The upcoming Barney movie, based on the popular 90s-era show for preschool-aged children featuring an anthropomorphic purple and green dinosaur, won't be aimed at children, according to Mattel.
Instead, the movie will be marked toward adults and will be an "A24-type" of "surrealistic" movie, Mattel Films executive Kevin McKeon told The New Yorker, on the heels of the studio's "Barbie" blockbuster success.
"We’re leaning into the Millennial angst of the property rather than fine-tuning this for kids. It’s really a play for adults," he said. "Not that it’s R-rated, but it’ll focus on some of the trials and tribulations of being 30-something, growing up with Barney — just the level of disenchantment within the generation."
"Barney & Friends', which first premiered on PBS in April 1992, featured the Tyrannosaurus rex as an optimistic and friendly companion who provided educational messages through song and dance routines.
Daniel Kaluuya, an Oscar-nominated British actor and writer who is best known for the films Get Out (2017), Black Panther (2018) and Judas & The Black Messiah (2021), works with the production company called 59%, which is partnering with Mattel on the project.
In November 2019, when the Barney movie was announced, Robbie Brenner, an Oscar-nominated producer who runs Mattel Films, said the partnership with Kuluuya and would "take a completely new approach to ‘Barney’ that will surprise audiences and subvert expectations."
"Barney was a ubiquitous figure in many of our childhoods, then he disappeared into the shadows, left misunderstood," Kaluuya said when the movie was announced. "We're excited to explore this compelling modern-day hero and see if his message of 'I love you, you love me' can stand the test of time."
In an interview with Variety, Brenner said the Barney movie would "be more adult and have adult themes — and sort of be a little bit off-kilter," exploring themes like "identity and finding who you love and who feels alienated" and "what does it all mean?"
Mattel Films is also developing projects based on franchises such as "Polly Pocket," "Thomas and Friends," "American Girl" and "Hot Wheels," but as 2023 nears its end, reports indicate Hollywood is unlikely to release a full-feature G-rated movie this year.
Critics see the scarcity of G-rated movies as a growing industry trend that is indicative of "an increasing disregard and disinterest in nurturing the hearts and minds of children," according to Paul J. Batura, the vice president of communications at Focus on the Family.
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The current Motion Picture Association film rating system (MPA), which dates back to 1968, states G-rated films can’t include anything "that would offend parents for viewing by children" to fall under the category.
"One of the tragedies of our time is that when it comes to shielding children from indecency, crassness, and crudeness, far too many people don’t even care if kids are exposed to what they clearly know qualifies as obscene," Batura wrote. "Instead, there’s a growing indifference or even a disdain for censoring oneself for the sake of someone else."
In addition to the lack of G-rated movies, some parents believe even PG movies aren't safe for kids because the rating system is "random" and too closely tied to budgets, but Batura argued it is possible to achieve both goals.
"Despite what too many industry executives seem to think and believe today, box office history demonstrates it’s possible to produce films that feed and develop healthy young minds – and also generate hearty corporate bottom lines," he argued.
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Kids in Mind, which provides parents and other adults with objective information about a film’s content so that they can decide, based on their values, whether they want to watch a movie with their kids, argues that a PG-13 rating is more easily marketed.
"Hence, in order to accommodate the marketing demands of studios and theaters, the MPAA has been slowly but surely changing its criteria so that a PG-13 movie today contains far more violence, sexual content and profanity than a few years ago (for example, it used to be that one F-word would garner a film an R rating; now it takes 3 or more F-words)," the group warns on its website.
In contrast to this narrative, the MPA released a press release in April that found American parents believe the ratings system is fair with 84% who believe the ratings are accurate and 86% who believe the rating descriptors accurate, while 91% find both the ratings and rating descriptors helpful.
In February, Mattel announced it was relaunching the entire Barney franchise, which "will span television, film, and YouTube content as well as music and a full range of kids’ products including toys, books, clothing, and more." Barney will be launched as a brand-new animated series in 2024.
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