottom 100 List. Now this is a bit deceptive, as very few kids in Barney's demographics vote on films on IMDb or review them, and the show and movie were never meant to appeal to anyone older than 7 (at the most). And, like some kids' shows, it's like a trip to Hell for parents who are roped into taking the kids to see it. It sure would be nice if this film were scored on what kids think of it as well. Would they like the film? Well, it's hard to say, as my kids are all grown and haven't liked Barney in over a decade. So, take this review from a middle-aged man with a grain of salt. Your kids might like it.So why, then, did I watch this film? Well, I am a bit crazy, but try to see as many of IMDb's Bottom 100 as I can. Aside from some that are just not available in the States (such as a notoriously bad German film and several Turkish films), I've done a good job of keeping up with this infamous list. Crazy hobby, huh?! The film begins with three kids and an obligatory ethnic friend (this is required for Barney episodes) going to stay with the grandparents. The baby and little girl are pretty nice, but the boy (who appears about 9 or 10) is surly and hates everything. So, when his little sister and her friend are playing with Barney, he is miserable and hates this "kid's stuff". However, when Barney comes to life for real, he's instantly smitten by Barney's wonderfulness, right? No. The boy is still a blasé jerk. Can Barney's incurable optimism and sweetness eventually win him over or will he have to bring out the big guns--BJ and Baby Bop (god, no,...EVERYONE hates Baby Bop)?! I actually didn't think the movie was that bad, for what it was. The grouchy boy (Cody) was actually like having an adult follow along during much of the movie so he could comment about how stupid the whole thing was. Too bad Cody's cold, cold heart was captured by Barney, as when he became enamored with Barney and his god-awful friends as well, any sort of edge was removed from the movie. But who expects an edgy Barney movie?! And, who expects much more than the film is?! It's got the obligatory singing and kid's stuff--what more could it be? Frankly, I didn't think the film was that terrible until Baby Bop showed up--then it got so sickly sweet that adults in the theater must have begun contemplating suicide...or homicide! The timing of this film was, apparently, pretty poor when it debuted. The Barney craze of the early 90s had passed and so the film did not sell all that well in theaters (it lost money in the US according to IMDb). As most adults hate Barney and his friends, getting one to sit through the film in the theater with their kids is problematic. And, many of the really young kids just couldn't sit still for the film's running time--whereas the TV show is shorter and the kids didn't have to sit still in a seat during the show. I think all this really limited the film, but might have made DVD sales less of a problem. My bet is DVD sales weren't bad at all.

At 18 I cannot stand the show, I mean I loved it as a kid, but now re-visiting like I like to do with some of my childhood favourites, I was surprised at how childish, simplistic and annoying it was. I was told that the movie Barney's Great Adventure was worse, so I gave it the benefit of the doubt and went ahead and watched it. After watching it, it is marginally better than the show, but that isn't saying much. As I have said, if you are expecting for more than just an extended episode of the TV show, you may find yourself disappointed. This leads to my first criticism, and it is that the story structure is very simplistic and episodic, it really did feel that it was an extended episode of the TV show.The script is awful, made up of truly banal and childish writing, no improvement whatsoever on the show's writing, and the multicoloured sets look flat and dull. To make things worse the choreography in the song and dance routines is very basic, and the songs themselves are forgettable at best, complete with cringe worthy lyrics and out of tune singing. The characters I couldn't relate to at all and as the film progressed I cared about them less and less, Barney is even more annoying than he is in the show, which is a hard feat considering how he is one of the most annoying characters ever. The children have dull-as-dishwater personalities, the grandparents are underused and BJ is just as annoying as Barney. It is pretty much the same with Baby Bop, who I admittedly found cute once upon a time, but other than one or two cute parts where she is trying to find "her yellow blankee" she is annoying and she is sickly sweet in alternative to naturally sweet.The acting is really not great, and the voice acting of Barney and BJ especially is really uninspired. The child actors are dull, like their characters and can't do anything with the script. Not even the underrated George Hearn, who was so brilliant in Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street, can save this film, with his character being so underused it is not hard to see why. In fact, for me the only redeeming quality is the magical scene in the hot-air balloons. Overall, a bad movie, it isn't the worst movie I have ever seen, and while kids will love it, adults won't most likely. It doesn't help that the show isn't the best inspiration to work from and that is an understatement in itself. 2/10 Bethany Cox