Barney show in Qatar, 2010. Photo by D@LY3D/Wikimedia Commons
Mattel CEO Ynon Kreiz is taking back previous comments that the new Daniel Kaluuya-starring Barney movie would be an arthouse film. In July, Mattel Films executive Kevin McKeon told the New Yorker that he sold the movie to partners as a “surreal” project similar to cult favorite distribution company A24, saying “It would be so daring of us, and really underscore that we’re here to make art.”
Kreiz is now saying otherwise. The CEO spoke to Semafor about Barney in regards to its widely successful predecessor, Barbie. “It’s too early to be specific,” he said. “But I can tell you we are taking a fresh approach that will be fun, entertaining, and culturally oriented. It will not be an odd movie.”
It’s quite a far distance from McKean’s initial proposal for the film, which seemed more oriented towards adults who grew up with the titular purple dinosaur. “We’re leaning into the millennial angst of the property rather than fine-tuning this for kids,” McKean said in July. “It’s really a play for adults. Not that it’s R-rated, but it’ll focus on some of the trials and tribulations of being thirtysomething, growing up with Barney — just the level of disenchantment within the generation.”
Plans for Barney were first revealed in late 2019. Mattel Films’ Robbie Brenner seemed to echo McKean’s sentiments at the time, saying that Kaluuya’s work on the film would allow the studio to “take a completely new approach” as well as “surprise audiences and subvert expectations.”
Back in July, Brenner told Variety, “I don’t know that it’s necessarily going to be darker. It’s just going to be unique — more of like a Being John Malkovich or an Adaptation.” She also noted it would be focused on adult themes and be “a little bit off-kilter.”
While Kaluuya has yet to comment on the tone of the film, in 2019, he expressed his excitement for the role. “Barney was a ubiquitous figure in many of our childhoods,” he said. “Then he disappeared into the shadows, left misunderstood. We’re excited to explore this compelling modern-day hero and see if his message of ‘I love you, you love me’ can stand the test of time.”
