"The dreams you see most clearly are most likely to come true."
— Barney
Barney's Great Adventure is a 1998 film based on the Barney franchise.
Cody Newton (Trevor Morgan), his sister Abby (Diana Rice), and her best friend Marcella (Kyla Pratt) are dropped off at their grandparents farm. With a little imagination, Barney (Bob West - voice and David Joyner - body) comes to life and their summer vacation will never be the same. One evening, a magical egg falls from outer space and is revealed to house a Dream Maker, a being capable of showing children their dreams. Suddenly, the egg goes missing and the chase is on! Barney and his friends search everywhere from a parade and a fancy restaurant to a circus. Can they return the egg back to the farm in time?
This movie provides examples of:
- Accidental Hero: Baby Bop becomes this towards the end of the film when she catches the egg with her blankey after Cody accidentally throws it.
- Arc Words: "Imagination," "dream(s)," and "kid's stuff."
- All There in the Script: In the April 1995 draft of the screenplay
, the story was said to take place over the summer holidays and Marcella was revealed to be the cousin of Tosha, one of the original kids from the show. It also explains why Cody and Abby's parents dropped the kids off at Grandpa's farm: They were going to a teacher's convention. - Annoying Younger Sibling: Played straight and inverted. Abby is this to Cody, but Cody manages to annoy her almost as much.
- Armor-Piercing Question: Topping off her "The Reason You Suck" Speech to her brother, Abby asks him "What's wrong with just being a kid?"
- Audience Participation: Barney asks the audience to use their imaginations to turn their log into a real airplane in the film's climax.
- Baby Bop asks the audience if they've seen her yellow blankey.
- Big Damn Movie: Barney and the others have to rescue a missing rainbow egg, raising the stakes considerably compared to the series.
- Bizarrchitecture: Mrs. Goldfinch's treehouse embodies this, mixed with some Scenery Porn for good measure.
- Book Ends: At the ending, Barney is restored to his inanimate stuffed doll self just like at the beginning.
- Chez Restaurant: Chez Snobbe.
- The Complainer Is Always Wrong: Cody embodies this trope to the point where even Barney (known for being an All-Loving Hero) messes with him.
- Credits Gag: At the end of the credits, there's a line that reads "No dinosaur was harmed during the making of this film".
- Demoted to Extra: BJ and Baby Bop play minor roles in the film, compared to the TV series.
- Egg Macguffin: The film's plot revolves around an egg from outer space, which Barney and his friends have to chase after.
- Imaginary Friend: As in the series, Barney is a stuffed dinosaur brought to life through kids imaginations. Cody initially dismisses this, until he is dumbstruck by a full-sized Barney standing before him.Barney: I'm as real as your imagination, and that's something that is very real.
- Improbably Cool Car: The interior of Mr. Millet's truck contains compartments for a fridge, a freezer, a grill, an oven, and a deep fryer, so that he can eat burgers and fries and milkshakes easily while on the road.
- MacGuffin: The rainbow egg.
- Music for Courage: "We're Gonna Find a Way," where Barney lift the kids' spirits and encourages them to not give up finding the egg.
- No Animals Were Harmed: The credits mention that "No dinosaur was harmed during the making of this film."
- No Antagonist: As usual in the franchise, this film doesn't have any main villain in it. The main conflict is about Barney and the kids trying to recover the egg. At the same time on the other end however, Cody was kind of a Jerkass to his family and especially Barney until he did a Heel–Face Turn towards the end.
- Not So Above It All: Barney, of all people. Usually an All-Loving Hero and a Perpetual Smiler, Barney can't help but mess with Cody during the "Imagine" musical number, and when Marcella suggests that the egg came from a giant chicken, the others including Barney turn to her as if to give out a Flat "What".
- Off-the-Shelf FX: The Barney dolls used in the film are ones that were sold in stores, as opposed to the custom-made dolls featured on the TV series.
- Public Domain Soundtrack: Most of the non-original songs for the film are public domain children's tunes ("Old MacDonald," "If You're Happy and You Know It," etc.), albeit ones popularized on the TV show.
- "The Reason You Suck" Speech: Abby gives one of these to Cody, after he scoffs at Barney's suggestion to keep trying to find the egg:Abby: You don't even want to find it! You never did! It was "crazy kid's stuff!"
What's wrong with just being a kid, Cody? What's wrong with that? - Road Apples: Cody steps in a cowpie during "Old MacDonald."
- Running Gag: Throughout the movie, Baby Bop is searching for her yellow blankey (and narrowly missing it several times). She initially asks the audience, then stops a parade to ask the crowd about it. When she finally finds it, she manages to save the day.
- Shout-Out: One of the lyrics in "Who's Inside It" references a certain Universal film:Maybe it's a cousin of E.T.'s?
- Suddenly Bilingual: At Chez Snobbe, one of the waiters compliments Barney in French. He replies in fluent French, telling him "the pleasure is ours," much to the kids' confusion. (The conversation is subtitled in English)
- Theme Tuneless Episode: Unlike the television series, this song does not utilize the usual "Barney Theme Song". Instead, it opens with an original tune titled "Barney - The Song," sung by Bernadette Peters.
- Wrap-Up Song: Like in the television series, "I Love You" is sung at the end of the movie.
