’90s kids will be very familiar with Barney, the big purple dinosaur from the TV show Barney & Friends, but while that character was meant to be a lovable friend and comfort character for children, Keegan-Michael Key‘s brand-new horror movie, Buddy, has twisted that concept into something truly nightmarish. Buddy, which is set to hit theaters on August 28, centers on the story of a young girl who becomes trapped inside of a television show with her friends and ultimately has to escape from the very character who was meant to be the kids’…well, buddy.
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The titular Buddy is voiced by Key, who is certainly no stranger to voice acting. Before Buddy, Key has had roles in a range of major movies and shows, including movies geared towards kids, from The Super Mario Bros. Movie and The Super Mario Galaxy Movie, in which he voiced Toad, to Toy Story 4, in which he voiced Ducky. In this one, though, Key isn’t playing a character that kids are actually meant to adore; if anything, it’s a monster movie that takes the idea of such a character and makes it terrifying. And, in terms of inspiration, Key had one character in particular in mind when he was finding Buddy’s voice.
Barney the Dinosaur Inspired Keegan-Michael Key’s Voice for Buddy
About the character, Key explained, “Buddy was a challenge in that, whatever character you’re playing, you have to in some way, shape, or form support or be in love with. So, it was important for me to understand from the outside that he’s a malignant narcissist and from the inside that he feels like he’s been wronged. Everyone’s wronging him and has been historically wronging him…It almost has like a Wicked feel to it, where it’s like, no, you need to be looking at this from my perspective, you know, and that was a really fun thing to explore.”
In terms of Barney’s influence on that exploration, Key elaborated, “I was certainly inspired by Barney’s cadence. Is there anything in particular that I thought would be helpful to make it extra creepy?…It’s fulsome. It’s like oily and over ingratiating sensibility. The voice doesn’t do that necessarily, but that was what I wanted to have behind the voice, which is like, ‘That’s the smartest idea I’ve ever heard.’ You’ve ever heard? It’s the smartest idea you’ve ever heard? Everything is the something of ever or the most.”
As much as Barney might have been beloved for kids, it is honestly easy to see how that cadence and his disposition could be manipulated and used rather effectively for a horror movie. In fact, the entire premise of Buddy makes sense for a horror movie, as there is something unsettling about children’s television shows more often than not—just look at the Teletubbies. With that concept, and Keegan-Michael Key voicing the character, Buddy is sure to be a can’t-miss horror flick.
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