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Parents' Guide to

Barney's Great Adventure: The Movie

By Brian Costello, Common Sense Media Reviewer

age 3+

Barney and friends explore their imaginations through song.

Movie G 1998 77 minutes
Barney's Great Adventure: The Movie Poster Image

A Lot or a Little?

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

Community Reviews

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age 5+

Based on 4 parent reviews

28snodine
28snodine Adult
January 2, 2022
age 3+

Childhood favorite!

I watched this daily as a little kid. It was my absolute favorite film. I was a Barney fanatic as a child so anything to do with him was perfect in my book. I'm a nanny so I wanted to go back through some of my childhood favorite shows and films to make sure they truly are as good as I remember them being before I show them to kids. This is one of the best ones I ended up watching. I enjoyed it a lot and that's as an adult. It has a great message for kids young and old. Every child I've let watch it has absolutely adored it. I even once had a 13 year old boy watch it with his younger siblings and he grew to enjoy it as well. Wonderful film!

This title has:

Great messages
Great role models
Crystal S.
Crystal S. Parent of 1 and 3-year-old
February 23, 2018
age 2+

Bright colors and catchy songs

My 1 and 3 year olds love this movie. The pretty colors and songs keep my younger ones eye, and the oldest loves the story line.

This title has:

Great messages
Great role models
See all 4 parent reviews

What's the Story?

Cody (Trevor Morgan), Marcella (Kyla Pratt), and Abby (Diana Rice) visit their grandparents (George Hearn and Shirley Douglas) on a farm. Marcella and Abby imagine their Barney doll into life, and even though Cody is a skeptical older brother, together, they discover a magical egg, and they embark on a quest to find out what is inside this egg, and this journey takes them to a bird sanctuary, a circus, and a parade.

Is It Any Good?

Our review:
Parents say (4 ):
Kids say (9 ):

BARNEY'S GREAT ADVENTURE should prove enjoyable to kids familiar with the television show. And while not as adult-friendly as offerings from the Muppets or Sesame Street, the movie will serve as an alternative for parents wearied of watching the show over and over. Songs are abundant (including, yes, "I Love You, You Love Me"), the scenery is colorful and lush, the acting is competent, and the scenes of the kids' imaginations coming to life and the adventure they undertake with Barney should keep younger kids fully engaged. Grandparents are treated with respect, and the discussions of how adults use their imaginations should provide worthwhile conversations.

It's not a masterpiece by any stretch, thanks in part to some loose ends, and there are some scenes parents may find questionable (Cody stepping in animal dung, for instance), but all-in-all, Barney's Great Adventure is an enjoyable experience for younger kids, and relatively less excruciating for parents who have seen the TV show one too many times.

Talk to Your Kids About ...

  • Families can talk about how everything that anyone has ever made was first imagined by someone. What's a time you imagined something and made it come true?

  • How is life on a farm different from other places?

  • The kids learned about the mysterious egg by reading about it in a book. What are some things you could learn about in books?

Movie Details

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Research shows a connection between kids' healthy self-esteem and positive portrayals in media. That's why we've added a new "Diverse Representations" section to our reviews that will be rolling out on an ongoing basis. You can help us help kids by suggesting a diversity update.

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