Barnyard
By Steven Perdue, Blockbuster.co.uk

Life is good down on the farm for Party-king Otis. He is living the carefree cow dream, shirking responsibility so that he can enjoy the high-life and spend his days having fun with the rest of the Barnyard gang. With endless parties, dances, fun and frolics to be had within the safe and secure boundaries of the farm, Otis disregards his father’s pleas for him to take on some responsibility. However, when his father dies protecting the farm from a marauding clan of coyotes, Otis is forced to put aside his hard-partying ways and stand up for those he cares for most.

Barnyard is a top-notch animated comedy from the warped mind of Steve Oedekerk, the man responsible for Bruce Almighty, Jimmy Neutron: Boy Genius and Ace Ventura: When Nature Calls. If you have ever had that sneaking suspicion that animals know far more than they are letting on then the world of Barnyard should come as no surprise to you. While the farmer sleeps the livestock sing, dance and even do the odd spot of joyriding. The film makes absolutely no concessions to reality and is all the more fun for it. These are animals that use mobile phones, have barn dances and behave exactly like humans. This anthropomorphism is at the bottom of many of the films laugh out loud moments. Cows going ‘human tipping’ or a fat rat singing Mr Boombastic are guaranteed to raise a laugh and even the most hardened cynic will find it hard to resist the infectious joy of ‘Wild Mike’ going crazy on the dance floor. The animation is superb and super smooth even in the dizzying chase scenes, however there are a few deliberate mistakes thrown in. For example you will probably notice in the first few minutes that even the male cows have udders. The music is also worthy of a mention. There are some great original tunes as well as some classics that have been given a little country twist. There is even a song from Alabama 3, the creators of the Sopranos theme tune, slipped in for good measure. Danny Glover, Courtney Cox, Andie MacDowell and Sam Elliott head up the brilliant voice cast with a truly standout turn from David Koechner as Dag, the ultra-evil head coyote.

Barnyard is great fun and while the central message about responsibility and standing up for others may get a little heavy-handed at times it is never long between one massive belly laugh and the next. If you fancy a top night in for the whole family then Barnyard should be definitely be on your list.