One of Barney’s Voice Actors Shares His Honest Review of Horror Movie Buddy

Dean Wendt, who voiced Barney the Dinosaur on Barney & Friends from 2002 to 2009 and kept providing the character’s voice in specials for years after, has given his honest take on Buddy, the R rated horror comedy whose title character riffs on the kind of huggable, sing songy kids show mascot most associated with Barney. Wendt first posted a video of himself going to see the movie in theaters, pointing out that Buddy’s sets looked a little too close to some of the original Barney sets for comfort, and noting that the film’s own in universe end credits use the exact same font as the real Barney show’s end credits once did. The film’s own TikTok account, Buddy The Unicorn, jumped into the comments joking that Wendt and Buddy must be family, and Wendt played along, replying that Barney still loves him, just from a very safe, six foot distance. Back home after the screening, Wendt gave his verdict in a single line, saying the movie was not exactly super dee duper if you are a Barney fan, but that it sure was fun. The mixed signal was enough to send fans and followers from all over asking what he actually thought, and he answered in a follow up video posted to his account, deanwendtisbarney, telling viewers he was stepping out of the booth to give his real, honest thoughts.

Wendt said people might assume Barney would never love something like Buddy, but he did. He was clear that Buddy is not a movie for kids and told parents not to bring their children, but said it was a fun watch that takes some good natured jabs at Barney’s own legacy along the way. He said the nostalgic set design reminded him of being back on set himself, and he singled out Keegan-Michael Key, who voices the film’s title character, saying Key did a great job with the voice and calling the performances across the board amazing. He closed out by saying the real message, the one Barney has always stood for, love, still comes through, thanking his fans and signing off the way only he could, with a heartfelt I love you. Buddy The Unicorn’s account was right there in the comments again, replying with its own I love you and a hug.

The reaction adds another positive note to what has already been a standout run for the film. Buddy opened over the August 28 weekend to $5.3 million across 1,258 screens, a per theater average of about $4,213 that helped the Casper Kelly directed movie land at number six overall and earned it sleeper hit status from trade outlets, after beating out Warner Bros’ The End of Oak Street. Reviews have backed up the strong debut too, with the film sitting at 84 percent on Rotten Tomatoes and a 64 on Metacritic.