Okay, you guys may think this is a wacky question...
By patgalca
@patgalca (18481)
Orangeville, Ontario
August 31, 2007 10:54am CST
and even moreso wondering why the heck I am asking it. After all, my kids are 11 and 14. But we turned on the television this morning and the show that was on was Barney. Now we haven't watched it in years. A new character has been added and of course the children have changed. Even Barney's voice has changed.
But since we are no longer kids, the songs and the lessons were not what attracted us to the show. We were trying to figure out how the people got into those darn costumes. We could see the feet separated from the rest of the costume but we could not see any zippers or separations of head from body for Barney. Baby Bop and the new dude could have their heads separated from their bodies, hard to tell. BJ seems to have a zipper down the back of his costume. Has anyone else wondered how they get in there?
Also, since they are using their arms in the costume, how do they make their mouths move? We guess there is something attached to their mouth that is attached to the mouth of the costume. Not sure though. We do know that the guy hidden in the Barney suit was on the game show Identity and is a tall black guy. I think it is a given that the voices of the characters are not the voices of the people inside the costumes.
Now what about the little characters? Are there children in those costumes? Or could they in fact be little people? One of them, the new dude (we think his name is Red or Rib) has short arms that make him look like he may be a little person (dwarf).
I know you may think these are stupid questions but I am a real behind the scenes person. I love watching Bloopers and seeing how shows are put together (what I wouldn't give to be on a show). So I am really curious how these guys get into the costumes which are obviously very stretchy material.
Any thoughts?
4 people like this
4 responses
@raychill (6525)
• United States
31 Aug 07
I work for a county library system where we have a costume. granted it's not up to the caliber of the Barney costumes but it still cost $700 dollars of goodness.
I'm the handler for our mascot, a big giant cat.
the costume consists of
a head, two paws, a foam belly, a body suit, shoes and a collar.
it all blends well so you can't see where the creases are and the zipper is unseen even though it's there in the back. I'd imagine this goes the same for Barney and friends.
Now as far as the mouth moving this could be done in one of two ways. The actor inside could be controlling it with a button in the hand or something...or it could be computerized where someone outside the costume is controlling the movement of the head.
I'd imagine that's how its done.
1 person likes this
@raychill (6525)
• United States
31 Aug 07
Ok so I was doing a bit more investigating and while I can't find anything about the costume I did read this on www.imdb.com
about the original barney...
He left in April of 2001. after having been barney from 1991 till then. So apparently the barney you saw now is not the same Barney. Which could explain the voice change.
Apparently now David Joyner, who was once Barney is "Hip Hop Harry" a Hip Hop Rapping and Dancing Teddy Bear...
and this is my favorite part about his biography...
" But besides being an Actor, an Entertainer, a Mannequin Man, a dancer, a Purple Dinosaur, a Drummer, a Preacher, a Motivational Speaker, and Hip Hop Rapping and Dancing Teddy Bear, he's a very humble, loving guy, who loves people."
what an interesting list of things to be.
1 person likes this
@patgalca (18481)
• Orangeville, Ontario
31 Aug 07
That is an interesting resume. Are you referring to the voice Barney or the guy in the costume because we know there is no way they are one in the same.
We were looking pretty closely and there doesn't seem to be any seams in the Barney costume. The only place is around the belly as they all have separate coloured bellies. Though we could see no seams there, they must be there because they are a different colour and material from the rest of the costume.
1 person likes this
@raychill (6525)
• United States
31 Aug 07
I'm not sure. I mean... You can't see seams on our Cat costume. So I wouldn't count on it just being cause of seams. who knows it could be in between his legs or something somewhere you can't really even see...or the side of the body who knows.
and yeah.. this is the barney in the suit. Not necessarily the voice. But they don't have anyone else listed nor do they have a person listed as being the voice of barney.
1 person likes this
@chargoans (939)
• United States
14 Sep 07
Those costumes are made in such a way that they won't have obvious seams. It's been over a decade since I was forced to watch Barney (back when he was fresh to the market!). My daughter had nearly every marketed Barney item thanks to her friends and family. ARRGGHH! The talking Barney was a trooper, he went through many mishaps, including a wash at the laundrymat, but he still kept on running that mouth. "Let's Be Friends!"
@BarBaraPrz (51819)
• St. Catharines, Ontario
1 Sep 07
Pat, darling, you have too much time on your hands...
As for being on a show, it's a lot of hurry up and wait.
@prettiemammie (835)
• United States
1 Sep 07
Well I'd say this topic is quite interesting, that I don't know what to say. Never really thought about it. Hmmm maybe one of these days when I get to watch the Barney show with my niece, I'll be able to realize which is which. But for now I know that people can improvise their work or job so it might be a small person or might not be at all.
