The classic children’s show character is making a comeback.

From the early 90s to the late 2000s, Barney the Dinosaur was one of the primary faces of children’s television. Barney & Friends aired for nearly two decades, featuring an actor in an animatronic purple dinosaur suit preaching love and fun to an audience of toddlers (and exasperated parents and older siblings). The show went off the air in 2010, but toy company Mattel wants to give the dinosaur a fresh coat of paint.

Mattel announced today that they are planning on rebooting the Barney character for a new show, opting for a mix of television broadcasts, YouTube videos, and even films and music. The major note of this announcement is that, rather than the usual animatronic suit, Barney will instead become an animated character. Mattel released an image of the new design, which looks similar to the original one, but more dynamic and expressive.

“In creating the new series, it was important to us that we properly reflect the world that kids today live in so that the series can deliver meaningful lessons about navigating it,” said Fred Soulie, general manager of Mattel Television, in a press release.

“With our modern take on Barney, we hope to inspire the next generation to listen, care, and dream big,” Soulie added.

With the new show will, of course, come a blitz of merchandising opportunities, not just for the new show, but the original, with “apparel and accessories for adult fans, featuring classic Barney” in the pipeline.

“We will tap into the nostalgia of the generations who grew up with Barney, now parents themselves, and introduce the iconic purple dinosaur to a new generation of kids and families around the world across content,” said Josh Silverman, chief franchise officer and global head of consumer products at Mattel.

Duncan S. February 14, 2023

Mattel Reviving Barney the Dinosaur as an Animated Series

The classic children’s show character is making a comeback.