Customer Reviews

Barney's Christmas Star [VHS]

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

As usual, the show opens inside of Barney's Playhouse. There are four children: one African-American, one Asian and two Caucasian. There are two boys and two girls.

This show starts with Barney discussing the holidays and they show and sing about each of three tables: one with the nativity scene for Christmas, one for Hanukkah, and one for Kwanzaa. This is where all references to the religious aspect of the holidays and Christmas end. Then Barney sings a generic song "I love the holidays". A girl enters and announces it is snowing and they all go outside to play, they sing songs about winter and snow, and build a snowman.

The girl invites everyone to help decorate a big Christmas tree in a public park that her great-great grandfather planted many years ago. They are off to help out and sing "O Christmas Tree". Soon they realize the star for the top of the tree is missing. Grandma sends Barney and the children back to her house to look for it in the attic.

Once in the attic, Grandfather gives them free reign to search for the missing star. They sing songs and talk about what they find and sing non-religious Christmas songs. Classic toys such as Raggedy Ann, drummer boys (soldiers), and teddy bears are found with glee. Barney finds a copy of a picture book version of "The Night Before Christmas" and reads it aloud while images of Santa on his sleigh are shown. Santa comes down the chimney and eats cookies that have been left for him while two children watch.

BJ and Baby Bop appear out of nowhere and eventually they find the star. They take it to the park, sing a new song about the star to the tune of "Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star" and Barney helps put the star on top of the tree since none of the adults can reach it, even with a ladder. (Typical of Barney shows, Barney is more of an authority figure and more capable than the human adults, and "saves the day".)

Overall this show is very much centered on presents and decorations such as the Christmas tree. One scene asks what is best about the holidays and the boy says "wrapping presents, giving presents and opening presents". Christians may not like that the central focus of this Christmas show is not religious despite the title containing the word "Christmas".

Overall this is typical Barney fare: inclusion of many ethnicities, trying to be fair by showing multiple celebrations of various peoples, and making the main focus something that is not secular. The songs are new and old classics. It is very much like the TV shows in content and quality.

If your child loves the Barney TV shows then s/he will love this show. As for how much the adult finds this entertaining, it would be equal to how much the adult likes the television show. The best part of this show is that it is the typical innocence, song and dance we expect from the Barney programs, which I feel makes it a good choice for young children, or at least better than most programming that is out there for children! It is what it is: a Barney show!!

This is our first Barney dvd and my 22 month old daughter loves it. I just skip the "commercials" at the beginning by hitting the "chapter" button on my remote. The characters touch on the ways some different cultures celebrate the holidays and sing several songs -- some traditional Christmas songs as well as others like "Just Imagine" which my daughter and I loved. Its cute and fun and well worth the money I spent.

This is another Barney DVD that has no menu. Once you put it on you must fast forward through the initial advertisements and then you can play the Barney portion. Without a menu it is basically a glorified VHS tape that the best you can do is fast forward to get to a certain spot. There is also no spanish sound track. If you want a VHS-like product that should last longer than a tape you might be interested in this. As far as the story goes I would opt for The Night Before Christmas. That story is more little kid friendly and more entertaining. The Christmas Star didn't hold the interest of my 3.5 or 1.5 y/o children. With The Night Before Christmas they request to see it all the time. The Night Before Christmas DVD also functions like a DVD.

My son loved this movie so much last year that it got scratched and we had to buy it again this year. It's really a great prep for all things Christmas, like decorating the tree, playing in the snow, and they read the night before Christmas, so he got an idea of the whole santa thing. He was about 1 1/4 when he first started watching it, and now at 2 1/2 he still loves it. Just today when Grandma came to visit he said, "Look, look, Grandma, a star just like Barney did!" About our Christmas tree.

A must for any tot who loves Barney, it will really help the association of what's going on during this special time of year!

I must say, at first I wasn't interested, but that quickly changed after my daughter feel in love with the movie. I had to set the VHS player on REPEAT. It played in her bedroom all day. That is the only Barney Tape that she sat in her Dora chair (without a care in the world) and watch when she was a year old. And she really watched it throughout the day.
So I give this movie a SEE HOW YOUR CHILD WOULD RECEIVE IT MOVIE. just my opinion. (P.S. I have no idea where her VHS of Barney is, so I'm buying it again now: (TGFA.COM) )

My kids love this movie, no matter what time of year it is they still want to watch this one, so I would have to say it is great!

Everything was just as said it would be, it arrived on time in great shape. My son has really enjoyed it Thank you..

My two-year-old granddaughter is a huge Barney fan, and I ordered this for her last Christmas. Not only did she enjoy it, but the whole family did as well.

This Barney Christmas movie has provided many hours of entertainment for my 2 year old grandaughter. It is always at the top of her request list.

I got this movie from a friend and was glad I didn't buy it myself. It is kind of boring and not nearly as good as "Barney's Night Before Christmas". If you are looking for a video that talks about other holidays besides Christmas, keep looking. In this video, Barney and friends sing a Hanakuh song and a Kwanza song and show a festive table for each holiday, but they do not explain anything about those holidays. The songs last 2-3 minutes and then its back to the Christmas celebration. Some of the Christmas/winter songs in the video are well done, but the search for the star in the attic takes too long and has too much dialouge. Although, my 2 1/2 year-old twins do like the nutcracker drummer scene and the ballerina scene.