Cynical Cinema

In 2006, a kids’ movie called Barnyard came and went at the theatres, made a bit of money and then faded into obscurity. It was a decent kids movie, but certainly not memorable. In fact, thinking back on that movie, all I really remember is that the stars of the film were cows. And yet they were male. So…that was odd. That’s all I remember. Oh, and Sam Elliott was the voice of the old, wise cow. Who was a bull. Or something.

The show Back At The Barnyard, on Nickelodeon, is a spin-off of the moderately successful movie. On Tuesday, August 5th, the first DVD from the show comes out, courtesy of Paramount Home Entertainment. It’s called Back At The Barnyard: When No One’s Looking. And it’s eight short episodes that are actually much better than the movie! Sam Elliott doesn’t return for the TV series. In fact, the only voices that do are Wanda Sykes and Jeff Garcia. But it turns out that Barnyard works much better as a series of shorts than it did as a movie. Each of the eight 12-minute episodes on this disc is far more entertaining than the movie was. It turns out that Barnyard really only had a 12-minute shelf life.

The characters in the TV series get into short and entertaining adventures with the snotty, rotten boy who lives nearby, and the crazy old lady next door who is the only person who knows that the livestock are actually able to talk and walk around. There is a solid episode that involves a Space Chimp, just in time for the release of that movie. With the exception of one episode about an overly-loyal dog, the rest of this DVD is very good. Kids will love this, adults will be able to tolerate it.

And that makes this DVD worth picking up for all families. It’s funny, it’s charming, and it’s wonderful in small doses.