Barney's World – The 2024 animated series

March 3 2024

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“Barney's World” marks the return of the famous Barney franchise in a completely new guise. Scheduled to debut in 2024, this animated television series for preschoolers will air on Cartoonito, a preschool programming block on Cartoon Network, and will be available to stream on Max, Warner Bros. Discovery's streaming service. The result of a collaboration between Mattel Television and Corus Entertainment's Nelvana, “Barney's World” represents a significant relaunch of the franchise, introducing the character in an animated format for the first time.

The series is set in a lively playground, where the dinosaur Barney and his dinosaur friends, Billy and Baby Bop, experience extraordinary adventures together with their three best child friends. Through these imaginative stories, Barney guides young viewers in exploring the great emotions typical of preschool age, teaching the importance of love towards oneself and others, and promoting values such as a sense of community and mutual encouragement.

The genesis of “Barney’s World” dates back to Mattel’s 2021 Virtual Analyst Day presentation, where the project was announced as a “new series in development” by Mattel Television. The production, officially announced on February 13, 2023, is led by a team of executive producers made up of Fred Soulie and Christopher Keenan for Mattel Television and Colin Bohm, Doug Murphy and Pam Westman for Nelvana. The project aims to rediscover Barney's world through music-filled adventures centered on themes of love, community and encouragement.

Although the initial reception saw some criticism emerge, especially regarding Barney's new design, the series promises to offer children an educational and exciting experience. Among critics, well-known figures such as David Joyner, Jessica Zucha and Dianna De La Garza have expressed doubts about the changes made to the character. However, “Barney's World” aims to overcome these challenges, aiming to become a valuable resource for the emotional and social education of children.

With the upcoming debut of “Barney's World,” the Barney franchise prepares to embark on a new chapter, carrying its legacy of love, learning and adventure into the hearts of new generations.

Barney, the popular American children's franchise, is a media franchise aimed at children aged 2 to 7 years. Featuring the titular character Barney, a purple anthropomorphic Tyrannosaurus Rex who delivers educational messages through songs and small choreographies with a friendly, welcoming and optimistic attitude, the franchise consists of three series: Barney & the Backyard Gang (1988-1991), a straight on video consisting of only eight episodes; Barney & Friends (1992-2010), a television series broadcast on PBS Kids; and Barney's World (2024), a completely computer-animated series coming to Cartoon Network's Cartoonito and streaming on Max. The franchise is currently distributed by 9 Story Media Group, under license from Mattel Television. Although popular among his target audience, Barney has drawn very negative reactions from adults, who have joked about the titular character in popular culture through musical parodies and comedy sketches such as one in which he gets beaten up by NBA star Charles Barkley in an episode of Saturday Night Live. The anti-Barney phenomenon is the basis of the 2022 Peacock documentary titled I Love You, You Hate Me. Barney has also received a lot of praise from parents for being a wholesome and engaging franchise for children that deals with common and child-friendly topics .

Barney & the Backyard Gang is an American direct-to-video series produced by The Lyons Group and released in periodic episodes from August 29, 1988 to August 1, 1991. The series led to the launch of the children's television show, Barney & Friends, which went to aired on PBS Kids from April 6, 1992 to November 2, 2010. The series was a regional hit, but only a moderate success in the rest of the country. One day in 1991, Larry Rifkin, then head of Connecticut Public Television, rented a Barney video for his daughter Leora. He liked the concept and talked to Leach about the possibility of bringing Barney to television through the Public Broadcasting Service (PBS). Rock with Barney was the last video in the series before the debut of the television show.

Barney & Friends aired on PBS Kids from April 6, 1992 to November 2, 2010. Episodes from seasons 1 to 9 are thirty minutes long, while those from seasons 10 and 11 are divided into fifteen-minute segments. As in the Barney & the Backyard Gang videos Barney Goes to School and Barney in Concert, "I Love You" was sung at the end of all episodes of Barney & Friends, with the exception of the main segments of Seasons 10, 11, and 14 , which ended with the characters singing “A Friend Like You” instead and Barney remaining alive.

A two-part docu-miniseries titled I Love You, You Hate Me, which focuses on the anti-Barney phenomenon, was released on Peacock on October 12, 2022.

Curious to know what Barney's return holds? In 2024 we will see a completely CGI animated series, whose title will be Barney's World. Furthermore, the possibility of producing animated films and YouTube content featuring the Barney character was also announced. This decision is part of the trend of successfully reviving franchises like Monster High and Masters of the Universe for Mattel, along with overall development that also includes movies based on games like Hot Wheels, Magic 8 Ball, and Major Matt Mason.

In short, Barney could shine again in a new format, reinventing himself for the new generations of children. Stay connected to discover all the news on this beloved children's franchise.

Source: wikipedia.com