# 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 features an ensemble cast 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 Holstein cow (actually a male bullock with an udder) 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 with a television series called Back at the Barnyard, which aired on Nickelodeon and later Nicktoons for two seasons.

## Plot

Otis (James), a carefree male Holstein steer, lives on a farm in the Arizonian town of Oedeville where its animal occupants are allowed to reveal their anthropomorphism when humans are not watching them. He prefers to have fun with his friends, mouse Pip, pig Pig, rooster Peck and ferret Freddy, to the disapproval of Ben, his adoptive father and 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. Before Otis leaves, Ben tells him he saw the stars dance the night he found him as a calf. As the animals party, a pack of coyotes attempts to eat the farm's hens. Ben successfully fends them off alone but is fatally wounded and dies.
Following Ben's death, the animals elect 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, an elderly mule and Ben's childhood friend, knocking him unconscious. Leaving Freddy and Peck to guard the chicken coop, Otis joins the Jersey Cows, a trio of troublemaking cattle, in getting revenge against a cow tipping bully. After narrowly avoiding the authorities, Otis returns for his night watch and shares a tender moment with Daisy, who recalls the time her late husband and fellow cattle were killed during a rainstorm. Otis soon encounters the coyotes, who easily deter him using his weakness as a leader and guilt over Ben's death. Their leader, Dag, arranges a deal to periodically steal animals from the farm, or else he and his cronies will openly kill them all if Otis attempts any interference.
Ashamed, Otis decides to abandon the farm, but relents after learning that the coyotes have kidnapped the hens, including Etta and her young daughter Maddy, during the day behind his back. Encouraged by Miles, Otis sets out to confront the coyotes alone at their wrecking yard den. Otis is initially outnumbered by them, but his friends arrive to fight alongside him. Together, they defeat the coyotes, with Otis strongly cautioning Dag to never threaten their home again. The animals hijack motorcycles and hurry back to the farm, where Daisy gives birth to a calf named in Ben's memory and Otis becomes his father. 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 carefree Holstein cow and adoptive son of Ben; he becomes the farm's eventual leader following Ben's passing.
* Courteney Cox as Daisy, a kindhearted, widowed and pregnant cow who is Otis' love interest.
* Sam Elliott as Ben, Otis' adoptive father and original leader of the farm.
* Danny Glover as Miles, an elderly mule and Ben's childhood friend.
* Wanda Sykes as Bessy, a sassy cow who is 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 and one of Otis' friends.
* Tino Insana as Pig, an unkempt, well-meaning pig and one of Otis' friends.
* Dom Irrera as Duke, a Border Collie serving as the farm's sheep dog.
* Cam Clarke as Freddy, a dimwitted, neurotic ferret and one of Otis' friends.
* Rob Paulsen as Peck, an intelligent but physically weak rooster and one of Otis' friends.
** Paulsen also voices a gopher and one of the pizza delivery twins.
* S. Scott Bullock as Eddy, the leader of the Jersey Cows, who speak with New Jersey accents.
* 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 and the aunt of Snotty Boy, who is aware of animals' anthropomorphism.
* 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.
* Frank Welker as the vocal effects of the coyotes
* Jane Krakowski as a coyote with a feminine voice
Archival recordings of Shaggy's "Boombastic" were used for the performance of Biggie Cheese, a mouse musician.

## Release

Paramount Pictures released Barnyard in theaters in the United States 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.

## Reception
### Critical reception

On Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of 23% based on 93 reviews and an average rating of 4.4/10. 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 No. 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.

### Accolades

| Year | Award | Category | Recipients | Results | Ref. |
| 2007 | 2006 Stinkers Bad Movie Awards | Worst Movie Title | Paramount, Nickelodeon | Nominated | |
| 2007 | 2006 Stinkers Bad Movie Awards | Worst Animated Film | Paramount, Nickelodeon | Nominated | |

## 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.
Other songs featured in the film:
* "Do Your Thing" – Basement Jaxx
* "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.