Barney's World is an upcoming computer animated Canadian-American preschool television series that's set to premiere on Max, a Warner Bros. Discovery streaming service, on October 14, 2024 followed by a linear premiere on Cartoonito on October 18, 2024.[1][2][3] Produced by Mattel Television and Corus Entertainment’s Nelvana, the series serves as a relaunch to the Barney franchise, which spawned its first television series Barney & Friends which was based on its predecessor Barney & The Backyard Gang. Unlike the previous two series, which were live-action, this will be the first Barney series to be animated. This series is set to be aimed at children from the ages of two to six.[4]
Synopsis[]
With all the heart and comfort of the original iconic dinosaur, Barney’s World is modernized with dynamic characters and music-filled storylines that highlight themes of love, community and encouragement. Set in a local playground, Barney is joined by dinos Billy, Baby Bop and their three human kid best friends Mel, Vivie, and David. Throughout silly and imaginative adventures together, Barney helps kids explore big preschool emotions and shows them how to love themselves and others.[5]
Cast[]
Dinosaurs[]
- Barney (Voiced by Jonathan Langdon) is a singing and dancing purple dinosaur who embodies love, Barney is a great listener who helps his friends work through challenges in a way that is caring to themselves and others.[6]
- Billy (Voiced by Jonathan Tan) Billy is an energetic dino who loves action and loud sounds. With a strong sense of self awareness, Billy encourages kids to express their feelings and care for themselves.[6]
- Baby Bop (Voiced by Bryn McAuley) is a charming and opinionated dinosaur who is an advocate for all feelings, no matter how big or small.[6]
Children[]
- Mel (Voiced by Diana Tsoy) Mel is active, competitive, and always up for a challenge. She is multiracial from Korean and Mexican heritage, speaks three languages, and loves to share her culture with her friends.[6]
- Vivie (Voiced by Ella Paciocco) Vivie is wildly creative and loves to paint and perform. She lives with her Nonna, and together they enjoy cooking, sharing Italian traditions, and caring for their friends and family.[6]
- David (Voiced by Jayd Deroche) David is an empathetic, self-aware, and caring kid, David loves giving big hugs and has an infectious laugh that he shares with his friends, older brother, and younger sister.[6]
Episodes[7][]
- The Floor Is Grape Jelly[7]: When David gets annoyed for being called home early to help with his baby sister, Barney creates a magical game to show David how good it feels to help others.
- I Lovey You[8]: Barney creates a night-time adventure in the park with magic, but David is afraid of the dark. In order to help David calm down and play with his friends, Barney turns into a giant glowing action figure.
- Mel's Greatest Treasure[3]: Mel is on a mission to find a special treasure and accidentally makes a huge mess in the park; Barney creates a magical adventure where Mel learns that it's important to clean and care for a place that is special to the community.
- One Ripe Tomato[2]: Vivie harvests a tomato in Nonna's garden. The three children have different ideas about what they could do with the tomato. They keep disagreeing with each other so Barney teaches the kids to share ideas and compromise.
- Barney's Big Race[1]: Barney helps the children build their own magical cars for a race. The race doesn't go as planned for everyone but the purple dinosaur tries to show his friends that racing is not just about winning.
- The Brave Truth[4]: Vivie accidentally broke Mel's beloved plane. At first she is afraid to tell her, but Barney helps her find the courage to tell Mel the truth.
- Red Light Stop Green Light Go[5]: Mel keeps trying to do a radical trick with the scooter and doesn't want to rest until she succeeds, but ends up trying too hard; Barney and Billy help Mel learn to listen to what her body is feeling and why it matters.
- Big Bigger Best[9]: David thinks he's too small to be his brother's size, so Barney turns him into a giant. After this experience, David learns to love himself just the way he is.
- Practice Makes Purple[10]: Vivie tells her friends that her grandmother used to be a real soccer star. But when Vivie tries to take the ball herself, she discovers she's not amazing at football the first time she tries it and believes she'll never be any good; Barney creates some workouts to help Vivie learn how practice can help her improve.
