Why was the original 'Barney & Friends' canceled? Reason explored as Mattel reboot prompts trolling

If you are a '90s kid, then you must have watched or heard of the popular show Barney & Friends.

Well, for Baney's fans, there is good news as Mattel recently announced their plans to relaunch the show featuring the purple dinosaur. Along with it comes a plethora of new content, toys, as well as merchandise. The announcement came with the first look of the reimagined Barney.

However, netizens don't seem to be too excited about the relaunch, especially given the change in Barney's appearance. One social media user even posted how the dinosaur seems to have had his "buccal fat removed." For those unaware, buccal fat removal is a surgery in which fat is removed from the face to highlight the bone structure and make the face look slimmer.

Despite being a much-loved cartoon of the '90s, Barney' & Friends eventually got canceled thanks to multiple lawsuits filed by the show's producers owing to the emergence of content depicting violence against the purple dinosaur, which gradually began gaining more traction than the show itself.

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Comedy sketches and more: What led to the cancelation of Barney & Friends?

Barney & Friends was a hit show based on the titular purple dinosaur, created by Sheryl Leach in 1987. Initially, the series was taped as made-for-video projects and was directly aired to the public. Slowly, however, real kids began to be included in the show, with the purple dinosaur teaching them lessons about friendship, family, and nature, among other things.

The first punch to the purple dinosaur came in 1997, when San Diego Chicken began running comedy sketches, which showed Barney being beaten up badly. This did not go down well with the producers of the show, who felt it was not aligned with the cartoon's larger message.

Soon after this, a website came up with an article on how to kill the purple dinosaur, titled 150 Ways to Kill the Dinosaur. Due to this, the producers of the show filed a lawsuit against the comedy website.

As per Distractify, other instances of violence against the dinosaur soon began popping up, key among them being a website called Dustyfeet, which became famous for promoting the idea that the purple dinosaur must be destroyed by any means possible.

FreshersLive reported that another reason why the show got canceled was the cost-cutting measures that were introduced after 30 episodes.

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Social media users unhappy with Barney's new look

It is being reported that the relaunch of the franchise will take place globally in 2024. Mattel also announced that along with Barney toys and the TV series, there are plans to expand into film, YouTube content, books, and clothing.

The reimagined look of the purple dinosaur was shared by Mattel on Monday, February 13, 2023. As soon as the announcement went online, it made sure to go viral as social media users couldn't stop themselves from reacting to it.

Netizens had a field day trolling the dinosaur's revamped appearance, with many pointing out several features that have been altered in the character:

Josh Silverman, chief franchise officer and global head of consumer products at Mattel, said in an announcement that they will tap into the nostalgia of the generation who grew up with this show, adding:

"Barney’s message of love and kindness has stood the test of time."

Fred Soulie, SVP and general manager of Mattel Television, said that to create the new series, it was crucial to "properly reflect on the world that kids today live in so that the series can deliver meaningful lessons about navigating it."

He added:

"With our modern take on the purple Dinosaur, they are hoping to inspire the next generation to listen, care, and dream big."

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The reboot will be produced by Corus Entertainment's Nelvana. It has been reported that Fred Soulie and Christopher Keenan will be executive producers for Mattel Television, alongside Colin Bohm and Pam Westman for Nelvana.