Barney’s new look divides fans with one suggesting he looks ‘cracked on cocaine’

The beloved purple dinosaur is set to front a reimagined animated series debuting in 2024, with a full range of kids’ toys and apparel following suit.

Mattel also announced on Monday its plans to expand the franchise into film and YouTube content as well as music.

As part of the announcement, the American toy company gave fans a taste of what to expect when the new show premieres next year, including a preview of Barney’s updated appearance.

The character was given a CGI makeover which included a new face shape, a wider smile and snout, a gap between his front teeth, green eyes, and a slight change in his fuchsia hue.

Barney’s redesign was met with mixed opinions from Twitter users, with one person joking that he got “the buccal fat removal”.

Many were not fans of the Tyrannosaurus rex’s new look, complaining that the redesign made it look like he had plastic surgery.

“Why does Barney look like he’s sky high cracked on cocaine? That face is unsettling as hell,” one person wrote.

Another said: “Maybe it's because I'm use to the OG Barney I grew up with during the '90s, but this new Barney looks like they gave him a face lift and some botox”.

Someone else added: “They gave Barney contacts, a nose job and bigger veneers. Sad”.

While another user joked: “new barney looks like he eat kids”.

However, others opined that the new Barney “looks better” than the original character, who made his first appearance in Barney & The Backyard Gang back in 1988.

“I see that barney has a new redesign for his 2024 series. Honestly, I think he's cute,” one person said.

Another chimed in: “Listen, I'm just gonna be real with you. This Barney redesign is so goddamned cute. I love it. The little gap tooth? *chef's kiss*”

And a third agreed: “Barney himself looks incredible!”