Barnyard (film)

Barnyard (also known as Barnyard: The Original Party Animals) is a 2006 animated comedy film produced by Nickelodeon Movies and O Entertainment and distributed by Paramount Pictures. The film is produced, written, and directed by Steve Oedekerk, and stars the voices of Kevin James, Courteney Cox, Sam Elliott, Danny Glover, Wanda Sykes, Andie MacDowell, Tino Insana, John DiMaggio, and David Koechner. It tells the story of Otis, a carefree cow (actually a male bullock with udders) who learns the value of responsibility when he becomes the leader of his farm home's community after his adoptive father's death from a coyote attack.

Barnyard began development in 2002 and was released in the United States on August 4, 2006. The film received negative reviews from critics and grossed $116.5 million worldwide against a $51 million production budget. It was continued into a television series called Back at the Barnyard, which aired on Nickelodeon and later Nicktoons for two seasons.

Plot
Otis is a carefree cow who lives on a farm where the animals are anthropomorphic when humans are not watching them. Instead of following rules and accepting responsibility, Otis prefers to have fun with his friends Pip the mouse, Pig the pig, Peck the rooster, and Freddy the ferret, to the disapproval of his adoptive father Ben, the farm's leader. One evening, Otis convinces Ben to cover his night watch so he can attend a massive party in the barn and impress Daisy, a pregnant cow who recently arrived at the farm with her best friend Bessy as newcomers. Before Otis leaves, Ben tells him he saw the stars dance the night he found him as a calf. As the animals party, Dag the coyote and his pack attempt to raid the chicken coop. Ben fends them off alone, but is mortally wounded and collapses. The lead hen Etta rushes back to the barn to notify Otis; he finds Ben in critical condition and he dies in his arms, making Otis feel guilty and heartbroken for not being there for him.

The Farmer buries Ben the following morning; after he leaves, the entire farm arrives at the gravesite to hold a funeral service for Ben, concluding with Etta placing flowers on his grave and everyone praying for him. Later, the farm elects a mournful and reluctant Otis as the new leader. He struggles with his new position and duties, which unexpectedly include salvaging an incident in which the farmer witnesses the animals partying and Miles, a mule and Ben's old friend from childhood, knocks him unconscious. Leaving Peck and Freddy to watch over the chicken coop, Otis joins the Jersey Cows, a trio of troublemaking cows, in getting revenge against a cow tipping bully. After narrowly avoiding the police, Otis returns for his night watch and shares a tender moment with Daisy, who says her previous mate and former herd were wiped out by a storm. Otis soon encounters Dag, who notices Otis’ weakness as a leader and taunts him over Ben's death. Dag arranges a deal to periodically steal animals from the farm, or else his pack will slaughter them all if Otis attempts to stop them.

Ashamed, Otis decides to abandon the farm, but relents after learning that Dag's pack has taken several hens including Etta and her young daughter Maddy during the day behind his back. Encouraged by Miles, Otis sets out to confront Dag alone at his junkyard den. Dag's pack overpowers Otis, but his friends arrive to fight alongside him. Together, they rescue the hens along with Maddy and drive off the coyote pack, while Otis warns Dag to never threaten the farm again. The animals hijack motorcycles and hurry back to the farm, where Daisy gives birth to a calf named in Ben's memory. Otis vows to protect the farm as his father did before watching the stars form images of him, Daisy, and young Ben dancing together.

Voice cast

 * Kevin James as Otis, a Holstein cow and the leader of the farm.
 * Courteney Cox as Daisy, a kind-hearted widowed pregnant cow and Otis' love interest.
 * Sam Elliott as Ben, a stern and uptight cow and Otis' adoptive father.
 * Danny Glover as Miles, an elderly mule and Ben's best friend.
 * Wanda Sykes as Bessy, a sassy cow and Daisy's friend.
 * Andie MacDowell as Etta, one of the farm's hens and Maddy's mother.
 * David Koechner as Dag, the sadistic leader of a coyote pack seeking to hunt and eat the farm's animals, namely the hens.
 * Jeffrey Garcia as Pip, a wisecracking mouse who is one of Otis' friends.
 * Tino Insana as Pig, a pig who is one of Otis' friends.
 * Dom Irrera as Duke, the farm's sheepdog.
 * Cam Clarke as Freddy, a panicky and neurotic ferret who is one of Otis' friends.
 * Rob Paulsen as Peck, a rooster who is one of Otis' friends.
 * Paulsen also voices a gopher and one of the pizza delivery twins.
 * S. Scott Bullock as Eddy, a member of the Jersey Cows.
 * John DiMaggio as Bud, a member of the Jersey Cows.
 * DiMaggio also voices Frederick O'Hanlon, a local police officer.
 * Maurice LaMarche as Igg, a member of the Jersey Cows.
 * Maria Bamford as Noreen "Nora" Beady, the farmer's neighbor, Nathan's wife and the aunt of Snotty Boy, who correctly suspects that the animals are anthropomorphic.
 * Fred Tatasciore as Farmer Buyer, the owner of the farm that Otis and his friends live on.
 * Madeline Lovejoy as Maddy, Etta's daughter who looks up to Otis.
 * Earthquake as Root, a handsome rooster.
 * Steve Oedekerk as Eugene "Snotty Boy" Goldner, the Beadys' nephew who is cruel to animals.
 * Oedekerk also voices Nathaniel Randall "Nathan" Beady III, the farmer's neighbor, Nora's husband and the reluctant uncle of Snotty Boy; Reginald Goldner, Snotty Boy's father; and one of the pizza delivery twins.
 * Jill Talley as Serena Goldner, Snotty Boy's mother.
 * Laraine Newman and Katie Leigh as Snotty Boy's friends.

