Barnyard (Film)

Barnyard is a 2006 computer-animated comedy film made by O Entertainment Paramount Pictures and Nickelodeon Movies The film is directed, produced, and written by Steve Oedekerk The film stars the voices of Kevin James, Courteney Cox, Sam Elliott, Danny Glover, Wanda Sykes, Andie MacDowell, and David Koechner. It tells the story of Otis a carefree Holstein Cow who learns the value of responsibility when he becomes the leader of his farm home's community after his father's death from a coyote attack.

The film was in development in 2002 and was released on August 4, 2006, in the United States and October 5, 2006 It spawned a television series, titled *Back at the Barnyard*, which ran on Nickelodeon and later Nicktoons for two seasons.

Plot

Otis is a carefree Holstein Cow who lives on a farm with his best friends Pip Freddy Peck and Pig rather than following strict rules and accepting responsibility; much to the chagrin and annoyance of his stern and uptight father and leader of the farm's community, Ben. After Otis interrupts a routine morning roll call and meeting with his usual antics, Ben warns Otis that he will never be happy if he continues without acting more responsible and mature, but he deliberately ignores his father's advice and leaves to do so anyway. That same day, Otis meets a pregnant cow named Daisy, who has moved to the farm with her friend Bessy.

That night after the farmer goes to bed, the animals throw a party in the barn that everyone attends, except Ben, who decides to guard the fence line. Otis is assigned a shift along with Ben, but Otis cleverly talks himself out of that work. Before he leaves, Ben tells him that the night he found him as a calf stumbling alone in the meadow, he swore he saw the stars dance, which reminded him that his place was at the farm. Soon after, Ben takes on a pack of evil coyotes who raid the farm's coop and manages to fight off the pack until he is bitten on the leg by their leader Dag, thus making him fall. The coyotes pile on Ben, who manages to grab Dag's leg to escape the pile; using Dag to overpower his followers. He then threatens to punch Dag but lets him go, scaring him and the coyotes away in defeat. Ben then falls to the ground, exhausted and injured. Otis is alerted and he runs outside to his father, who soon dies from his injuries. Early the next morning, Ben's body is buried on the farm's hillside by the farmer and the other animals mourn him once the farmer leaves except for Otis, who is most saddened by the loss of his father and sits at his post.

Following Ben's death, the farm's community elects Otis as their new leader. Otis chooses to shirk his duties by leaving Freddy and Peck in charge of the coop, then with the help of the trouble-making Jersey Cows, teaches a lesson to a mean and overweight youngster nicknamed Snotty Boy for his cow tipping, eluding the authorities afterwards. Later that night, Otis shares a romantic moment with Daisy where she reveals that her husband and the rest of her herd had drowned during a flood, leaving her and Bessy as the only surviving members of the herd. Otis comforts her, but witnesses the coyotes chasing a rabbit and he leaves her to take them on to avenge his father's murder, but is outnumbered. Taking advantage of Otis' lack of strength, Dag proposes a deal: he and his pack will take some of the farm's animals at random times and if Otis tries to do anything about it, they will openly kill them all. Realizing his chances for victory are slim, Otis ultimately decides to leave the farm.

The next morning, before leaving, Otis is informed that the coyotes have kidnapped the hens including Maddy, the daughter of one of them who looks up to him. Otis realizes that Dag doubled-crossed him, knowing that he was not expecting the coyotes until nightfall, and sets off to rescue the hens. Otis arrives at the coyotes' home to fight them off and manages to gain the upper hand, until Dag bites his leg. However, Pip, Pig, Freddy, Peck, Ben's old friend Miles, some gophers who live near the farm and are close friends with Otis and the Jersey Cows arrive to help him. Dag tries to attack Otis from behind, but he is alerted when Peck successfully manages to crow a warning. Otis thwarts Dag's attack and threatens to punch him like Ben did, but warns him to never return to the farm before sending him flying out of the junkyard; finally avenging his father.

On their way home, Pip reveals to Otis that Daisy went into labor after he left. The group then steals a biker gang's motorcycles from a diner and make it back in time to witness Daisy giving birth to a calf that she names Lil' Ben. Otis then takes full responsibility and becomes the new leader of the farm community as he watches the stars of himself, Daisy and Lil' Ben dancing just like Ben said.

The movie ends with one last scene where Mrs. Beady is getting ready for bed, but she finds out that Wild Mike is on top of her head in her hair while looking herself at the mirror in her house.

Cast

* Kevin James as Otis, a carefree cow.
* Courteney Cox as Daisy, a kind-hearted cow and Otis' love interest.
* Sam Elliott as Ben, a stern and uptight cow and Otis' 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 leader of a coyote pack that have a craving for 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 twins.
* S. Scott Bullock as Eddy, a member of the Jersey Cows.
* John DiMaggio as Bud, a member of the Jersey Cows.
* Maurice LaMarche as Igg, a member of the Jersey Cows.
* 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.
* Nathaniel Stroman as Root, a handsome rooster.
* Steve Oedekerk as Eugene “Snotty Boy” Beady, the Beadys' nephew who is cruel to animals.

Release

*Barnyard* was released in theaters on August 4, 2006 by Paramount Pictures. It was released in Germany two months later on October 5.