- Team Mateys[11]: When Mel's pretzel is eaten by a pigeon and Barney sets out on an adventure on the high seas to find another, but everything goes wrong when Captain Mel doesn't listen to her crew; Mel realizes that it is important to listen to others when in a team.
Production[]
Development[]
A revival of the Barney franchise has been in development since around 2015, being announced along with plans to revive Angelina Ballerina. However, after these announcements, no additional info on the series was given, and many assumed the plans had grown out.
During Mattel's 2021 Virtual Analyst Day Presentation, Barney was included to be a "new series in development" by Mattel Television.[8] On February 13, 2023, Mattel announced that it would relaunch the Barney franchise with an animated series set to debut in 2024. Announced to be co-produced by Mattel Television and Corus Entertainment’s Nelvana the series is announced to be executive produced by Fred Soulie and Christopher Keenan for Mattel Television and by Colin Bohm, Doug Murphy and Pam Westman for Nelvana. The relaunch is set to introduce audiences to the world of Barney through music-filled adventures centered on love, community, and encouragement. The title of the series, now called Barney's World, was officially revealed on May 9, 2023.
Release[]
Upon the initial announcement, Mattel confirmed that the relaunch will be available for streaming, and broadcast partners were to be announced later in 2023. On May 9, 2023, it was officially revealed that the series would air on Cartoonito and stream on Max. Executive Producer Pam Westman confirmed that the series would air on the Treehouse TV network in Canada, with it later being announced by Corus Entertainment, parent of Nelvana, on June 5, 2024 that the series was set to debut on the network. During Mattel's 2024 Virtual Analyst Day Presentation, Chief Brand Officer Lisa McKnight mentioned that the series is set to debut in late-Fall 2024.
In August 2024, footage of the series was leaked online before an exact release date was announced and before footage was officially unveiled.[11] Victoria Ramirez, a director of global marketing and music distribution for Mattel Television, publicly confirmed on August 28, 2024 (via Instagram) that the series is set to launch in October 2024 (before retracting her public comment and reducing its privacy). On September 4, 2024[9] it was officially announced that the series is set to premiere on October 19, 2024 on Max followed by a linear premiere on Cartoon Network starting October 18, 2024. “Select” episodes of Barney’s World will also be available on YouTube, where the series premiere will stream early on October 11, 2024 in specific countries. Footage of the series was officially unveiled on October 14, 2024 via a trailer and character introductions of Barney, Baby Bop and Billy.
Reception[]
Upon the initial announcement of the animated series, the initial first look at the redesigned Barney drew criticism. Notable criticisms came from David Joyner, the original body of Barney on Barney & Friends, Jessica Zucha, who portrayed Tina on Barney & The Backyard Gang and Barney & Friends,[10] and Dianna De La Garza, the mother of Demi Lovato, who portrayed Angela on Barney & Friends, with the latter two disapproving the change.
Other Media[]
Merchandise[]
With the initial announcement of the relaunch, it's also set to bring forth a full range of kids’ products including toys, books, clothing, and more in 2025. Merchandise for the series was first shown off at Licensing Expo 2023 at the Mandalay Bay Convention Center in Las Vegas, Nevada from June 13-15, 2023. the costume character then later appeared at the Brand Licensing Europe 2023 at ExCeL London in London, England from October 4-6.
Trivia[]
Interest[]
- Bob West, the original voice of Barney, expressed interest in wanting to return as the voice Barney for the relaunch. [12]However, West later confirmed on his April 16th 2023 livestream, that he will not be returning as the voice of Barney for the relaunch, but has expressed interest in doing something for the show.[13]
- David Bernard Wolf one of the former musical director of the franchise, expressed interest in wanting to compose the music for the relaunch.
Involvement[]
- Directly following the initial announcement of the series, various individuals confirmed themselves publicly to be involved with the relaunch, including Adam Mezgec (music supervisor) and Laura Nikolic (Supervising Music Producer).
- Jonathan Hernandez writer and script coordinator for various Mattel TV shows, has listed “Barney’s World” on his resume on LinkedIn. It is currently unclear whether he is the head writer for the show, or if he shares the position.
