"Barney" is a children's educational musical adventure media franchise that originated with the 1988 direct-to-video series "Barney & the Backyard Gang" by Sheryl Stamps-Leach and Kathy O'Rourke-Parker. "Barney" consists of three series—"Barney & the Backyard Gang" (1988–1991), which consists of only eight episodes, "Barney & Friends" (1992–2010), a television series that ran on PBS Kids, and "Barney's World" (2024), a fully animated series set to air on Cartoon Network's Cartoonito, and which is currently streaming on Max—and is currently distributed by 9 Story Media Group, under license from Mattel Television.
The "Barney" franchise follows the titular character Barney, a purple anthropomorphic "Tyrannosaurus rex" who conveys educational messages through songs and small dance routines with a friendly, huggable and optimistic attitude.
Main.
Dinosaurs.
Barney.
Barney is the main character of the "Barney" franchise. He is a purple "Tyrannosaurus" with a green stomach in stuffed animal likeness, who comes to life through a child's imagination. His theme song is "Barney is a Dinosaur", whose tune is based on "Yankee Doodle". Barney often quotes things as being "Super dee-duper". Episodes frequently end with the song "I Love You", sung to the tune of "This Old Man". Despite being a carnivorous type dinosaur, Barney does not have a carnivore's fearsome teeth. He likes many different foods such as fruits and vegetables, but his main favorite is a peanut butter and jelly sandwich with a glass of milk.
Baby Bop.
Baby Bop is a green "Triceratops" wearing a pink bow and pink ballet slippers and carrying a yellow security blanket. First appearing in the "Barney & the Backyard Gang" video "Barney in Concert", she was originally two years old; however, in the "Barney & Friends" episode "Look at Me, I'm 3!", she turned three. She sings the song "My Yellow Blankey" to show how much her security blanket means to her. She likes to eat macaroni and cheese and pizza. She is the younger sister of Billy.
Billy.
Billy, originally known as BJ, is a 7-year-old yellow "Protoceratops" who wears a red baseball cap and red sneakers. First appearing in the "Barney & Friends" episode "Look at Me, I'm 3!", he is the older brother of Baby Bop, whom he frequently calls "Sissy" and occasionally calls by her name. He sings "BJ's Song", a song about himself. He lost his hat in the "Barney & Friends" episode "Hats Off to BJ!" Pickles are his favorite food, and he has tried them in various ways, such as on pizza.
Riff.
Riff is a character who has only appeared in "Barney & Friends" from Seasons 10 through 14 and in some "Barney" home videos. First appearing in "Welcome, Cousin Riff", he is an orange 6-year-old "Hadrosaur" who wears green sneakers, and he is Baby Bop and BJ's cousin. His theme music is "I Hear Music Everywhere". Riff loves music and it is in almost everything he does. In the video "Barney: Let's Go to the Firehouse", it was revealed that Riff also likes to invent things; he created a four-sound smoke detector (the first three were different alarm sounds and the final one his voice). He is shown to have an interest in marching bands and parades. His most recent appearance is in "A-Counting We Will Go", a "Barney" home video.
Children.
Tina.
Tina is a character from the "Barney" franchise. First appearing in the "Barney & the Backyard Gang" video "The Backyard Show", she also appeared in "Barney & Friends", with her first appearance being "The Queen of Make-Believe". Tina lives with her sister Luci, her mother, her cat Whiskers, and her frog Bouncer. She loves animals, bugs, sing songs in the car, square dance to country music, and climb trees. Her favorite food is macaroni and cheese.
Luci.
Luci is a character from the "Barney" franchise. First appearing in the "Barney & the Backyard Gang" video "The Backyard Show", she also appeared in "Barney & Friends", with her first appearance being "My Family's Just Right For Me". Luci lives with her sister Tina, and her cat Whiskers. She loves winter, playing the guitar, cartwheels and tap dancing. Her favorite food is salad.
Amy.
Amy is a character who appeared all eight videos of "Barney & the Backyard Gang".
Jason.
Jason is a character who appeared in the first three videos of "Barney & the Backyard Gang". He is able to tap dance and likes animals. However, he can also make waves with his arms, which he likes to do as well.
Michael.
Michael is a character from the "Barney" franchise. First appearing in the "Barney & the Backyard Gang" video "The Backyard Show", he also appeared in "Barney & Friends", with his first appearance being "The Queen of Make-Believe". Michael lives with his sister named Amy, his parents, and their dogs, Buster and Sparky. He likes to search for rocks when camping, meaning that he has a rock collection at home in a box. Michael is also a school crossing guard. In addition to his favorite food being cold watermelons, Michael is able to play the cello because he likes music; he is also known for playing soccer, however.
Kim.
Kim is a character who appeared in various "Barney" episodes like with "Barney & Friends" episodes from Seasons 4 through 6. She lives with her parents, an older sister, and an adopted baby brother, and she has a friend named Kristen. Kim prefers to dance and sing. However, she also knows how to play the flute. Her favorite bear is the giant panda. In "A Picture of Health" it was revealed that Kim once damaged her foot and needed to head to the hospital for an X-ray.
Recurring.
Mother Goose.
Mother Goose is a character from "Barney & Friends". Based on the fictional storyteller of the same name, she is an imaginary author who lives in the "Land of Mother Goose" (a land featuring her house, her garden, other characters from nursery rhymes, etc.) and prefers to speak in "rhyme". Mother Goose has been around for a large number of years for a quite long time and has a pet goose named Clarence (who appeared in "Honk! Honk! A Goose on the Loose!" and "Barney's Big Surprise"). Frequently, she already knows Barney's friends, as she knows the name of everyone who has ever read her rhymes.