slo’s WEDNESDAY 11/8 poll - Barney The Dinosaur 🟪

[Lord Manhammer]

I think that Barney's values and intentions were good, but it was more the execution....

But this is a great thread as it DOES seem to polarise folks.

 

[Micca]

My kids were a bit too old for Barney when he came around (Wiki says 1992.) My grandkids certainly had no interest when there was Paw Patrol! I don't care for it, glad we dodged that bullet.

 

[Christine]

My DD was born in 1991 and LOVED Barney. I did too. Loved the songs, etc. My son was born (1994) and it seems Barney was going by the wayside at that point. He was a "Big Comfy Couch" and "Spot" lover.

 

[Lord Manhammer]

Never got why people would say to not take young kids to UO -

Question asked...

they had Barney!

Question answered...

 

[Praying Colonel]

DS loved Barney, which is great blackmail material now.

 

[Lord Manhammer]

This is how I feel. Never understood all the hate.

I think many found his voice and syrupy sweet demeanour irritating, especially when Sesame Street was able to teach a lot of the same values but be much more tolerable. There used to be a custom mod for the video game DOOM in which a character could turn all of the enemies into a marching band of homicidal Barneys and then the player could slaughter them in the manner they they saw fit. I always found that both disturbing and funny.

However that goofy dinosaur wasn't just popular in America. It was translated into tons of languages and syndicated all over the world...Here's an example of Barney i przyjaciele from Poland:

 

[slo]

Alright everyone… time for a sing a long….all together now…

If all the raindrops were lemon drops & gum drops oh what a rain that would be

 

[slo]

My DD25’s most favorite Christmas movie as a little girl - I think I saw it a thousand times - LOL!

 

[slo]

I gotta say….I never thought this poll would generate much attention and I’m glad it did. It’s been fun reading everyone’s replies today

 

[disney4us2002]

Alright everyone… time for a sing a long….all together now…

If all the raindrops were lemon drops & gum drops oh what a rain that would be

That was the first song that popped into my head! My oldest two sons were big into Barney (now 34 and 30). The youngest was much more into Blues Clues. I still occasionally start singing "Clean up, clean up, everybody, everywhere" when I'm picking up the family room. I know I have several birthday party picture albums that were Barney themed. Good memories for me. Kids grow up too darn fast....

 

[Mysterian]

I don't care for Barney, Caillou, the Backyardigans (seriously awful, monotonous music, and those kids can't sing a note to save their lives. Say "no" to the Trashyardigans, and if your kids do like them, please administer The Wiggles instead, but I digress...), nor those Teletubbies. Of course I'm an adult, but still, I must approve what my inner-child can see.

 

[AppleDumpling]

I think many found his voice and syrupy sweet demeanour irritating, especially when Sesame Street was able to teach a lot of the same values but be much more tolerable.

I’d say most programming aimed at young children (including lots of Disney stuff), could be considered overly sweet and corny, from the parents’ perspective. Barney was immensely popular for a reason. IMO, the show’s focus on things such as friendship, sharing, kindness, manners, etc. was very age-appropriate for its target audience of toddlers and preschoolers. My child liked it and it didn’t bother me. LOL, I found Teletubbies far more annoying.

 

[lovesmurfs]

My kids loved him when they were growing up. At the time, there were a lot of jokes about him, but I figured that he teaches kids to be polite, put their toys away, and brush their teeth. What's wrong with that?

 

[Lord Manhammer]

I’d say most programming aimed at young children (including lots of Disney stuff), could be considered overly sweet and corny, from the parents’ perspective. Barney was immensely popular for a reason. IMO, the show’s focus on things such as friendship, sharing, kindness, manners, etc. was very age-appropriate for its target audience of toddlers and preschoolers. My child liked it and it didn’t bother me. LOL, I found Teletubbies far more annoying.

That's a fair assessment and largely I agree with you. Don't even get me started on Teletubbies!!! OMG, just awful.

 

[OKW8297]

We raised our boys in a Barney free home

 

[leebee]

As I said before, DD30 loved Barney. I could tune him out- after all, the show was for her age level, not mine! She didn't particularly care for Sesame Street, but loved Lamb Chop's Playhouse, Bear in the Big Blue House, Katie and Orby, Little Bear, Wishbone, and several other of the shows mentioned here. Thank the lord she was never interested in the Wiggles or the Teletubbies, as my nieces were. Those were the shows that drove me to distraction!
Sure, Barney is divisive, but it's been a fun stroll down memory lane!

 

[DodgerGirl]

When I was a little girl I adored Barney and watched Barney And Friends every day and I must admit I was Barney obsessed and I even had a Barney video game Barney clothing and a plush Barney dressed as Santa Claus that came with a Barney Christmas video and my mom even recorded some of my favorite Barney And Friends episodes on VHS tapes for me. I also loved the songs in Barney And Friends because they were so cool and taught children wonderful lessons in life. In fact the song Good Manners actually taught me manners when I was a little girl and that song was awesome. I do remember The Sister Song because of the lyrics "And I know you're always there and I know i'll always care i''m your sister I love my sister" and that's such a sweet song and I believe there was a version that Baby Bop sang with BJ her brother too. How Barney got popular i'll never know because Barney videos were big when Barney came out in 1988 and based on how popular Barney And Friends became Barney became a big celebrity next to Big Bird. I believe there was even a movie called Barney's Great Adventure that was the first ever Barney movie released in theaters. There was also two Barney concerts released on video Barney In Concert and Barney Live. But I think since more preschool shows came out like Thomas And Friends The Wiggles Blue's Clues Barney's popularity has somewhat waned but when you get the general picture Barney is an icon to all people because of their childhood

 

[Kathryn Merteuil]

From what I hear, my oldest step-daughter was/is quite a fan. It's funny because she was talking about this the other day. Myself, I never paid much attention to Barney.

 

[DodgerGirl]

If All the rain drops are lemon drops and gum drops oh what a world it would be. ..lol

My niece loved Barney even went to see Barney on stage in Toronto when she was 4 .

My son also watch when little and my sister got him a talking Barney that worked with the computer for his birthday.

I believe that plush talking Barney was called the Microsoft Actimates Barney and not only could that Barney interact with the computer game but could interact also with certain Barney And Friends episodes and videos and it was a pretty neat concept and it was so successful that Microsoft added BJ to the line and there was also Arthur and Teletubbies Actimates plushies too and this was the start of interactive toys for the computer but this Barney was a hot item for Christmas the year it came out and it sold well. I do remember If All The Raindrops very well. Did you ever hear or remember a song called Me And My Teddy that was sung by one of the cast members of Barney And Friends named Kathy who always carried a teddy bear in every episode?