Barney's Jungle Friends is a 2009 TV special that first aired on PBS Kids on September 2, 2009, with reruns following throughout the month of that year.[1] In conjunction with its airing on television it was later released on home video on September 15 of that year. The same year, the video was shortened for the thirteenth season of Barney & Friends as the episode "Home Sweet Earth: The Rainforest".
Plot[]
It's Earth Day and everyone's trying to get ready for the celebration in the park. Ben is wasting paper for his costume for the paper and Barney encourages Tracy and him to help the others clean up the park and remove the trash (including Ben's paper scraps). The kids meet Maya, a friend of Barney's and the person in charge of the parade, who explains how she believes plant seeds are "the seeds of the future." Baby Bop, BJ, and Mr. Copeland, a construction worker, meet up with Barney and the kids and discuss plans for a new playground, which involve a beloved tree in the park being cut down. Tracy explains that there's a bird nest in the tree, but BJ is unconcered about the bird losing its home. Barney tells the dinos and the kids about the Higgledy Piggledy Pear Tree and how there's only one left in the world. Using the Travel Book, the group travels to the rainforest jungle and meet Mother Nature (who looks like Maya, coincidentally). Throughout the journey, Barney and his friends learn about the animals and plants that the rainforest jungle has to offer. They meet up with Riff and he joins in the quest for the Higgledy Piggeldy Pear Tree. When most of the gang finally find the tree, BJ attempts to get the pear, despite Tracy's warning, and breaks the tree. BJ is panicked and is unsure what he should do. When Barney and Mother Nature find out about the tree, she is really sad about it. However, she says that planting the pear, which contains a seed, will grow another Higgeldy Piggledy Pear Tree. Barney and the others help plant the pear in order to bring the tree back. BJ learns that anyone can save the earth, no matter how small the contribution. Having learned his lesson, he helps the others convince Mr. Copeland not to build the playground where the park's tree is and they suggest an open spot across the pond will be better suited for the project. Having saved the tree, the celebration can begin, almost. Tracy suggests using a chip bag to finish Ben's costume for the parade. The parade begins with everyone celebrating our planet, explaining how "everyday is Earth Day".
Stories: "The One and Only, One of a Kind Higgledy Piggledy Pear Tree"
Cast[]
- Barney (Voice: Dean Wendt, Costume: Carey Stinson)
- Baby Bop (Voice: Julie Johnson, Costume: Lauren Mayeux)
- BJ (Voice: Patty Wirtz, Costume: Kyle Nelson)
- Riff (Voice: Michaela Dietz, Costume: Jerad Harris) (cameo)
- Tracy (Victoria Lennox)
- Ben (Austin Lux)
- Maya (Holly Franklin)
- Mr. Copeland (Dell Johnson)
- Mother Nature (Holly Franklin)
Songs[]
- "Pick Up Your Part of the World"
- "And the Green Grass Grows All Around"
- "Over in the Meadow" (Scene taken from "The Nature of Things")
- "Here We Go Again"
- "The Raindrop Song"
- "Every Animal Talks In Its Own Special Way"
- "Jungle Adventure"
- "I Hear Music Everywhere"
- "Flowers" (Scene taken from "A Bird of a Different Feather: Hawaii")
- "Way Up in a Tree"
- "If You're Happy and You Know It"
- "Rock Like a Monkey"
- "Colors Make Me Happy"
- "What Should I Do?"
- "Help Protect the Earth"
- "Every Day is Earth Day"
- "I Love You"
Production[]
Production for this TV special/video took place in January 2009.
Release[]
Home media[]
The home video included a bonus music CD that contained five songs from the video. Distributed by HIT Entertainment and Lionsgate the CD is seven minutes and twenty-two seconds long. The CD contained the songs "Over in the Meadow", "Jungle Adventure", "Rock Like a Monkey", "Every Day is Earth Day" and "I Love You".
The home video was also included in the Barney Movie Pack: 3-DVD Set which was released on February 21, 2012. The set also contained the videos Barney's Animal ABC's and Let's Go on Vacation.[2]
Special Features[]
The DVD included the bonus features "Barney's Animal Safari Match Game" and "Earth Friendly Activities". In "Barney's Animal Safari Match Game" Barney talks to the viewer about various animals in the rainforest. "In "Earth Friendly Activities" it included the segments "Let's Make Animal Puppets!" and "Grow Your Garden" with Barney alongside Natalia, Emma and Joshua making puppets out of paper bags and making a garden from an egg carton.
Theatrical[]
In 2009, HIT Entertainment partnered with Screenvision to bring their programming to more than one-hundred theaters for preschoolers through Screenvision’s HD digital network late that year and throughout 2010. The first video to be screened in theaters was Barney's Jungle Friends, premiering on October 10, 2009.[3]
Releases[]
Gallery[]
Behind the scenes[]
Trivia[]
- This TV special/video marks the only other Barney video to be aired on television before it was given its own video release, with the first one being Imagination Island.
- This video was released the same day "The Good Egg: Kenya" aired.
Characters[]
- This TV special/video marked:
- The final appearances of Tracy and Mr. Copeland.
- The only appearances of Maya and Mother Nature.
- Ben wears the same outfit in "The Music Box: Switzerland", but without the cap, and A Super-Dee-Duper Day.
- The featurette "Earth Day Friendly Activities" marks the only time Natalia and Emma appeared together as they never appeared together during the episode.
Songs[]
- A clip from "Day and Night" is shown during the song, "Every Animal Talks In Its Own Special Way".
- Before making its actual debut in the season thirteen episode, "A Bird of a Different Feather: Hawaii", the song, "Flowers", was used in this video.
- After not being used for nine years, the song, "The Raindrop Song", returns in this video, since "How Does Your Garden Grow?".
See also[]
References[]