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Barney's great adventure

Threat advisory: Elevated - Significant risk of entertaining activities

Movie propaganda

An adventure as big as your imagination.

Nine-year-old Cody, his baby brother Fig, little sister Abby and her best friend Marcella are staying on Grandma and Grandpa's farm. Cody is not happy - a whole week without cable. of course, Abby and Marcella insist on tormenting him with their toy, a plush, purple dinosaur, Barney. Although their creature is a stuffed animal, the girls are convinced he actually exists, at least in the great expanse of their imaginations.

Wallowing in his hipper-than-thou misery, Cody refuses to acknowledge the quaint charms of his temporary home. The indefatigable Abby and Marcella try to entice Cody to join their fun, using Barney as bait. He sees it as an opportunity to hide the vexing dinosaur from the girls. This forces them to use their imaginations to conjure up the concealed Barney. To Cody's horror and wonder, they succeed, except that now, Barney transforms from a small toy to a 1.8 metre, walking, talking, singing dinosaur.

Intelligence analyst

Special Agent Matti

Theatrical report

A funny, happy, entertaining, sing-along film that kids and their babysitters will enjoy. I certainly did.

Sure, it's a little bit over the top and occasionally cheesy but it's aimed at young kiddies, for whom the marvel and mystery of the world is wonderfully new. There are lots of songs, games, jokes and lessons for all, and even a few special effects to add spice to the mix. While the direction is occasionally too hammy for my taste, we have to remember that this is entertainment, not art.

And on that note, I will recommend Barney's great adventure to any parent this school holidays, and remember, you can also get a copy when it comes out on video!

Security censorship classification

Not for public release in Australia before date

Undated September 1998 (school holidays)