Barney's Great Adventure/Trivia

Trivia

 * Trey Parker was offered the chance to direct the film and was, according to Parker, offered $1.5 million for the job, but declined - he would create South Park (1997) instead with fellow colleague Matt Stone.
 * The film is banned in Malaysia for being unsuitable for children.
 * Originally planned as a direct-to-video release.
 * The only time a character (in this case Cody) shows hatred towards Barney.
 * John Landis was asked by PolyGram to direct this film. They wanted Landis to do another movie for them, having done An American Werewolf In London (1981) for them 17 years earlier. But Landis turned it down because he was working on Blues Brothers 2000 (1998) at the same time and Landis even said that he had no interest into directing a children's film, especially with what happened with him on the making of Twilight Zone: The Movie (1983).
 * Trevor Morgan (Cody) would star in Jurassic Park III, another dinosaur-related film.
 * "I Love You" is sung three times - this would be the only time this would happen. Also, like almost every episode of Barney & Friends, Barney sings the first verse.
 * This is the only Barney film to be released in theaters; all other Barney films would be direct-to-video.
 * During the restaurant scene Josh Radnor has cameo as one of the dancing waiters.
 * The project was first announced in 1992 and began at New Line Cinema. But New Line eventually put the script in turnaround because of creative differences between Lyrick Studios' Stephen White and Sheryl Leach, and New Line Cinema CEO Robert Shaye and Executive Michael De Luca. White and Leach next pitched it to TriStar Pictures, but turned it down for unknown reasons. They even brought it to Miramax Films, but the studio also passed on it. Eventually, they brought it to Geffen Pictures and the film was in active development there. Unfortunately, Lyrick and Geffen's distributor Warner Bros. had disagreements over the film's potential marketing and production and the project moved to PolyGram. As the company handled international distribution of Barney videos, PolyGram greenlit the film pretty quickly.
 * Released on Alec Baldwin's 40th birthday.
 * A scene was shot where the birdseed truck driver ground meat into a hamburger but was discarded.
 * Despite the being the titular character, Barney doesn't appear until six minutes into the film.
 * Released exactly 30 years after 2001: A Space Odyssey.


 * According to Stephen White, his script was heavily altered during filming. Baby Bop and BJ were meant to have larger roles, even appearing in the farmhouse attic. Director Steve Gomer scrapped these scenes, claiming they were "unaffordable". Miss Goldfinch was meant to be a more comedic character with White wanting Andrea Martin for the role, but Gomer made her rather subdued as he wanted a contrast to the other characters. Barney and the kids also made the plane out of cardboard boxes in the original draft rather than using a log in the final film. The biggest change was the ending: instead of Twinken, the original draft had the egg hatch a colorful baby bird who got separated from his mother. Barney would reunite the two while bringing the family closer together. Because of these changes, White has more or less disowned the film.
 * In honor of the film, a television special titled Barney's First Adventures was aired March 28, 1998 on Fox Kids. It was soon released as a bonus feature on the DVD to Barney's Great Adventure.
 * The film's premiere was held at Radio City Music Hall, the same stage where Barney preformed 12 sold-out concerts four years before.
 * "If You're Happy and You Know It" is much more grander and longer on the soundtrack than in the movie.
 * Baby Bop and BJ have very minor roles in the film (almost like cameo appearances).
 * The only way to get the original widescreen / theatrical print on video is on the laser disc version.
 * Although the Caption Center WGBH Educational Foundation mostly captioned all Barney installments since 1993, this film is one exception, as it is closed-captioned by the National Captioning Institute.
 * Three of the movie's TV spots sample the song, Born To Be Wild by Steppenwolf. However, the song never appeared in the movie itself.
 * The VHS releases Barney's Adventure Bus, Barney's Good Day, Good Night, and Barney in Outer Space have trailers for the film.
 * Based on the film, two books were released. One titled Barney's Great Adventure and Barney's Great Adventure: The Chase is On!. Also based on the film was a board game released titled Barney's Great Adventure - The Movie - Follow The Egg Game.
 * To promote the film, Barney, Baby Bop and BJ performed "Imagine" on November 27, 1998 in the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade.
 * The film's poster can be seen in the film Jersey Girl.