Academy Award winner Daniel Kaluuya and Mattel’s upcoming big screen adaptation of the beloved purple dinosaur, Barney, will be “for adults” according to the studio. Speaking with the New Yorker, Mattel Films executive Kevin McKeon offered some insight into what the Barney is all about, comparing the project to the likes of Charlie Kaufman and Spike Jonze’s Being John Malkovich.
“We’re leaning into the millennial angst of the property rather than fine-tuning this for kids. 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.”
As well as comparisons to the surrealist, meta movies like Being John Malkovich and Adaptation, McKeon also called the Barney movie “an A24-type film,” all of which suggests a very different kind of cinematic experience than you would initially think when seeing the word ‘Barney’ appear on the screen.
Barney the Dinosaur has been one of the most recognizable symbols of childhood ever since the series Barney & Friends first aired on PBS began in 1992. Aimed at children aged 1 to 5, the show centers on the title character Barney, a big, friendly, purple dinosaur who conveys educational messages through songs and small dance routines with an upbeat, optimistic attitude. It sounds like things will have changed when Barney next graces the screen…
Mattel Films Has Big Plans for Many of Its Franchises & Products
This is not the first time the more ‘adult’ oriented approach is being taken for the Barney movie. Get Out star Daniel Kaluuya, who is attached to the Barney movie as a producer, has teased the seemingly dark and thought-provoking nature of the project saying, “Barney taught us, ‘I love you, you love me. Won’t you say you love me too?’ That’s one of the first songs I remember, and what happens when that isn’t true? I thought that was really heartbreaking. I have no idea why but it feels like that makes sense. It feels like there’s something unexpected that can be poignant but optimistic. Especially at this time now, I think that’s really, really needed.”
The Barney movie is just one of several projects now in the pipeline for Mattel Films, with the studio turning to the plethora of products at its disposal with the hopes of transforming many of them into movie franchises. So, on the agenda for Mattel is an adaptation of He-Man and the Masters of the Universe courtesy of Netflix, a live action Hot Wheels movie, a Magic 8 Ball movie (somehow), and adventures for Polly Pocket, Rock ‘Em Sock ‘Em Robots, American Girl, and more.
Next up though is Barbie, the meta-approach of which could hint at how Mattel Films and Daniel Kaluuya will bring Barney to life for angsty millennials. Directed by Greta Gerwig from a screenplay she wrote with Noah Baumbach, and starring Margot Robbie and Ryan Gosling, Barbie finds Robbie’s Barbie being expelled from the utopian Barbieland for being less-than-perfect dolls and heading off into the real-world on a journey of self-discovery.
Barbie is scheduled to be released in the United States on July 21.
This story originally appeared on Movieweb
