Barney's Great Adventure: The Movie (1998)

26% of critics liked it
(23 reviews)
27% of users liked it
(210 ratings)

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… More 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, Rovi

Rating, Runtime: G, 1 hr. 18 min.
Directed By: Steve Gomer
Genres: Kids & Family

On DVD: Mar 28, 2006

Critic Reviews

Lisa Alspector, Chicago Reader
With very little modification, this archly innocuous children's musical could have been marketed as a sequel to Invasion of the Body Snatchers.
Todd McCarthy, Variety
Although technically superior to the low-rent Barney videos, pic, which was shot in the country near Montreal, still has a bargain-budget look.
Liam Lacey, Globe and Mail
To those of us on the greying side of five years old, Barney looks like an eggplant and has a rigor-mortis smile, no shoulders, a huge rear end and the sort of nervous giggle that makes you think he has something to hide.
David Kronke, Los Angeles Times
Barney looks both more real and more magical on video; on film, he's clearly a doofus in a felt outfit.
Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times
If you like him on TV, you'll like him here, too.
Louis B. Parks, Houston Chronicle
Pre-schoolers, however, will find enough to keep them occupied, and won't mind the cheesy effects.
Brian Costello, Common Sense Media
Barney and friends explore their imaginations through song.
Ken Fox, TV Guide's Movie Guide
What is it about that big purple dinosaur?
Wally Hammond, Time Out
This spin-off from the TV series featuring the large purple felt dinosaur of awesome good nature is emetically wholesome.
Dan Jardine, Apollo Guide
That he has become a lightning rod for adult anger is, however, something of a curiosity. Until you spend some time in his world, that is.
Urban Cinefile Critics, Urban Cinefile
Really, even three-year-olds deserve better than this.
Marjorie Baumgarten, Austin Chronicle
It's all rather clumsy and routine.
Steve Rhodes, Internet Reviews
Those hoping for more than just a long, outdoor version of Barney's TV show, they will likely be disappointed.