My Review of Barnyard · 5:38pm Jul 5th, 2022
Rating Scale:
12/10—a complete masterpiece; flawless and outstanding
11/10—Excellent, near-perfect film
10/10—the standard rating; awesome film with a couple of flaws
9/10—a wonderful film with several flaws
8/10–a great film with numerous flaws but not enough to ruin it
7/10—a fun and entertaining movie; not great but still enjoyable
6/10—a slightly above average film; it is something I might watch again
5/10—mediocre movie; not awful but not great either
4/10—a below average film; it could have been much better
3/10—a bad film; poorly written and poorly executed
2/10—a very bad movie; the few good things in the movie overshadowed by the bad things
1/10—a terrible movie; a total waste of time
0/10—a worthless piece of abomination; should have never been made
Greetings, everyone! This is Mr. J back with another movie review for today! This afternoon, I will be reviewing Nickelodeon's Barnyard from 2006! To be frank with you guys, this is one of my favorite Nicktoon movies of all time and one of the many animated kids movies I grew up watching as a kid. I adored the movie's comedy, story, character development, and the characters themselves. This film was also one of the few Nickelodeon films that got me hooked in the Nickelodeon channel and watch multiple cartoons there as a kid. I was more than happy to re-watch this film recently to relive the nostalgia and the joy of watching it again. As a grown man, I still love this movie despite the huge flaws it has.
This film is about a bull cow who lives a reckless, goofy, jolly life with his barnyard buddies while his strict father tries to teach him a lesson about being a stronger man for others. However, the tragedy strikes a blow on the barnyard which deprives them of their number one source of protection from the coyotes. Seeing the stakes raised high, Otis realizes the importance of true leadership and strength to face obstacles.
Now, I am fully aware of the negative reputation it has gotten over the years (alongside other films I will review this month); nevertheless, I want to be as fair and honest as possible in these reviews. I sincerely love this film; not just because of nostalgia but also because of the impressive story-telling and the dialogue within the film. Barnyard actually managed to make me laugh, feel sympathy for the characters, feel the intensity of its heart-wrenching scenes, and root for the main characters. Granted, it has some corny cow puns and some flatly-delivered lines, but the well-timed comedy and entertainment value made up for it. Unlike Disney's Home on the Range, the main character here went through actual emotional struggles and grew to become a real leader and the "stronger man" Ben taught him about. He realized that he had to man up and take some serious responsibility to not only combat evil but also to be there for those who cannot stand up for themselves, his surviving family, and friends. Just like with The Lion King, it did an excellent job in conveying the message of true inner strength and having a sense of duty.
The voice acting was awesome too. Kevin James was honestly hilarious as Otis; I loved his sense of humor and how natural his personalty and voice was for the role. Wanda Sykes rocked as Bessy the Cow, Jeffery Garcia (I love that guy's voice) was great as Pip the Mouse, Sam Elliot as Ben was powerfully immaculate, Danny Glover as Mules was pretty great, and Tino Insana was funny as Pig.
David Koechner did a fantastic job as Dag the Coyote. The villain was sinister, had a sadistic sense of humor, was ruthless, cunning, and overall a complete menace. He stole every scene he was in and proved every time throughout his screen-time that he was not someone to be messed with. He is by far one of the most intimidating villains I've ever watched and is on par with Scar (in terms of villainous animals).
Again, this movie does have it flaws such as the annoying scenes with that kid who loves tipping over cows for some reason, the fact that male cows somehow have udders which something only females have, several cow puns, and the puzzling conflict of the barn animals being defenseless against coyotes. I'm very sure Ben's death could have been prevented had he had backup bulls to be his bodyguards. Also, were the other male cows (besides the Jersey Cows) that weak and cowardly that Ben had to be the only one qualified to fight predators? Plus, those coyotes looked so frail and slim which gives the impression they could easily be defeated! Like, come on, his death could have been avoided had he gotten backup and support.
Still, this movie is awesome and doesn't deserve the hate it has gotten over the years. I will rate this a solid 8/10! Oh, and the music is criminally underrated. Enough said!
Peace!
I used to watch this movie many times as a child. As I got older, though...there were things involving it that made me feel incredibly uncertain and caused me to think of it in an...unflattering light, so to speak.
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I love it to death regardless of its flaws. I can understand why you feel that way though.
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Yay.
For me, it was mainly because much of the humor was kinda cringy. Other than that, the animation hasn’t exactly aged well over the years, and I can’t help but wish Dag had more screen time and a greater sense of background so that it wouldn’t seem like he was there simply for story-requirement.
I loved this movie as a kid, and the TV show was great too
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I was actually satisfied with his screen time. Sometimes, less is more, and not every villain needs a huge background. Some villains are more menacing and scary by simply not knowing where they come from. That's the best part for me. But again, different opinions.
I say Barnyard is one of those movies that may not be my favorite or I don't watch a lot of is something I enjoy watching.
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Of course.
Regardless of Dag not being featured much, I did think he was a great villain regardless. Come to think of it, his limited but wise usage was something I also enjoyed with Shan-Yu in “Mulan” and Shere Khan in “The Jungle Book”.
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You didn't have to quote my entire reply.
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On the bright side of it all, though...I’ve frequently considered giving the film a rewatch at some point to get reacquainted with it since I have my own DVD copy, and your review has inspired me to do so and make my own analysis of it someday.
I feel like Dag intentionally starved himself so he could carry out his villainous ways, but that's just me. Other than that, I also loved the movie and its spin-off show.