| Barnyard | |
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DVD cover |
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| Directed by | Steve Oedekerk |
| Produced by | Steve Oedekerk Paul Marshal Pam Marsden |
| Written by | Steve Oedekerk |
| Starring | Kevin James David Koechner Sam Elliott Courteney Cox Danny Glover Jeff Garcia |
| Music by | John Debney |
| Editing by | Paul D. Calder Billy Weber |
| Studio | Nickelodeon Movies O Entertainment Omation Animation Studio |
| Distributed by | Paramount Pictures |
| Release date(s) | August 4, 2006 |
| Running time | 90 minutes |
| Country | United States United Kingdom |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $52 million |
| Box office | $108,000,000 |
Barnyard (also known as Barnyard: The Original Party Animals) is a 2006 computer-animated family comedy film, produced by Nickelodeon Movies and Paramount Pictures, directed by Steve Oedekerk (who was also the principal screenwriter). and produced by Steve Oedekerk, Paul Marshal, and Pam Marsden. It was released on August 4, 2006.
The film stars the voices of Kevin James, David Koechner, Sam Elliott, Courteney Cox, Danny Glover, and Jeff Garcia. Most of the production was carried out in San Clemente, California.
The film is the second Nickelodeon movie to be spun off into a TV series, the first being Jimmy Neutron: Boy Genius.
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Otis (Kevin James) is a carefree cow who prefers to goof off than accept responsibility. His father Ben (Sam Elliott) is the leader of the barnyard when the farmer is away, giving the animals the safest moment to spring up on two legs. After Otis interrupts a barnyard meeting with his wild antics, Ben has a talk with his son, in which he tells him that he'll never be happy if he just goofs off, and that he should grow up. Otis ignores his advices and leaves to have fun with his friends Pip (Jeff Garcia), Pig (Tino Insana), Freddy (Cam Clarke), and Peck (Rob Paulsen). That same day, Otis meets a new yet pregnant cow named Daisy (Courteney Cox), accompanied by another female cow named Bessy (Wanda Sykes).
That night, the animals throw a massive party in the barn; all the animals are there except Ben, who watches over the fence, which marks their space. Otis is assigned his shift along with him, but he talks himself out of it, saying that he's needed for a certain role in the party barn. Ben talks with Otis and says that the day he found him alone in the meadow, the stars danced. Otis is given the privilege to party out, and the thankful son runs to the barn. Later on, Ben has to take on a pack of coyotes led by Dag (David Koechner), who is raiding the chicken coop. Ben manages to fight off the pack until he's bitten in the leg by Dag, making him fall. The coyotes pile on Ben, but he manages to grab Dag and escapes the pile. He threatens to punch Dag, but lets him go, scaring him and the coyotes off. The hens cheer, but Ben falls on the ground, exhausted. Etta (Andie MacDowell) runs into the barn and tells Otis, and he runs outside to his father. Ben opens his mouth as if to say something, but dies.
After Ben's death, all the animals elect Otis as the new leader of the barnyard, presumably because he's a born party animal. An old mule named Miles (Danny Glover), who was lifelong friends with Ben, kicks the farmer (Fred Tatasciore) because he saw the animals on two legs, knocking him out. He shirks his duties by leaving Freddy and Peck in charge of the coop, helping three trouble-making cows called the Jersey Cows Eddy (S. Scott Bullock), Igg (Maurice LaMarche), and Bud (John DiMaggio) in teaching a lesson to an obese brat called Snotty Boy (Steve Oedekerk) who enjoys cow tipping, and being chased by police and a helicopter on the TV show COPS in the Beadys' 1960 Chevrolet Impala. Later that night, when Otis is sitting with Daisy and holds Daisy's hand while looking up at the stars, he overhears the coyotes chasing a rabbit. Otis tries to attack Dag, but is outsmarted. Since Otis is weaker, Dag orders a deal that he and his pack will take animals here and there, and if he tries to stand up for all of them, they'll slaughter everyone. Otis decides to leave the barnyard, realizing that he has no chance.
The next morning, before leaving, Otis is informed that the coyotes took some hens and a chick named Maddie (Madeline Lovejoy), who is one of Otis' best friends. Otis realizes that he has been backstabbed by Dag as he wasn't expecting him and the coyotes until tonight, and sets off to rescue the poultry. Otis confronts the pack, but is easily defeated; however, Pip, Pig, Freddy, Peck, and Miles arrive to help Otis, along with the Jersey Cows and the gophers. Dag tries to attack Otis from behind, but Otis is alerted when Peck successfully manages to crow a warning. Otis catches Dag and tells the coyote to never return. Dag is then swung out of the junkyard by Otis' golf skills.
That night, Otis and the gang make it back to the barnyard, finding that Daisy went into labor. She gives birth to a calf whom she names Lil' Ben. Duke (Dom Irrera), the farmer's sheepdog, asks Otis if he wants to stay and be their leader. Otis agrees, and everyone cheers as he walks outside finding the stars dancing. The movie ends with Wild Mike dancing on top of Mrs. Beady's head when she gets ready for bed.
The soundtrack was released on August 9, 2006 from Paramount. It includes an original song by indie pop band the Starlight Mints and "You Gotta Move" by Aerosmith.
A video game by THQ and Blue Tongue Entertainment was created based on the film. It is an adventure game which you name your own male/female cow and walk around the Barnyard and Play Minigames, Pull Pranks on Humans, and Ride Bikes, plus Party Hard. The Game is for PlayStation 2, Nintendo GameCube, Wii, PC, and Game Boy Advance.
In September 2007, a television series based on the film was released called Back at the Barnyard. Chris Hardwick replaced Kevin James in the role of Otis, and Daisy is replaced by a cow named Abby on the television series, voiced by Leigh-Allyn Baker.
It grossed $16 million its opening weekend, and made $73 million in its domestic theatrical release. It has made $108 million in its worldwide theatrical release.
Barnyard has received mainly negative reviews. The film has a "Rotten" rating of 24% at Rotten Tomatoes and a 42 out of 100 on Metacritic, indicating "mixed or average reviews.
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