The Coyotes Vocal Effects were provided by Frank Welker. Archival recordings of Shaggy's "Boombastic" were used for the performance of mouse rapper Biggie Cheese.
 * Jane Krakowski as Female Coyote.

The chicks were portrayed by Eliana Bendetson, Paul Butcher, Khamani Griffin, Arlo Levin, Liliana Mumy, Cydney Neal, Cat Ozawa, Thomas Pistor, Isaiah Tefilo, and George Van Newkirk.

Additional voices were provided by Keith Anthony, Julianne Buescher, William Calvert, Chad Einbinder, Leigh French, Eddie Frierson, Nika Futterman, Nicholas Guest, Archie Hahn, Katie Leigh, Christie Mellor, Jacqueline Pinol, Phil Proctor, Justin Shenkarow, Lynne Marie Stewart, Audrey Wasilewski, Claudette Wells, and Seth Rogen (uncredited).

Release
Paramount Pictures released Barnyard in the United States theaters on August 4, 2006. It grossed approximately between $116.5 million and $118.6 million at the worldwide box office, against a budget of $51 million.

Home media
Barnyard was released by Paramount Home Entertainment on DVD on December 12, 2006, in separate widescreen and full-screen versions. The DVD includes the alternate opening, a "Barnyard Bop" music video, a comic book creator, and a commentary by Steve Oedekerk and Paul Marshal. Barnyard was released on Blu-ray for the first time on January 25, 2022.

Critical reception
On Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of based on  reviews and an average rating of. The website's critical consensus reads, "Unimaginative and unfunny, this tale of barnyard mischief borders on 'udder' creepiness and adds little to this summer's repertoire of animated films." On Metacritic, it has a score of 42 out of 100 based on 24 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews". Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "B+" on an A+ to F scale.

Roger Moore of the Orlando Sentinel gave the film 2 stars out of 5, saying that, "with Barnyard, another quick-and-dirty 'all-star cast' mess churned out by the digital start-ups hired to steal some of Pixar's cash, the year that computer-generated animation 'jumps the shark' becomes official. Politically correct, anatomically incorrect and ugly to look at, the only thing that saves Barnyard is writer (and director) Steve Oedekerk's gift for gags and almost-edgy humor." Kyle Smith of the New York Post gave the film a score of 1.5/4, saying that "if you want to punish your kids, send them to bed without dinner. If you want to disturb, frighten and depress them while making sure they fail biology, take them to the animated feature Barnyard." Gregory Kirschling of Entertainment Weekly criticized the film's plot, giving it a C+ score and said that "it feels like Barnyard swipes too much of its plot from The Lion King."

On the positive side, J. R. Jones of the Chicago Reader enjoyed Barnyard, saying that "it's way funnier than many of the R-rated comedies I've seen lately, though Oedekerk seems to have ignored the writer's edict to know your subject—most of his cows are male. The CGI is excellent, with characters whose depth and solidity suggest Nick Park's clay animations. The laughs subside near the end as the requisite moral kicks in, but this is still that rare kids' movie I'd recommend to parents and non-parents alike." Claudia Puig of USA Today gave the film a score of 2.5/4, calling it "a sweet and mildly funny movie that will entertain young audiences, but one aspect is utterly mystifying: The two main characters, father and son bovine creatures, have large, distracting udders."

Box office
Barnyard grossed $72.6 million domestically and $43.9 million internationally for a worldwide total of $116.5 million against its production budget of $51 million.

The film opened at #2 at the box office on its opening weekend behind Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby, earning around 15.8 million at the domestic box office from 3,311 theaters. On the film's second weekend, it dropped 38.7%, grossing $9.7 million and finishing in 4th place, behind Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby, Step Up, and World Trade Center. By its closing on November 2, 2006, it grossed almost $73 million in its domestic theatrical release.

Soundtrack
The film's score is done by John Debney, who also previously scored Jimmy Neutron: Boy Genius (2001). The soundtrack was released on August 22, 2006, by Bulletproof Records. It includes an original song by indie pop band the Starlight Mints and "You Gotta Move" by Aerosmith.

Track listing
Other songs featured in the film:
 * "The Barnyard Dance" - Lewis Arquette and Family
 * "You Gotta Move" - Aerosmith
 * "Sister Rosetta" - Alabama 3
 * "Slow Ride" - Paul D. Calder (as Paul Calder)
 * "Truck Song" - Paul D. Calder (as Paul Calder)

Video game
A video game based on the film was produced by THQ and Blue Tongue Entertainment. It is an adventure game in which the player names their own male or female cow and walk around the barnyard and play mini-games, pull pranks on humans, and ride bikes. The game was released for PlayStation 2, GameCube, Wii, Microsoft Windows, and Game Boy Advance.

Television series
On September 29, 2007, a sequel television series titled Back at the Barnyard, premiered on Nickelodeon. Chris Hardwick replaced Kevin James in the role of Otis, and Leigh-Allyn Baker voiced new character Abby, who replaces Daisy, Otis' love interest from the film. The series had a considerably lighter tone than the film and ran for two seasons, ending on November 12, 2011.