- Kim Hurdon was hired as casting director for the series and has worked on shows like "Max & Ruby" and "Blue’s Clues & You!". On a interview on June 16, 2023, she announced that the Barney song (most people are assuming the well known "I Love You" song from the original series) has been completely revamped and that Barney’s new character was described as cute and fun. She also went on to say in a harsh tone that the original Barney was scary and that the music was off.
- On January 31st for TV Kids Festival 2024 Michelle Mendelovitz (the Head of Mattel Television), did an interview about the Mattel TV proprieties and for Barney’s World said: .[14]
- On March 7 During Mattel's 2024 Virtual Analyst Day Presentation, Lisa McKnight mentions that Barney will be relaunched with Barney's World followed by a toy line in 2025. Josh Silverman also discussed what's to come with Mattel's relaunch of Barney further explaining that the relaunch will span into television, film, music, YouTube content, toys, books and consumer products, as well as explaining that accessories and apparel featuring classic Barney will be available for adult fans. Images of the relaunch were also showcased during the presentation.[15]
- Joseph Phillips (who was one of Barney's original music directors from 1995 until 2010) helped arrange the new Barney i love you song revamp now titled "I Love You (I Love Me Too)".[16]
Gallery[]
Videos[]
Trailers[]
Character Introductions[]
Music Videos[]
Shorts[]
Cast[]
References[]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 https://press.wbd.com/us/media-release/barneys-world-premiere-monday-october-14-max?language_content_entity=en
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 https://www.animationmagazine.net/2024/09/barneys-world-brings-back-the-famous-purple-dino-oct-14-on-treehouse-stacktv/
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 https://press.wbd.com/us/media-release/whats-new-max-october-0?language_content_entity=en
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 https://issuu.com/worldscreen/docs/tv_kids_guide_2023-2024/44
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 https://wbd.com/mattels-beloved-purple-dinosaur-barney-finds-new-home-at-cartoonito-on-cartoon-network-and-max/
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 6.3 6.4 6.5 https://variety.com/2024/tv/news/barney-series-max-barneys-world-1236128727/
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 https://www.tvpassport.com/series/barneys-world/5960902
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 https://youtu.be/5oTWHnVsYys
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 https://variety.com/2024/tv/news/barney-series-max-barneys-world-1236128727/
- ↑ 10.0 10.1 https://www.facebook.com/jessica.zucha/posts/6214752175212117
- ↑ 11.0 11.1 https://bgr.com/entertainment/netflix-is-aggressively-taking-action-after-shows-and-movies-leak/
- ↑ https://youtu.be/tKZy6vZpJJs
- ↑ https://www.youtube.com/live/WoEl4YrpOZY?feature=share
- ↑ https://youtu.be/5rIG26IcI0Y?si=WffvxTVacEj1Yhee
- ↑ https://youtu.be/m-eHdM0mjzU?si=p4hAqsomIvMTzVWY
- ↑ https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20240916036607/en/
https://corporate.mattel.com/news/mattel-announces-barney-franchise-relaunch
https://www.cnn.com/2023/02/13/investing/barney-purple-dinosaur-return-mattel/index.html
https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:activity:7061761587161804800/
https://www.huffpost.com/entry/barney-dinosaur-new-look-plastic-surgery_n_63eda30de4b0255caaf01cc7
https://popculture.com/tv-shows/news/barneys-new-look-slammed-by-fans-ahead-of-franchise-reboot/#5
https://movieweb.com/barney-bob-west-on-redesign/
https://licensing.biz/mattel-debuts-barney-character-costume-at-licensing-expo/
https://toybook.com/toy-book-digital-archive/6-23/
https://people.com/barney-reboot-barney-world-gets-premiere-date-8706005
https://taptapsound.com/about/about-chris/
https://press.wbd.com/us/media-release/barneys-world-premiere-monday-october-14-max
https://twitter.com/RegularTweetsUK/status/1831322422685143371
https://open.spotify.com/artist/4rB5wLJLaXdMrXaYsOYLmK
https://issuu.com/worldscreen/docs/tv_kids_mifa_annecy_-_june_2024_edi_39b5c692c99e1b
https://www.instagram.com/reel/DAqvxxhPyQM/?hl=en
https://www.parents.com/barneys-world-8720949