Barney's Magical Christmas (2001 film)

Barney's Magical Christmas (also known as Barney's Magical Christmas: The Movie or simply Barney's Great Adventure II: The Search Of the Christmas Spirit in the UK) is a 2001 British-American family, musical, fantasy live-action animated Christmas film co-produced and directed by Ron Howard and Simon Wells, also written by Jeffrey Price and Peter S. Seaman. Based on the children's television series "Barney & Friends", it is the sequel to the 1998 film Barney's Great Adventure to be adapted into his second full-length feature film. Also, the film stars Tom Hanks as the purple dinosaur, Jim Carrey as the eponymous character, with Jeffrey Tambor, Christine Baranski, Bill Irwin, Molly Shannon and featuring the voice talents Dave Foley, Rob Paulsen, William H. Macy and introducing Kevin Bacon, Bridget Fonda, Michael J. Fox, and Anne Hathaway in supporting roles.

Produced by Lyrick Studios, Imagine Entertainment and Universal Pictures, the film was released by Walt Disney Pictures on December 21, 2001.

Plot
In London, England, circa 1957, on the night of Christmas Eve, a boy named Toby (Freddie Highmore), becomes skeptical of the existence of the classic story book called How the Grinch Stole Christmas!. Struggling to fall asleep, he witnesses a steam locomotive arrive on the street, and goes outside to examine it. Barney (Tom Hanks) introduces the train as the Polar Express, bound for the magical place called, Whoville. Initially reluctant, Toby jumps aboard as the train departs.

In a passenger car, he meets a spirited girl named Madeline (Emma Watson), and a know-it-all boy. The train picks up a boy named Madeline, who also declines to board, but changes his mind, and the boy applies the brakes to allow Alex to board, which is noticed by Barney. As Madeline sits alone in the train's observation car, hot chocolate is served in the passenger car, and Madeline stows away a cup for Alex. The train was automatically stopped in the blizzard, the snowflakes falling like magic. Then, with the imagination, the train chugged inside the magic snowflake, and with a whoosh, and a wheesh, they finally arrived in Whoville.

All the Whos down in Whoville enjoy celebrating Christmas with much happiness and joy, except for the cynical and misanthropic Grinch (Jim Carrey), who hatefully despises Christmas and the Whos with great wrath and occasionally pulls dangerous and harmful practical jokes on them. As a result, no one likes or cares for him. Meanwhile, six-year-old Cindy Lou (Taylor Momsen) believes everyone is missing the point about Christmas by being more concerned about the gifts and festivities. Cindy Lou eventually learns that the Grinch is real and becomes interested in his history; she asks everyone what they know about him, and soon discovers that he has a tragic past.

The Grinch actually arrived in Whoville by mistake when he was a baby, and was adopted by two elderly sisters. Although he showed some sadistic tendencies as a child, he was rather timid and not the cruel, selfish person he would become; he was ridiculed by his classmates (particularly by Augustus May Who, the current Mayor of Whoville) because of his appearance, with the exception of Martha May Whovier, who was courted by both the Grinch and May Who. One Christmas season, he made a gift for Martha, but attempted to shave his face, cutting himself and when the school saw his face covered with shaving tape the next morning, they laughed at him. He lost his temper, went on a rampage and ran away to live on Mt. Crumpit.

Cindy Lou, Barney, and his friends, touched by this story, decides to make the Grinch the main participant of the Whobilation, to the great displeasure of Mayor May Who, who reluctantly agrees after pressure from the townspeople, who have been warmed by Cindy Lou's generous spirit. When Cindy Lou goes to Mt. Crumpit and offers an invitation to the Grinch, he turns her down. He gradually changes his mind, however, due to the promise of an award, the presence of Martha at the celebration and the chance to upset the Mayor. Just as the Grinch is enjoying himself and is almost won over, May Who gives him an electric shaver as a present, reminding him of his humiliation at school. May Who then asks Martha to marry him, promising her a new car in return. This causes the Grinch to openly berate the Whos for thinking that Christmas is about gifts that they will just dispose of later, in the hopes of making them too ashamed to celebrate the holiday. He then goes on to ruin the party by burning the Christmas tree with a flamethrower. Meanwhile, Barney's heart was soon turning gray, and made him sick.

