Plot Details: This opinion reveals everything about the movie's plot.

This is a 30 minute crash course on what the beach is like and what is under the sea. A lot of songs accompany the children on their tour of the sea with Barney.

(Keep in mind that this came out in 1990. They produced a lot higher-quality videos after that).

What the Movie Is About
The show starts as the Mom (actress Sandra Duncan) sets up the little wading pull in the back yard while singing then calls Amy & Michael (children) to come out and play. Michael splashes in the pool and Amy fusses because she got wet. The mother explains that Amy likes to get in slowly. They sing about a speckled frog and a song about getting into the water. The mom makes a fool out of herself in this scene. The mother mentions that they will be going to the beach tomorrow. Lucy comes over and joins in the wading pool. They sing a song and Adam, Jason, Tina, and Lucy come to visit. The phone rings and the mom goes inside. (End of scene 1)

The children discuss what a beach is. The mom comes out briefly to say the family won't be able to go to the beach tomorrow because dad has to work. She goes back inside and Barney come out. They introduce everyone then sing a song. They pout and fuss about not being able to go to the beach so Barney takes them in his flying boat (while singing of course).

They land on the beach and sing a song. Barney tells them some of the things that they would find at a beach. They look for sea shells and sing. The kids whine about being hungry and they sing about it. They sing the peanut butter song (this is the only cool song to me).

It begins to rain and the kids flip out. The kids are scared and scary music plays. They look over a mountain and see a pirate ship. Barney explains that it's just imagination and it is harmless so the all get aboard (just so they can sing a song).

The kids want to go underwater so Barney comes up with magic goggles so the kids can go under the water. (I hope this doesn't lead a child to believe they can breathe under water!) They all jump off the ship and sing a song. They arrive at a mermaid's home at the bottom of the sea. They introduce themselves and then sing a song.

Barney and the children go back to the surface before it gets dark. Guess what -- another song. Barney says its time to go home so Shimberi-Shimbera they're home (after a quick song). When they get back everyone goes home including Barney.

Michael and Amy go inside their house and find out their dad didn't have to work and they would be able to go to the beach after all. The mom and dad find sand in the kid's bucket and just look at each other.

The movie ends with the mom singing the "I Love You" song.

Barney comes on and tells the audience, "I hope you enjoyed the show" and shows previews to other Barney videos.

My Thoughts
In later videos, Barney discusses with the audience what they did and learned during the show. This was not done in this video.

Let me just say the graphics really stink. I mean sure, this is designed to stimulate imagination but the sea props were really lame and the acting was terrible on this video.

It looks like Barney has been out in the sun without sunscreen. Barney is dark blueish black in this movie (check out the video box pictured on Epinions). It doesn't look or sound like the Barney we know today. I know some kids are picky about that and may not even watch it because of it. My daughter prefers the older shows. (The children are also younger in this video).

I thought there was a lot of whining in this video. The children whined when they couldn't go to the beach, they whined at lunch....it was fussiness that isn't seen in later tapes.

I feel that this tape would be good for entertaining and singing but doesn't teach anything that they will need to know at that age. They may learn what a beach is and how big a sea is, and what it may look like under the sea. They will not get A's in Kindergarten because they saw this video. On the other side, they're not going to pick up any bad habits from this video either (like Rugrats for example).

I asked my son who happens to turn 8 tomorrow and he said he hated it (which is a normal response after age 6). I asked him why he didn't like it and he said because Barney was blue. I asked him for another reason, and that's all he could think of. - Let me just add that he sat there and watched the whole thing without talking so it must not have been that bad. He said that he liked how they got around in their flying boat and the songs.

Where to Buy
I'm sure you could still rent this movie from Blockbuster or a video store. It may be difficult to find at the local stores because it was released in 1990. It would be fairly easy to find it at www.half.com, www.ebay.com, or other auction sites.

Rating
I'm going to rate this recommended because it's better viewing for young child then most things on TV these days. If you are planning a trip to the beach or they are afraid of water this may be a good video for you.

I'm going to rate it average because the newer Barney movies are MUCH better. If your child prefers the newer Barney or watches the newer Barney often they may not have as much interest in this one. (If you have never watched a Barney movie, do not let this be the first or second one).

(P.S. BJ and Baby Bop are not in this movie)

Recommended: Yes

Viewing Format: VHS
Video Occasion: Better than Watching TV
Suitability For Children: Suitable for Children up to Age 4