SYNOPSIS:
Move over, all pretenders...here are the original party animals-
the animated gang of Barnyard! This laugh-filled adventure
stars Otis, a carefree cow who spends his days singing, dancing
and playing tricks on humans...much to the dismay of his father,
Ben. Wild, wacky and "udderly" hilarious, here's
a herd of animated pranksters that'll keep you laughing out
loud!
MOVIE
REVIEW
If there
is one thing I learnt after watching this animated flick,
it is this: There is actually a difference between being a
vegan and a vegetarian! Pardon my ignorance, but this is definitely
the most educational fact (I won’t spoil the fun by
providing the answer for other ignorant readers like me) that
enlightened me.
The rest
of the movie, sadly, is quite standard fare.
There
are the uninspiring pop reference jokes; there are the obligatory
inspirational messages of being a responsible adult; there
are the caricatured sidekicks that annoy more than they amuse.
Even the
story is a derivative one. It tells of a party animal (literally!)
who plays too much and works too little. Despite being lectured
by his father, this cow doesn’t learn his lesson until
an unfortunate tragedy struck one day. He has to then gather
himself and save the barnyard animals from a group of evil
coyotes.
While
some animation studios can turn an unoriginal story into an
interesting movie, Nickelodeon Pictures obviously failed.
And having cows with disturbingly distracting udders don’t
help.
To be
fair, the 89-minute movie does have occasional funny bits
(The Motorola moment is truly hilarious – it could work
as one of those in-theatre ads asking rude audiences to switch
off their mobile phones). But these rare moments are far too
little for today’s impatient viewers.
Kevin
James, Courtney Cox, Sam Elliot and Danny Glover are some
of the voices behind the animals, and they do a decent job
of bringing these animated creatures to life.
At the
end of the day, it may be the little ones who will walk home
with the messages the movie set out to convey. But if these
little ones have watched the dozens of better-produced motivating
animated features out there, why would this one go down well
with them?
Being
able to tell the difference between a vegan and a vegetarian
won’t be enough.
SPECIAL FEATURES :
This Code 3 DVD is loaded with extras, which outshine
the otherwise mediocre movie. That’s a good thing, because
kids will have fun exploring these features, forgetting how
unfunny the movie is. In times like this, we give credit where
it’s due.
Commentary by Steve Oedekerk, Paul Marshal, and the
Barnyard Crew – The feature length commentary
by the filmmakers is a very engaging listen, and we are impressed
how their energy level was high throughout the entire 89 minutes.
Sure, these folks are singing praises about themselves, but
they sure sound like they take pride in whatever they do.
Love the infectious laughter.
”Barnyard Bop” All New Music Video
– The two-minute clip is a very creative song performed
by a female bird (an attractive one at that!) with some innovative
percussive beats of the animals’ hooves.
“Mud”
Music Video – The three-minute song performed
by pop band North Mississippi Allstars is accompanied by some
of the best scenes in the movie. A teeny-boppy song that will
go down well with kids.
Boogying
in the Barn – The five-minute feature talks
about the several kinds of music used in the movie, highlighting
the guys from North Mississippi Allstars and why they adopted
the style of music-writing.
Utter
Talent “Voices of the Barnyard” –
The 10-minute feature showcases the voices behind the animals.
It cracked us up listening to how Andie Macdowell enjoyed
playing a mother hen. The usual praising of the movie happens
here.
An
Animator’s Life – A 12-minute clip brings
us through the process of how the animated movie was put together,
starting from the script to the rough 2D storyboarding to
the final product. Quite an eye-opener, if you are a kid,
that is.
Method
Acting with Kevin James – The actor self amuses
as he talks to a cow (at the same time amusing us too!) in
this short two-minute clip.
Deleted
Scenes – This section features seven deleted
scenes which are rightfully cut from the final movie - They
aren’t that funny anyway.
Theatrical
Trailer – The two-minute trailer is a creative
work showcasing how imaginative promo producers can be.
Nick
On-Air Campaign – Another section showcasing
creativity and originality with seven short television ads.
If only the movie was as funny as this.
AUDIO/VISUAL:
The visual transfer is impressive and showcases the fine details
in this CGI movie. There are language options of Thai and
Korean if you are interested in hearing the animals talk in
a language other than English.
MOVIE RATING:
DVD
RATING :
Review
by John Li
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