When he discovers that his attack has not removed the spirit of Christmas from the Whos, the Grinch instead concocts a plan to steal all of their presents while they are sleeping. Creating a Santa suit and sleigh, the Grinch flies around Whoville, stealing all of the Whos' Christmas gifts. He is almost discovered by Cindy Lou, but concocts a lie that allows him to get away. Meanwhile, Jimmy's satellite is intercepted by the Yolkians, a race of egg-like aliens from the planet Yolkus. Their leader, King Goobot views Jimmy's message and takes notice of a picture featuring the classic story, declaring his search complete. The Yolkians had arrived to rewrite the story and abduct all the decorations in Whoville. The next day, as their ships return to space, Barney's heart was turning even more gray, and made him even more sicker. Horrified, Toby and Madeline rush back to Whoville to find Barney's body. Toby and Madeline are distraught, thinking Barney is dead. Later, the Whos discover the Grinch's scheme, and May Who denounces Cindy Lou and Barney as the root of this catastrophic disaster. However, her father, Lou Lou Who, finally stands up to him and reminds everyone that they still have the Christmas Spirit and that the principal meaning of Christmas is to spend it with family and friends. The people accept his speech and begin to sing. Hoping that the change of mood would inspire the Grinch, Cindy Lou goes to Mt. Crumpit to find him. Then, with their new belief, Barney revives.

The Grinch reveals that he intends to push the stolen gifts off the top of the mountain after he hears the Whos crying. The following day, the children are miserable and realize they need their parents. Jimmy learns that his satellite has been found and deduces the parents have been abducted. However, instead of crying, he hears the joyful singing of the Whos. Infuriated about the failure of his plan, the Grinch has an epiphany about what Christmas is really about: not material gifts, but spending time with loved ones, an insight that profoundly touches him and causes his heart to grow to three times its original size. Later, Jimmy enlists Barney and his friends to bring out rocket ships and they blast off into space after their families and the book. After braving a meteor shower, Barney and his friends were feeling miserable, by the aliens rewrote the story and made a half of it wrong. Later, Barney and company eventually reach Yolkus and find the book and the parents with mind control devices attached to their heads. They are captured by Goobot, who reveals to the children that Jimmy had led them directly to Earth to take their parents, whom the Yolkians intend to sacrifice to their god, Poultra. Jimmy is separated from Goddard by Goobot's brother and assistant, Ooblar, and is locked in a dungeon with the rest of the children. Taking pity on Jimmy, Cindy confesses she and the rest of the children need Jimmy and encourages him to help them escape. When the sleigh full of stolen gifts begins to go over the edge of the cliff, the Grinch desperately tries to save them to no avail. However, when he realizes Cindy Lou has come to wish him a merry Christmas and is in danger of falling off the cliff with the sleigh, the Grinch finds enough strength to lift the sleigh, the gifts and Cindy Lou to safety. After a long descent down Mt. Crumpit, the Grinch returns to Whoville with Cindy and the gifts. He confesses to the burglary and apologizes for his actions towards the Whos, who reconcile with the Grinch. Martha turns down May Who's proposal and decides that she would rather stay with the Grinch instead. Later, Barney is going on to the Christmas Eve run, while Bambi and Faline were flying together with the reindeers, until then, they zoomed out and disappeared like magic. Meanwhille, the redeemed Grinch starts a new life with the Whos, commemorating the Christmas feast with them in his cave.

Cast

 * Tom Hanks as Barney the Dinosaur.
 * Jim Carrey as the Grinch.
 * Josh Ryan Evans as an 8-year-old Grinch.
 * Taylor Momsen as Cindy Lou Who.
 * Jeffrey Tambor as Mayor Augustus May Who.
 * Ben Bookbinder as an 8-year-old Augustus May Who.
 * Christine Baranski as Martha May Whovier.
 * Landry Allbright as an 8-year-old Martha May Whovier.
 * Bill Irwin as Lou Lou Who.
 * Molly Shannon as Betty Lou Who.
 * Kelley as Max the Dog and Frank Welker as his voice.
 * Clint Howard as Whobris.
 * Reid Kirchenbauer as an 8-year-old Whobris.
 * Michael J. Fox as Bambi.
 * Anne Hathaway as Faline.
 * Corey Burton as Thumper.
 * Mindy Sterling as Clarnella Who.
 * Jeremy Howard and T. J. Thyne as Drew Lou and Stu Lou Who.
 * Jim Meskimen as Officer Wholihan.
 * Anthony Hopkins as the Narrator.
 * Bryce Dallas Howard as a surprised Who.