Barney the Purple Dinosaur is a series of internet short films produced by the Hopkinson Brothers, produced from 1994 to 2008 and uploaded to YouTube as early as 2006. Each short revolves around the brothers' friend, Mike Deanfrasio, as he goes around his Californian neighborhood pretending to be Barney, often getting hurt or stuck in sticky situations which are Played for Laughs.
The shorts can be viewed here
.
Tropes related to Barney the Purple Dinosaur are:
- The '90s: At the end of every video, the credits include that these videos were filmed in 1994.
- Amusing Injuries: Almost every episode. The most egregious of these would be when Barney picks up a giant rock but accidentally drops it on his foot. Cue Barney hitting the rock with a metallic baseball bat.Barney: (while crying) Stupid rock! Ah! Ah!
- And Knowing Is Half the Battle: Crossing over with Space Whale Aesop - a strange man offers Barney some chocolates, but Barney insists his mommy told him to never take candy from strangers. For his refusal, Barney is hit on the head with a baseball bat many times.
- Annoying Laugh: Barney has a tendency of punctuating his sentences with an extremely hammy and drawn out "Ho-hoh!"
- Black Comedy: Much of the comedy comes from watching Barney getting repeatedly maimed and frequently swearing because of his misfortunes. In one episode even he's even killed by a serial killer and has his corpse thrown in a ravine. The camera pans up and down over his pale corpse, and it's STILL played for laughs despite the disturbing imagery.
- Breaking the Fourth Wall: Like his TV show counterpart, Barney asks the viewer to contribute and speak out loud, saying that their imagination makes it real.
- Bullying a Dragon: Subverted. Barney is giant, has very clear muscles and can lift up heavy, large rocks, but he never fights back against his bullies even though he can quite obviously pummel them.
- Bully Magnet: Barney, oh so much. On his first day of school, he tries to approach a group of teenagers, but things don't go as expected.Barney: Hi I'm Barney the purple dinosaur. Will you be my friend?Teenager: Get the hell out of here you purple f*g.Barney: Ohoahoahoah! (runs away crying with his face covering his hands) Why won't nobody be my friend?
- And later when he tries to befriend a teacher:
Teacher: Get out of here, Barney! (pushes him) - Butt-Monkey: Barney has no friends, frequently gets wasted after going on drug binges, is regularly chased by the Clugmuffer, is the one kid on Santa's naughty list....
- Catchphrase:
- Barney sure does like to call the audience "boys and girls".
- The Clugmuffer has "I'm gonna get you, Barney! I'm gonna get you, Barney!"
- Creator's Culture Carryover: The Running Gag of characters taking out their guns to deal with Barney - this is California, where gun ownership is legal and moderated, but this practice looks frightening and deadly to those from US States that don't have the same gun laws. Humourously, original Barney & Friends creator Sheryl Leach is from Texas, a state where gun ownership is even more common and practiced than California.
- Drugs Are Bad: One episode has Barney take drugs and become extremely high, thinking he's Superman when in actuality he's just jumping around on a trampoline. A Running Gag is also his drug habit.
- Exact Words: "Boys and girls, they said Don't Try This at Home, that's why I'm outside!" (rimshot)
- Paper-Thin Disguise: Barney escapes from the Clugmuffer's trailer in "Barney's Internet Adventure" by disguising himself as Boxman, which still leaves his usual attire visible.
- Friendless Background: Barney desperately wants friends, and frequently asks everyone he meets, even strangers, to befriend him.
- I Just Want to Have Friends: Barney has no friends, so whenever he gets a call on the phone or hears a knock on the door he becomes elated because he hopes it's a new friend. He even asks Santa to be his friend, but Santa insults him instead.
- Friend to All Children: Barney fancies himself this, but in actuality his child friends are bored with him and find him annoying.
- Gentle Giant: Subverted. Barney is a beefy, tall guy with a hammy voice, and a self proclaimed Friend to All Children. However, he has a temper and can swear a lot.
- The Gunslinger: The Clugmuffer owns a rifle, which can be considered justified since the series tale splace in California, where guns are quite common amongst the populace and gun ranges and sports are common.
- Hated by All: Barney. He got kicked out and sworn at by Santa Calus (even though he promised him he'd been a very good boy), nobody wants to give him candy on Halloween (he only gets some after crying and throwing a tantrum) and he's even murdered in public by a serial killer, and no one bats an eye.
- Heroes Love Dogs: Barney is the owner of a friendly little border collie.
- In-Series Nickname: Barney is called "purple f*gg*t" a lot. That word was common as an insult in The '90s, but these days it's considered out of line to say it.
- Jerkass: The Clugmuffer to Barney. He is intent on stalking and murdering him, and takes pleasure in making Barney suffer - for example, when Barney is going trick or treating, he dumps candy down the toilet bowl and makes Barney scrounge through it. Many episodes also have him kill or try to kill Barney. It's stated that Barney committed some unforgivable sin to him some time ago, but we are never told what it was.
- Phrase Catcher: Barney tends to be told "get out of here, Barney!" a lot.
- Potty Failure: When Barney is being chased by a Serial Killer wielding a rifle, he exclaims "Boys and girls, I think Barney's gonna piss his pants!". And then he does actually piss his pants.
- Scenery Porn: Some episodes are filmed in the rural parts of California, such as the desert area and the woods, and it's surprisingly refreshing to see.
- Sir Swears-a-Lot: Barney pretends to have a wholesome, child-friendly image, but any time he falls over or gets injured he swears and a loud "bleep" covers it.
- They Killed Kenny Again: Barney is killed by the Clugmuffer after being shot in the head and then mauled by a rake, but in the next episodes he's back as if nothing happened. Justified as this show runs on no continuity.
- Too Dumb to Live: Barney enters a neighbourhood despite their "No Trespassing" sign, and a very angry houseowner brings out his assault rifle and chases him with it.
- Vague Age: Barney is old enough to believe in Santa Claus and likes playing with stuffed toys, but he also attends high school.
- Vile Villain, Saccharine Show: While mean-spirited humour is this web series' bread and butter, the Clugmuffer stands out for stalking Barney, breaking into his house, laying several deadly traps to murder him, shooting him in the head with a rifle and graphic imagery that comes afterwards can only be described as pure
Nightmare Fuel. - Why Did It Have to Be Snakes?: During his desert adventure, Barney climbs on top of a building. He then looks down and realizes he's scared of heights, crying out in fear.Barney: Uh oh, boys and girls! It looks like Barney can't get down! Quick, say I wish Barney would get down!Several bored and unenthusiastic voices: I wish Barney would get down.
