Barney the Dinosaur's extreme makeover is giving fans 'nightmares'

Ethan Alter
·Senior Writer, Yahoo Entertainment
·2 min read
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The classic PBS version of Barney alongside his Mattel makeover. (Photo: Everett Collection/Courtesy of Mattel)
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He's baaaaack. It's been a minute since Barney the Dinosaur has delighted children — and terrorized adults — throughout the '90s and early '00s with his gentle songs and earnest declarations of affection. Now, Mattel is bringing the super-sized purple lizard back in a transmedia franchise reboot that will start with a new animated TV show set to premiere later this year and grow to encompass toys, apparel and even a feature film.

But the new cartoon Barney looks a little different — OK, make that a lot different — from his life-sized predecessor, and the internet has definitely noticed the discrepancy. Since Mattel unveiled the dinosaur's makeover on Monday, Feb. 13, Twitter has been swarmed with horrified millennials coming face-to-face with the updated version of the character they grew up watching on PBS.

Speaking with Variety, Mattel's chief franchise officer and global head of consumer products, Josh Silverman, didn't address the character's extreme makeover, choosing to focus on how the revival will continue to spread "Barney's message of love and kindness."

"We will tap into the nostalgia of the generations who grew up with Barney, now parents themselves, and introduce the iconic purple dinosaur to a new generation of kids and families around the world across content, products, and experiences," Silverman said.

As other brands have discovered, updating classic characters can be a perilous undertaking. Paramount Pictures famously scrapped Sonic the Hedgehog's revamped look for the 2020 feature film following fan outcry over the speedy Sega icon's appearance. (The so-called "Ugly Sonic" was later redeemed with a hilarious cameo in the Disney+ movie, Chip 'n Dale: Rescue Rangers.)

But Mattel is betting that younger audiences will be less hung up on appearances. "With our modern take on Barney, we hope to inspire the next generation to listen, care, and dream big," Fred Soulie, SVP and general manager of Mattel Television, told Variety. "We think that parents, many of whom will fondly remember the original Barney from their own childhoods, will love the show, too."