Backyard Gang Barney Plush (Dakin)

The original Dakin doll with a white strip to represent teeth

The Backyard Gang Barney Plush is a toy that was released in 1989 as produced by the Dakin company.

History

1992 Target ad featuring the Dakin Barney plush.

In the early days of the Barney franchise, children lacked the plush toy seen in the Barney & the Backyard Gang videos. Parents demanded that, among other things, a doll would be produced, so that young viewers would be able to have a "real" version of the dinosaur himself. Ads began showing up in the videos, promoting the Barney Fan Club and offering dolls to people who signed up.

Early Dakin dolls had white stripes on the mouth to signify Barney's teeth. This Dakin produced doll is used in the Rock with Barney video, replacing the similar-looking Barney doll used in earlier Backyard Gang videos.

Ultimately, more Barney merchandise was released once Barney & Friends began airing on PBS.

Plush Variations

6-inch Version No Teeth

Large Version No Teeth

A Christmas version

Trivia

• According to an interview with Debbie Ries, the 6-inch versions of the plushes were promotional items (with estimates of only 6,000 being produced).
• A potential Christmas edition of the plush appeared on eBay in 2013 it is unknown how many were produced (as the plush may be a production sample) but its possible purpose was as special promotion for the release of Waiting for Santa.