I Wanna Be Sedated

Barney's Great Adventure drops us in a lobotomized, manic kid hell

By Skylaire Alfvegren

Houston Press: Published: April 2, 1998

What's six feet tall, giggles incessantly and is known as both "the Elvis of the preschool set" and "The Purple Antichrist?"

Whether you're grateful for the free baby-sitting he provides or dying to slice him into tiny purple ribbons, you can't deny the overwhelming power Barney the Dinosaur has wielded over the tots of our nation since his PBS series Barney and Friends debuted in 1992. According to the New York Times, over $200 million in Barney paraphernalia was sold in 1993, the high point of the Purple One's popularity.

A multifaceted icon, Barney is also a recording star: He's sold 45 million home videos, performed live in shopping centers across the nation and sold over 15 million books. (Mickey and company must be very jealous.)

Unfortunately for Polygram, the distributor of the new Barney's Great Adventure, Barney-mania has died down somewhat in the last few years. It seems strange to release a film based on a character who hit his peak half a decade ago, but so it is.

Parents, obviously, will be wondering how the film stacks up to the Barney and Friends television program. Thankfully, screenwriter (and Barney television writer) Stephen White found a temporary antidote for the lobotomy he must've been given when he started working on the TV show. At least, that's the only plausible explanation for the fact that the film -- unlike the rambling, almost dada TV show -- has a plot. We should add that it took Barney creator Sheryl Leach and producer Dennis DeShazer to help White with the story -- the film's press notes credit all three. (In addition to his Barney-related scriptwriting credits, White is responsible for numerous Barney books as well as the Purple One's radio series. One needn't speculate to which level of hell this man will be sent upon his death.)

The story revolves around Cody (Trevor Morgan), his sister Abby (Diana Rice) and her chum Marcella (Kyla Pratt), who are being shuttled up to their grandparents' farm for a week of country air. While the two girls must be around ten years of age, they are completely enraptured by the gospel of Barney, tormenting the sarcastic and skeptical Cody until he steals the girls' beloved plush friend. As with Barney and Friends, it is the children's imagination that brings the big lug to life. Cody tells Barney he wants an adventure no one has ever had, while continuing to sport a very naughty attitude about the dinosaur. His wish comes true when a giant egg from the heavens lands in the barn. Yes, an egg.

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