DVD Reviews

Barnyard

What would happen if animals were really like humans but we just didn't know it cause they were hiding that fact from us?  Well maybe now we know!  Barnyard is full of animals acting like people and having a great old time.  There are great plays on words and events throughout but in the end, this film is a lot of what we've already seen before.  Not that it's a bad thing, and I'm sure the kids will love it, but much of this film seems like dejas vu.

Move over, all you pretenders... here are the original party animals - the animated gang of Barnyard! This laugh-filled adventure stars Otis, a carefree cow who spends his days singing, dancing and playing tricks on humans... much to the dismay of his father, Ben. Wild, wacky and "udderly" hilarious, here's a herd of animated pranksters that'll keep you laughing out loud!

The video comes to us in 1.85:1 anamorphic widescreen.  The picture is almost perfect as it's a digital to digital transfer. No print damage, edge enhancement or over-saturation from what I could tell. Though the animation itself is somewhat simple, it's perfect for this film and most youngins will not care anyways.  The audio comes to us is an alright Dolby Digital 5.1 mix.  It is very front centric and dialogue is always clean and clear.  Surrounds aren't overly active but they do get touched on from time to time and the lower end of the spectrum follows the same path with moderate usage.  I'm guessing this may be due to the family oriented nature of the picture as it does seem to be the norm for family pics on DVD.  Don't want to overload grandma and grandpa with too much crazy technology right?

The DVD actually does pretty well in the extras department.  My favourite little thing about the DVD might not be considered an extra but let the main menu play out to it's fullest.  That little guy says some funny stuff!  The main extra some may consider to be the commentary by Steve Oedekerk, Paul Marshal and the Barnyard Crew. I really did enjoy it as Steve is a very lively and happy person, the others really fed off him. "Barnyard Bop" All New Music Video is exactly that.  A music video of what I believe is an original song that's fully animated. There's another music video of sorts. "Mud Music Video" shows some shots from the film with shots from the recording studio.  If that's the actual music video... they need some help. "Boogying in the Barn" takes a look at the music for the film played by the Barn Boys more commonly known as North Mississippi Allstars. "Utter Talent - Voices of Barnyard" isn't just a clever name, it's also an extra filled with interviews with man! y of the voice actors (of course). Next up is another featurette called "An Animator's Life" which is what you might be expecting.  In this featurette they talk about how the film's animation came to be.  Not so much about an animator's life but his job in regards to the movie. "Method Acting with Kevin James" is sure to please any of his fans. It's short but humorous. This is followed by 7 "Deleted Scenes" with or without commentary. They range in quality as some are no more then animatics and rough sketches. The 13 "Nik On-Air Campaign" ads are also included on the DVD.  These are followed by a trailer for the Barnyard THQ video game. And if that wasn't enough, if you pop this puppy into your computer you can have even more fun with the Barnyard Comic Book Creator, the games Which Animal Are You? Where's Maddie? and Chicken Launch, and a playable demo for the Barnyard THQ video game. To finish things off there's trailers for Barnyard, Charlotte's Web, Over the Hedge, Nach! o Libre, and Barnyard the series. We also get that overplayed downloading is stealing ad if you consider that an extra.

Barnyard may not be the best animated film ever made, but its cute simple style coupled with good clean jokes makes this a worthwhile purchase for the kids.  Of course, the tons of extras on the DVD only add to the beauty of this release.  You're sure to get hours of fun with the kids while watching this DVD.  And don't be surprised if you find them wanting to watch it over and over and they end up dancing to the musi... oh wait, that was me.  Nevermind.

Review By Robert Harding