As the Barbie movie has destroyed every box office record conceivable, Mattel executives are no doubt hungry for their next cinematic hit. According to The New Yorker, the one they’re “most excited for” is a grown-up movie about Barney the purple dinosaur, produced by Daniel Kaluuya, and apparently made in the style of an A24 film. Everyone’s first thought? Something along the lines of ‘This will be batshit crazy’, but Mattel’s CEO Ynon Kreiz has stepped in to let us know that “it will not be an odd movie”. Boo!
The Barney movie was first announced in 2019, but it was only when 59% Productions (the production company co-owned by Daniel) came on board as co-producers, that people became intrigued. It didn’t sound like it was going to be a kid’s movie anymore, with Daniel stating that the film would be “heartbreaking”.
Robbie Brenner – the producer behind Barbie, who runs Mattel Films and oversees all of the toy company’s developing film projects – says that the film isn’t necessarily going to be a gritty reboot. “It’s just going to be unique — more of like a Being John Malkovich or an Adaptation,” she told Variety this week.
So what exactly do we know about Barney? What’s the plot? Who is involved in it? And when will we get a release date for it? Here’s everything we know.
What’s the plot of the Barney movie?
Daniel took on the project after mulling over the theme song for Barney and Friends, the beloved kids TV series that started in the early 90s and ran to 2009 (and was the first acting gig of both Selena Gomez and Demi Lovato). “Barney taught us, ‘I love you, you love me. Won’t you say you love me too?’ That’s one of the first songs I remember, and what happens when that isn’t true? I thought that was really heartbreaking,” he told Entertainment Weekly in 2020. “I have no idea why but it feels like that makes sense. It feels like there’s something unexpected that can be poignant but optimistic. Especially at this time now, I think that’s really, really needed.”
While the script – rumoured to be written by Lee Sung Jin, known for Netflix’s Beef and as a writer on It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia – is still in the works, it’s thought the general story outline for the Barney movie, and the direction it will take, are locked in. Though the film is not thought to be R-rated, it is definitely not a kid’s film. In an interview with The New Yorker, the Vice President of Mattel Films Kevin McKeon said that they were “leaning into the millennial angst of the property rather than fine-tuning [the Barney movie] for kids”, adding that it is “really a play for adults”.
Interestingly, he called the film “surrealistic”, in a similar vein to the movies of Spike Jonze and Charlie Kaufman. “It’ll focus on some of the trials and tribulations of being thirtysomething, growing up with Barney – just the level of disenchantment within the generation,” he said, and suggested it would be framed as something of a “daring” A24-esque project. In an interview with Semafor, Mattel’s CEO Ynon Kreiz added: “I can tell you we are taking a fresh approach that will be fun, entertaining and culturally oriented.”
So what are we thinking? A disillusioned, overworked, joyless city worker is all of a sudden burdened with the presence of a purple dinosaur from his childhood who follows him around every day, only to find that the annoyance is actually the answer to all his problems?
Who is in the cast and crew of the Barney movie?
While Daniel is producing the Barney film, it’s not confirmed whether or not he’ll appear in the project himself. In fact, no actors are formally attached yet. As mentioned earlier, Lee Sung Jin is rumoured to be writing the script.
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What is the Barney movie’s rating?
While Barney is not intended to be a kid’s film, Kevin McKeon confirmed that the film would not be “rated R”, meaning Barney will not be calling anyone the C-word in his big studio movie.
What is the Barney movie’s release date?
The film is still listed as “in production” so we imagine it’s a long way off. However, if the movie is Mattel’s post-Barbie priority, we expect it to materialise in 2025 or 2026.