Film / Imagination Island

Imagination Island is a Barney TV special, originally broadcast on NBC on April 24, 1994.

After hearing a story about Imagination Island, Tosha and Min wish to go there themselves. With a little imagination, Barney magically takes them aboard a huge ship and, along with the rest of their friends, the trio sets sail for Imagination Island. Just as they're about to arrive to the island, a storm hits and a giant wave strands the ship atop some palm trees. As Barney and the gang explore the island, they meet an eccentric toy inventor named Professor Tinkerputt (Barry Pearl), who doesn't want to share his toys. Will Barney and his friends get home and can they show the professor that good things happen when you share?

This special provides examples of:

• An Aesop: Sharing things brings joy to others
• Armor-Piercing Response: Barney's response when Professor Tinkerputt asks why Tosha shared with him when he would not share with anyone else:
  Barney: Because Tosha remembered something that you forgot. You've made lots of wonderful toys for yourself, Professor. But when you share, you make someone else happy, and that's the most important thing anyone can make.
• Artifact Title: The special was initially broadcast as Bedtime with Barney: Imagination Island as a tie-in with the then-recent radio show Bedtime with Barney. A title card with the radio show's name starts off the special and is retained in the video release.
• Balloonacy: Barney and the gang get their ship off the island by attaching lots of giant balloons to it (courtesy of Professor Tinkerputt's balloon machine)
• Chekhov's Gun: Tosha's heart-shaped necklace. It's just the right size to fit in Tinkerputt's balloon machine and get it working. Sharing her necklace with Tinkerputt reforms him.
• Cloud Cuckoo Lander: Professor Tinkerputt fits the bill. He not only has bizarre mannerisms, but many of his inventions are just as oddball as he is.
• Cultural Translation: The Latin-American dub changes the George Washington reference noted under Or My Name Isn't... to a reference to Charlemagne.
• Freeze-Frame Bonus: In Professor Tinkerputt's house, you can see puppets of a cow, chicken, and a frog on a shelf. These puppets were all scrapped characters from the main show.
• "I Am Great!" Song: "Tinkerputt's Song" is sung by the namesake toy inventor about how great he is, his passion for building toys, and how he doesn't want to share said toys.
• I Can't Hear You: BJ hears a ship bell, hoping it's another ship to rescue everyone. He lets Baby Bop know
  BJ: Hey sissy! I hear a ship's bell!
  Baby Bop: What?
  BJ: I said I hear a bell!
  Baby Bop: What?
  [cuts to Baby Bop ringing their own ship's bell]
  Baby Bop: I can't hear you! I'm ringing this bell!
• I Choose to Stay: Inverted. Professor Tinkerputt is happy to live on Imagination Island, away from anyone who would want to play with his toys. He even took apart his airplane just to make new toys for himself, dampening Barney and the kids' hopes of going home. Once Barney and the kids show him the joys of sharing, he decides to leave the island and start a new toy factory elsewhere.
• It's All About Me: At first, Professor Tinkerputt is not too thrilled with sharing his toys with others. He changes his tune once he discovers that sharing with others makes them happy, which makes him happy in return.
• Mr. Exposition: When asked, Barney explains to the rest of the gang exactly why they're on a ship. He later explains to Tinkerputt how they got to the island in the first place, albeit with an Exposition Cut.
• Or My Name Isn't...: Parodied
  Professor Tinkerputt: And I'll help you get [the ship] down, or my name isn't... George Washington!
  Derek: Your name isn't George Washington.
  Professor Tinkerputt: That's right! And I can't help you.
• The Place: Imagination Island is the special's main setting.
• Portal Door: Tosha's closet door becomes one with stairs that lead Barney and the girls up to a ship deck.
• Real Life Writes the Plot: Due to a lawsuit involving the song, "I Love You" is omitted from the special. The song "It's Good to Be Home" is sung in its place.
• Robinsonade: After a storm strands their ship in some palm trees, Barney and friends are stuck on Imagination Island with no way to get home. Thanks to Professor Tinkerputt, they escape the island and return safe and sound.
• Slumber Party: Tosha and Min have one. It's not until Barney shows up that their ordinary sleepover paves the way for an imaginary high-seas adventure.
• Triumphant Reprise: "Just Imagine" is initially sung by Barney, Tosha, and Min before they set off on their adventure. It's reprised when the gang successfully leaves the island, using their ship to fly home
• Tropical Island Adventure: Once Barney and his friends end up on Imagination Island, the gang ends up exploring the lush island landscape.
• Year Inside, Hour Outside: Barney and the gang's adventure on Imagination Island takes around thirty minutes of the special's runtime. Back in Tosha's bedroom, her mom notes it has only been five minutes.