Barnyard

***Barnyard*** (also known as ***Barnyard: The Original Party Animals***) is a 2006 animated adventure comedy film produced by Nickelodeon Movies and O Entertainment and distributed by Paramount Pictures, and the first installment in the *Barnyard* franchise. The film is directed, produced, and written by Steve Oedekerk, the co-creator of Nickelodeon Movies and O Entertainment's *Jimmy Neutron: Boy Genius* (2001) and its television series continuation *The Adventures of Jimmy Neutron, Boy Genius*. 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 cow 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.

The film began development in 2002, and was released on August 4, 2006, in the United States. The film received mixed reviews on Metacritic and negative reviews on Rotten Tomatoes, whose critical consensus describes it as "unimaginative and unfunny". It was also criticized for its inaccurate depiction of steers with udders. However, the film was a box office success, grossing $116.5 million worldwide against a $51 million production budget. Additionally, it spawned a television series, *Back at the Barnyard*, which ran on Nickelodeon and later Nicktoons for two seasons.

## Plot[edit]

Otis is a carefree cow who lives on a farm where the animals are anthropomorphic when humans are away. Instead of following rules and accepting responsibility, Otis prefers to goof off with his friends Pip the mouse, Pig the pig, Peck the rooster, and Freddy the ferret, to the disapproval of his adoptive father Ben, the farm’s leader. One day, 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. 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 led by Dag attempt to raid the chicken coop. Ben fends them off alone, but is badly injured and dies.

The farm elects a mournful and reluctant Otis as the new leader. A natural party animal, Otis struggles with his newfound duties, which unexpectedly includes salvaging an incident in which the farmer witnesses the animals partying and Miles, a mule and Ben’s old friend, knocks him unconscious. Leaving Peck and Freddy to watch over the chicken coop, Otis joins the Jersey Cows, a trio of troublemaking cows, in getting revenge against a cow tipping bully. After narrowly avoiding the police, Otis returns for his night watch and shares a tender moment with Daisy, who says her mate and former herd were wiped out by a storm.

Otis soon encounters Dag, who notices Otis’ weakness as a leader and taunts him over Ben’s death. Dag arranges a deal to periodically steal animals from the farm or else his pack will slaughter them all if Otis attempts to get in their way. Ashamed, Otis decides to abandon the farm, but relents after learning that Dag’s pack has taken several hens during the day behind his back. Encouraged by Miles, Otis sets out to confront Dag alone at his junkyard den. Dag’s pack overpowers Otis but his friends arrive to fight alongside him. The hens are rescued and the coyote pack is driven off, with Otis warning Dag to never threaten the farm again. The animals hurry back to the farm where Daisy gives birth to a calf named in Ben’s memory. Otis vows to protect the farm as his father did, before watching the stars dance.

## Mammals

Domestic SheepDomestic DogDomestic PigDomestic CattleCoyote