Parents' Guide to

Barney: Halloween Party

By Grace Montgomery, Common Sense Media Reviewer

age 2+

Kids' favorite purple dinosaur teaches about fall fun.

Movie NR 2009 50 minutes
Barney: Halloween Party Poster Image

A Lot or a Little?

What you will—and won't—find in this movie.

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age 2+

Based on 1 parent review

28snodine
28snodine Adult
January 2, 2022
age 2+

Great Halloween fun!

I loved this movie as a kid! Now I nanny and this past Halloween I needed something fun but also educational to show to a 4 year old. This ticked off both boxes! He loved it! It's also has amazing race representation. I find that a lot of children's media nowadays is full of cartoon animals, so kids aren't seeing other children who look different from them. We are in a mostly white era but I want to make sure the kiddos I watch are seeing and understanding other races and cultures but at the baseline just understanding that there ARE other races. Barney definitely does the trick. This film was super engaging, light hearted, educational and goofy! Perfect for young kiddos.

This title has:

Great messages
Great role models
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What's the Story?

In BARNEY'S HALLOWEEN PARTY, Miss Kepler needs help decorating for the big Halloween party. Barney takes the kids to a farm to gather some seasonal goodies, where they learn about autumn, the different fruits and vegetables that grow during the fall season, and sing about the joys of eating apples. They then go back to the school and show Barney all the Halloween crafts they've made to decorate the school gym. Meanwhile, B.J. gets ready to take Baby Bop on her first trick-or-treating adventure, and they learn some important Halloween rules to keep them safe.

Is It Any Good?

Our review:
Parents say (1):
Kids say (2):

Parents will no doubt be cringing by the first song, but the preschooler and younger set will be charmed as usual by the big purple dinosaur. Barney: Halloween Party is packed full of songs (with some classic favorites such as "The Itsy Bitsy Spider," along with originals), some silly dance numbers, and a lot of costume fun.

Very young kids may be a bit bored with how many crafts are demonstrated and will probably lose interest watching the kids glue colored paper onto paper bags to make owl hand puppets. But craft-minded parents might be inspired to help kids make the crafts after the movie. Parents probably also will like that the emphasis is on the festive fun of the season, not on grabbing up the most treats (though candy isn't ignored entirely).

Talk to Your Kids About ...

  • Families can talk about the fall. What's your favorite part of the season?

  • Do you go trick-or-treating? Do you think it's important to follow the Halloween safety rules shared in Barney: Halloween Party?

  • Do you like dressing up for Halloween? What's your favorite costume?

Movie Details

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