As Aventuras de Barney

Barney the Dinosaur on television is tolerable. At least it has some educational value. This film, however, smokes the proverbial pole like few other children's films ever have. It is almost as if the producers wanted to see what an entire movie made of first takes would look like. The children are insipid, the adult actors were probably hired from casting calls at community theaters or special needs living facilities and the Dino-characters are more annoying than the squeakiest Pokemon you could imagine. This is a perfect example of an opportunity to make a good film out of an already successful television character squandered by lazy production and lack of funding. You would likely get more use from 5 dollars by eating it than spending it on this DVD.

Seeing 'Barney's Great Adventure' on the Bottom 100 is simply ridiculous. The majority of people who have rated this movie so low are people over 18. This movie is not intended for adults. I saw this movie when I was 6 years old, along with my 3 year old sister, and we were simply enchanted by it. The majority of other reviews here have been from people who did not see this movie as a kid, and can therefore not make any objective comments, due to not being a member of the target audience.

The bottom line is: if you are looking for an entertaining movie for a CHILD (that is, someone below the age of say, eight) then this is for you. If you are above that age, just don't be surprised that a movie aimed at very young children can be so 'terrible'.

What can I say about Barney the purple dinosaur ? Lots of things and none of them good . Apparently Barney is a role model for young children and shows them how live , should behave and how to do the right thing . According to Barney creator Kathy Parker a young child woke her family after a fire broke out since an episode of BARNEY AND FRIENDS warned children about the danger of fire . I'm just sort of guessing that human beings have an instinctive fear of fire so the credit of a child waking her family should be down to her basic instinct - Not something she saw on a television show

As you imagine this feature length film starts with a sugary sweet sequence of young children and a baby being driven to their grandparents house and the story continues in the same vein . " Oh little children . Aren't they sweet . Isn't life wonderful etc " is the expected response from the parents watching this but any person child or adult with critical faculties will be telling asking themselves " Are we being manipulated here ? Are we supposed to enjoy it because it's so innocent ? " to which the answer is a resounding YES . We're being emotionally blackmailed and if you don't like this patronising crap then you must be an evil person , you're not allowed to criticise the pathetic and badly choreographed song and dance numbers or the fact that that for a film with the word adventure in the title there's nothing resembling adventure

I have to be honest and say that I feel very , very sorry for children whose parents make them watch this . My own childhood adventure revolved around Saturday nights when I watched DOCTOR WHO and I think I can speak for everyone in the western world when I say sadistic monsters made out of condoms by the BBC are far more interesting than a man dressed up as a purple dinosaur

Barney was a big part of my childhood. Well, anti-Barney humor was a big part of my childhood. Yes, I was around when it first aired. I am so proud to say that it wasn't the first show I ever watched, as that would go to something like "Sesame Street" or "Mister Roger's Neighborhood". I don't know if this is even technically the first Barney movie. There may have been a few TV movies out there that came first. I don't care and don't want to watch them. I actually heard that even people who are Barney fans (yes, they exist) don't like this movie! A lot of things don't hold up as an adult and this is certainly one of them.

Is this worth all the hate it gets? Yeah, pretty much. I guess I don't hate it as much as most people and everyone will go nuts that I didn't give this a 1/10. You could use the argument that it's just something for kids, but that's not an excuse. The shows I just mentioned were for kids and they still hold up today. The late 90's really was a dark time for movies. It's a pity no one on Channel Awesome has reviewed this yet. I think this actually isn't quite made fun of as much as "Twilight" or "The Phantom Menace". To be fair to those, this really is worse than them.

The story just makes no sense. Baby Bop and BJ barely appear at all. Yeah, I'm not defending them. I'm just saying that the film could have had more variety if it had more than just Barney. They make a big deal about how the grandparents are going to see him. Everyone in the whole town saw him in public! Half of this movie is just spent looking for a lost egg. That's literally all that happens. Yeah, Barney does work in his trademark song at the end. There's much better stuff out there for your kids, but hey, this is still better than Carrot Top. *1/2

One of the beautiful things about childhood is that cynicism has not yet crept into our view of the world. Children have no frame of reference for new experiences, and so they appreciate those experiences as wonderful and react to them with delight.

The preceding paragraph explains why your children love Barney, and why you hate it. There is no need to belabor the point. The important question is, what makes this Barney movie different from a typical Barney television episode?

Difference number one: The replacement of children who can't act with children who can. Granted, they don't have much of a script to work with, but work with it they do, giving a modicum of life to characters that are essentially, like all characters in Barney stories, cardboard.

Difference number two: An injection of...get ready...production values! Have you watched Barney on television lately? Or ever? Did you notice the missed cues, poor timing, blown lines, and incessant hamming? Did you ever wonder if the director was familiar with the term "retake"? Fear not, because Barney's Great Adventure gives you an edited script, rudimentary choreography, and even one or two in-jokes for the benefit of Mom and Dad (something Sesame Street and Bear in the Big Blue House always seem to get right instinctively).

But the important question is, does it matter? And the answer is a resounding "no." My three-year-old sat enraptured throughout the movie, as your three-year-old will, hardly taking time to breathe or blink. When it was over, she wanted to watch it again. She cried when I said three times in two days was enough. Just like she has done with every other Barney video we have ever rented or owned.

Is Barney's Great Adventure a good movie? No. Is it passable? I guess so. Should you rent it for your child? Of course. Just pop it in the VCR and go cook a nice dinner for your family. I guarantee you won't be interrupted.