PREMIERE.COM'S MOVIE REVIEW (posted 8/4/06)

You'd think that knowing there'd be a summer deluge of animated movies would have given studios a little more incentive to try harder, and in some cases they did. But Paramount's Barnyard now proves to be the season's weakest contender. In yet another “when the humans are away, the animals play” scenario, Barnyard is the story of CGI farm livestock who stand on two legs, speak English, watch TV, orchestrate practical jokes on humans, and dance when the farmer isn't looking. They're party animals, get it?

The only sensible animal is Ben (the voice of Sam Elliott), the de facto leader cow who keeps the others in check. But Ben is slowing down with age, and he would like nothing more than to pass the reigns to his adopted teenage son, Otis (Kevin James). Otis, meanwhile, is the mastermind behind the barnyard's nightly shindig, complete with live bands, dancing and rounds of pool. When Ben dies fighting off a pack of coyotes, Otis is suddenly faced with filling his dad's big shoes. It's a shamefully obvious not to the father/son sentimentality of traditional Disney 'toons. Into this mishmash of modern cartoon clichés, Screenwriter/director Steve Oedekerk even threw in a love interest Daisy (Courteney Cox), a widowed and very pregnant cow who recently joined the barnyard clan that Otis must now protect.

For Oedekerk, Barnyard is the disappointing follow up to his far more inventive Oscar-nominated toon, Jimmy Neutron: Boy Genius. The only thing the former film inherits from the latter is the big-headed and short-limbed look of the animated humans. Even at 90 minutes, Oedekerk struggles to keep Barnyard's momentum, relying too heavily on speedy sequences of chaotic slapstick.

One of the film's few virtues is Danny Glover as the voice of Miles the mule, Otis' voice of wisdom after his father's passing. Glover's throaty delivery and give Miles dimension, easily making the wise mule with a penchant for kicking the most likeable character in the hodgepodge. Ultimately, however, Barnyard fails to create even a franchise-worthy amount of cute; bu tthen again it is hard to think of cows as appealing when they're drawn walking around on two legs, proudly showcasing their glaringly pink udders. —Marie Iida