Oh, boy! Oh, boy!

Much like Michael Corleone, every time I count that big purple dinosaur out of my life, he's pulls me back in. Listen, I don't particularly enjoy Barney. He can be annoying and obscenely chipper, and his songs are...well, they won't make it on Broadway, let's just put it that way. And every time I think one of my kids has grown too old for him, another young one suddenly adores him. I've written before about Barney (please click here to read that review), so I won't go into a lot of detail on the background of the show. But let's be honest, the big purple guy is not for grownups.

But you know, it is fun to watch your kid watch Barney. My five-year-old daughter loves to sing and dance, and the Barney videos are perfect vehicles for such activity. HiT Entertainment has released Barney: The Imagination Collection, a three-disc compilation of almost three hours of Barney mania (two of the discs contain programming never aired on TV before), which is more than enough to drive any adult right round the bend. That is, until you skip watching Barney, and start watching your son or daughter get all hyped up for the purple rock star.

I know there are "family" videos out there that are perfectly acceptable forms of entertainment for both parents and children. What mom or dad hasn't sat down and found themselves laughing harder than their child at a SpongeBob SquarePants short? That's probably not going to happen with any of the episodes contained on the Barney: The Imagination Collection, but that's okay, too. I don't think it's the worst thing in the world for kids to have a character like Barney totally to themselves. Watching my daughter's face light up when Barney starts one of his excruciating songs, it's hard not to see that the makers of Barney are doing something right, because the connection between character and child viewer is immediate and visceral.

Is it because he's so goofy acting and sounding? Do kids sympathize with him, or want to protect him from his own goofball self? Or is it the big, soft modeling of his costume, with the electric purple coloring that makes you want to dig your hands in him like a gigantic Nerf ball and squeeze till he yelps? Or maybe (and most probably), it's just because he's so nice all the time. If you have kids of your own, you already know, or if you remember what it was like when you were little, children get told, "No," all the time. They get told what to do; rarely if ever do they make the rules. So when Barney comes out, and says, "I love you, you love me, we're a happy family. With a great big hug and a kiss from me to all of you, won't you say you love me, too?" kids respond overwhelmingly to that pure, unconditional declaration of affection. Barney's not going to yell at them to quit hitting their brother with the cat, or get exasperated with them when they fingerpaint on the new sofa. Barney just wants to sing and dance, and maybe teach them something in the bargain.

I know Barney is calculated to maximize the educational content of the programming (the makers tell us so right at the beginning of the DVDs), so parents won't somehow feel guilty for letting their kids watch TV. And for the most part, I'm okay with that. I don't think all TV that kids watch has to be "educational" to be worthwhile. I grew up on a steady diet of mainly "non-educational" TV, and I don't think it warped me too badly (even if the only things I got out of those hundreds of thousands of hours is knowing how to do a "spit take"). But as I've written before in my reviews of modern children's programming, it's hard to argue with the idea of your child maybe getting something more out a half-hour's worth of TV watching. So when the makers of Barney: The Imagination Collection try to educate my daughter first before entertaining her, it's tough to find fault. I just wish I had more fun watching Barney. But then again - it's not supposed to be about me, is it?

The Barney: The Imagination Collection contains Barney's Read With Me, Dance With Me, Barney's Best Manners: Your Invitation to Fun!, and Barney's Happy Mad Silly Sad: Putting a Face to Feelings. Each disc runs about 50 minutes, with tons of songs thrown in to keep your child singing along while they get up and jump around with Barney, Baby Bop and BJ. If you've seen any of the other previous Barney DVDs, you'll know what to expect: Barney appears at the playground, and with his young friends, various lessons are learned during the course of songs, dances and other activities such as crafts, games and read-alongs. There aren't any startling departures from the formula in these episodes collected for Barney: The Imagination Collection, but I would imagine that's just precisely how they're designed: to be familiar, to be comfortable. Kids love repetition in their TV programming, and the safe, reassuring notion that one Barney show will be pretty much like the others, has to factor in with their popularity with kids.

Here are three titles included in the Barney: The Imagination Collection, as described on their hardcases:

BARNEY'S READ WITH ME, DANCE WITH ME
Barney's friends are holding a book drive in the park, and every time they open a book, a new tale begins! Reading helps their imaginations grow and inspires the kids to build a make-believe rocket, put on a circus - and create their own books!
When the dino's old friend Min dances onto the scene, Barney and the kids show off their talents, moving and grooving to jazz, hip-hop and country music. BJ's favorite is the dino-dance! And even though he thinks ballet is for girls, BJ finally agrees to dance with Baby Bop. They are "tutu" cute, and BJ discovers that all kinds of dancing are fun. (Look out Fred and Ginger!)

BARNEY'S BEST MANNERS: YOUR INVITATION TO FUN!
When a surprise package arrives from Miss Vera Goode with her new "Book of Manners for Children," Barney's friends question why minding their manners is so important. Barney explains that they have the perfect opportunity to be on their best behavior because they're invited to a party! Then their polite purple pal helps his friends brush up on the rules of etiquette by bringing Mother Goose rhymes to life and taking the children on a magical trip to Alice in Wonderland's "Mad Tea Party." Whether it's sneezing, sharing, cleaning up or using good table manners, Barney helps them discover that using their best manners is fun.

HAPPY MAD SILLY SAD: PUTTING A FACE TO FEELINGS
Love makes Barney's world go 'round, and the huggable dinosaur encourages his friends to express and understand their emotions in healthy ways. From creating masks to decorating a "Friends & Family Tree" with hearts, Barney uses fun songs and games to help his friends get in touch with their feelings. And he reminds them that manners, sharing and taking turns are great ways to show you care about others. It's always a happy day of fun and learning when you spend it with Barney and his friends.

The DVD:

The Video:
As with all of the Barney DVDs, the colors are bright and primary, and the picture is relatively sharp, although compression issues do show, with some jaggies in some of the more busy scenes.

The Audio:
The English 2.0 stereo audio mix is entirely adequate for such a show; the songs are clear and the dialogue is crisp.

The Extras:
There are no extras on Barney's Read With Me, Sing With Me, but on Barney's Best Manners: Your Invitation to Fun!, there are three simple interactive games your child can play: Matching Game, 1, 2, 3...Count With Me, and Dino Dress Up. As well, there's a Read Along book, Barney's and Baby Bop's Band, which your child can either read by their self, or have Barney do the narrating. On Happy Sad Silly Sad: Putting a Face to Feelings, there are three more interactive games to play, using your DVD remote: Baby Bop's Make-A-Mask Game, What's Different?, and Barney's Heart Maze Game. As well, there's a nice read-along called Barney's Book of Hugs, that your child can either read aloud, or have Barney do so.

Final Thoughts:
He may drive you up a tree, but the big purple dino-dufus (his zoological classification, I believe) is a rock star to the pre-school set, so... These Barney DVDs are quite lively and fast moving, and there are tons of songs to get your child up and moving around. And the lessons imparted, such as sharing, taking your turn, being polite, and respecting others (no matter how large or purple or annoying they may be), are important (I guess), so you can't really go wrong with this big heaping helping of Barney. I recommend Barney: The Imagination Collection.