The Barnyard was a pitch animation for the 2006 Nickelodeon animated movie, Barnyard, as well as the series spinoff, Back at the Barnyard. It was produced by O Entertainment and DNA Productions at some point during 2000. Eventually, a teaser for Barnyard was released, reusing clips from the pitch; the movie was originally going to be released in 2005 around the holiday season, while the series was going to be released in 2006; however, both productions got pushed one year forward.
The animation was rumored to be a pilot, but Todd Grimes, the director of Back at the Barnyard, confirmed that it was a pitch to get the company to fund the project for a full-length movie, and eventually a TV series.[1]
The pitch was considered lost for a while, with only the teaser and several screenshots from the O Entertainment website being the only proof of its existence. However, the pitch was found on January 20, 2024 by YouTuber LiveDJRock.
Official description[]
Hold onto your udders, as writer/director/producer Steve Oedekerk (Ace Ventura: When Nature Calls, Nutty Professor, Jimmy Neutron: Boy Genius) presents "The Barnyard", a hilarious glimpse into the hidden world of what animals do when humans aren't looking.
Join Otis the Cow, Freddy the Ferret, Pig the Pig and the rest of the rag-tag pack of animal crazies just trying to make their way through another day on the farm.
An edgy mix of music, laughs, and all-out mayhem. Cow Tipping! Salt Licks! Milk! Somebody pinch me, it's "The Barnyard!" - O Entertainment website
Summary[]
In the cold open of the pitch, as a car drives past a field of cows, a little girl in the car moos at the cows. Otis, standing in the field, says with exasperation, "I hate that."
That night, Otis is invited by the Jersey Cows to take the farmer's car for a joyride. Otis is unsure at first, but the cows convince him anyway. As one of the three cows passes bottles of milk to the others, Otis mockingly asks, "Got milk?" before throwing a bottle at a cow crossing sign, shattering it on impact. Otis sticks his head out the window and cheers at his accomplishment.
Meanwhile, back in the barn, where a party is taking place, Bessy is complaining to Daisy about how disloyal male cows are. Daisy agrees and the two clink their glasses together.
Back on the road, Otis calls out to a field of cows, jokingly asking for directions to the nearest dairy, to which the cows in the field cheer Otis on. Suddenly, Otis and the Jersey Cows realize that the police is following them, and start panicking. Otis swerves the car into the forest, where the cops chase them on foot. When the cops find them, the cows act like regular cows as a cover-up.
Later that night, after the cops leave, Otis returns to the party at the barn, where all the animals are dancing to Pig's beatboxing, including Pip, who is dancing on Otis' head. Suddenly, the loud noise of the party wakes up the farmer, much to the animals' shock. The animals pause the party for a while. When the farmer goes back to sleep, the animals resume the party. After an iris out, the pitch closes with Otis saying "Ah, milk me," and giving a grin.
During the credits, Freddy is shown in the middle of a therapy session, upset over his craving for birds; another scene shows Pig deciding that he should go to work - by wallowing in the mud.
Soundtrack[]
The pilot mostly used already-existing songs rather than original music. The theme music was "Crosscut Saw" by Albert King. The music used in the cold open was "Let Her Go, God Bless Her" by The Louvin Brothers. The music used during the cows' joyride is a stock track called "The Lineman", which is most remembered for being the theme for the characters Mermaid Man and Barnacle Boy from SpongeBob SquarePants, another Nick show. "A Number Of Microphones" by Propellerheads was used for Pig's beatboxing at the party. Original songs included a demo of the deleted Barnyard Bop intro song from the movie and another song that can heard in the background when Bessy and Daisy are talking, all of which are performed by Hanna. The former was not included in the final version of the pilot.
Also, Steppenwolf's "Born to Be Wild" and Rednex's "Cotton Eye Joe" was used in the teaser.
Trivia[]
- This marks the first appearances of Otis, Miles, Pig, Pip, Freddy, Ben, Daisy, Hanna, Bessy, the Jersey Cows, and the farmyard animals (cows, pigs, chickens, etc.).
- Otis was voiced by Steve Oedekerk rather than Kevin James or Chris Hardwick.
- The model for the little girl in the cold open was recycled from Santa vs. the Snowman, another O Entertainment production.
- Screenshots on the O Entertainment websites depict several other scenes that were made for the pitch, but aren't available on the tape. This includes an extended scene of Freddy's therapy session, more partying scenes and Hanna singing.
- Ben was originally going to be Freddy's therapist, instead of the leader in the movie. He would later be replaced with Dr. Filly in the TV series episode, "Paging Dr. Filly".
- The scene with Freddy's therapy session was originally going to be in the movie, but was cut.[2] The animatic reused audio from the pitch.