Barney is getting a reboot and a new look
Everything old is new again as Mattel has announced that the Barney franchise will be relaunched with new toys, content, and merchandise.
Variety reports that the company will launch a re-imagined animated series in 2024 that aims to reintroduce the purple dinosaur to a new generation of kids and teach them lessons on “love, community, and encouragement,” all in the same music-filled adventures that the previous Barney iteration did.
The publication quotes Mattel senior vice president and general manager of Mattel television, Fred Soulie, as saying that the new series reflects “the world that kids today live in.”
“With our modern take on Barney, we hope to inspire the next generation to listen, care, and dream big. We think that parents, many of whom will fondly remember the original Barney from their own childhoods, will love the show, too,” he said.
Aside from a new animated show, the Barney relaunch will also include a possible film, YouTube content, books, clothing, and other merchandise. The company will also be introducing apparel and accessories targeting older fans of the classic Barney.
The Barney relaunch is just one of the major projects that Mattel has announced. Last year, the company along with Warner Bros. Pictures released the first teaser trailer for the Barbie movie directed by Greta Gerwig. Barbie is of course the iconic doll that built the Mattel empire, with Mattel selling over a billion Barbie dolls over many decades, making it their most profitable product.
Over the years, a number of famous people have been recreated into Barbie dolls, one of the most recent being famed British primatologist Jane Goodall. The Jane Goodall Barbie doll comes with Jane's distinctive khaki shirt and shorts, as well as binoculars and a notebook for accessories.
Jane Goodall approved of the release of her Barbie version, saying “When I heard the Jane Barbie doll was going to be made I was really happy because I've been suggesting it for a long time that girls don't just want to be film stars and things like that but many of them, like me, want to be out in natures, studying animals.”
MEANWHILE, TAKE A LOOK AT SOME DOLLS AND ACTION FIGURES INSPIRED BY FILIPINO CELEBRITIES IN THE GALLERY BELOW.
