Baby Bop is a main recurring character on the television series, Barney & Friends, and was a minor character in its home video predecessor, Barney & The Backyard Gang.
A three-year-old bright green triceratops, Baby Bop made her first appearance in Barney in Concert which performed in 1991 at the Majestic Theater in Dallas, Texas.[1] During her debut, Baby Bop was depicted as being very shy until she heard music at which point she became much bolder. She became bolder (without music) in her many appearances to follow. Baby Bop debuted as a two-year-old with illeism, but eventually turned three in the episode "Look At Me, I'm 3!" (1993) and eventually grew to speak in first person.
Baby Bop is a good friend of Barney's and the younger sister of BJ. She is also Riff's cousin. Like the other dinosaurs, Baby Bop comes from the imagination of children. At the end of most episodes of Barney & Friends, she (alongside BJ and Riff) disappear into a burst of magical sparkles.
Baby Bop is like many precocious children her age. She loves to carry her yellow blanket around and is almost never even seen without it, calling it her "blankey". She sings about her blankey at times with the songs, "My Yellow Blankey" and "Baby Bop's Blankey". Baby Bop's favorite toy doll is her stuffed teddy bear, something she loves almost as much as her blanket.
She is an avid dancer, and has taken many ballet classes to pursue this hobby. She also loves to hop, as seen through the song, "The Baby Bop Hop".
Baby Bop's favorite food is macaroni and cheese, but she still likes many other foods such as apples and bananas, popcorn, and even pizza. She loves tea parties, and will try to host them with as many of her friends as she can. One of her favorite animals at the zoo is an elephant and she has an elephant doll named Nelly. She also loves to ride on her tricycle, which she got when she turned three.
History
Creation
According to the co-creator of Barney, Sheryl Leach, Baby Bop was created as a foil character to Barney. Whereas Barney is outgoing but down-to-earth, Baby Bop is very shy but can be ecstatic at times due to her young age.
Within Baby Bop's concert debut, her name was given by The Backyard Gang. Baby Bop's name is based on the words "Boppity-bop" from the song, "Mr. Knickerbocker". Prior to Baby Bop debuting in Barney in Concert, the Barney Fan Club newsletter held a contest for the then upcoming new dinosaur. Fans could send suggestions on a separate postcard to The Lyons Group, where entries had to be received by March 31, 1991. The winner of the contest would receive a phone call with Barney. It's currently unknown if the name "Baby Bop" was submitted for consideration.
Representation
Baby Bop serves as a vehicle for portraying the behaviors and activities typical of a 2 to 3-year-old, the age of much of the viewing audience.
Costume
1991 trademark illustration of Baby Bop.
History
The costume builders of Barney, Irene Corey and her niece Suzanne Lockridge, were also contacted to make the costume of Baby Bop. Baby Bop was initially pitched to the duo in a “comic strip” like format in which the creators had already sketched out the little green dinosaur. Early costume designs for her were to be a pink and yellow dinosaur with one sharp tooth. The tooth was scrapped as it looked too threatening for a two year old dinosaur and in subsequent sketches she was altered to the color palate that she's currently seen with. Corey and Lockridge were only given a week to produce the character, which would be introduced in Barney in Concert.[2]
Early Designs/Sketches
Design
Baby Bop is known for wearing a pink bow in her hair and pink ballet slippers on her feet. Her colors are an inverse of Barney's purple and green color scheme, sporting a green body with purplish-pink spots. She also has rather large eyelashes, and a tuft of hair beneath her crest.
Baby Bop's general appearance has gone through several changes over the years. When she made her debut, she was taller than the kids and about the very same height as Barney, clocking in at about 5'7'. In season two of Barney & Friends, Baby Bop got shorter to better suit her age of two-years-old (and later three). During an appearance at The National Press Club in Washington, D.C. on November 18, 1993, Sheryl Leach explained that Baby Bop's height is due to children imagining that she's smaller.[3] In season three of Barney & Friends, Baby Bop was redesigned slightly so that her jaw could move. Her design has remained this way since then.
See Also: Baby Bop Through the Years
Portrayal
Baby Bop with Julie Johnson, the original voice actress
Voice Portrayal History
During auditions, Julie Johnson, noticed that all of the people that were auditioning had pristine children's voices. When it was Julie Johnson's turn, she looked at the Baby Bop costume, and thought of "the sound that a toddler makes at a mall when they have to have that toy in the window shop and they're not going to survive if they don't get it", then becoming Baby Bop's voice.[4][5]
Jeff Ayers inside the Baby Bop costume.
Actors
Costume Actors
- Dao Knight (1991)
- Jenny Dempsey (1991–1993)
- Jeff Ayers (1993–2008)
- Lee Clark (1996 - 1998)
- Jennifer Romano (1997–2002)
- Jill Nelson (1999-2000)
- Jennifer Kendall (2004, 2008)
- Mitzi Evans (2007)
- Lauren Mayeux (2007-2020)
Voice Actors
- Julie Johnson (1991–2010)
- Carol Farabee (1993-1994)
- Kristin Sutton Ford[6] (Sleepytime Baby Bop) (2005)[7]
Trivia
- Unlike current appearances, Baby Bop's yellow blankey originally had her face and name embroidered on it in during her appearances in Barney & The Backyard Gang and season one of Barney & Friends .
- Nicki Minaj referenced Baby Bop in her song, "Stupid Hoe".[8]
Scrapped ideas
- Baby Bop was initially going to hatch from an egg during her debut in the respective video, but creators Sheryl Leach and Dennis DeShazer weren't able to review it before it came to filming the video.
- While the idea of how Baby Bop (alongside BJ and Riff) vanishes into magical sparkles went unexplored on video, it was explored within a penned a treatment titled "Barney's Magic of Music" by Stephen White in 2005. The treatment explains that the little dinos think of the fun they had throughout the day, alongside the fun they'll have tomorrow, while using their imaginations to scurry off.
Voices
- American voice actress Linda Young was a substitute voice for Baby Bop on Barney & Friends[9] whenever Julie Johnson was absent.[10]
- Like the voices of Barney and BJ, Baby Bop was voiced by an unknown stand-in for the live show of Barney Live! World Tour - A Celebration!. Similar to Barney, she was voiced by another unknown stand-in for the Fisher-Price toys that were released in 2018.
Appearances
- Barney in Concert
- Rock with Barney (cameo)
See Also
- Images of Baby Bop - categorized images featured on Barney Wiki of the character Baby Bop.
- Alternate Baby Bop Costumes - officially produced costumes that weren't explicitly used on camera for Baby Bop's appearances on Barney & The Backyard Gang and Barney & Friends.
References
- ↑ Dinosaur Barney Gets a Stage Workout
- ↑ The Hands that Built Barney
- ↑ Barney and Sheryl Leach appears at National Press Club!💜💚💛 | Happy New Year! | SUBSCRIBE January 27, 2021 Retrieved May 22, 2023
- ↑ Episode Fifty Purple Roads | Bob West, Julie Johnson & Patty Wirtz | Voice Actors "Barney & Friends"
- ↑ Purple Roads Episode Twenty Two | Julie Johnson (Voice of Baby Bop)
- ↑ End of Year Giving: A Message from Rover’s Board President
- ↑ Kiristin Sutton Ford on Instagram
- ↑ | Nicki Minaj – ‘Stupid Hoe’
- ↑ Linda Young | Voice over actor | Voice123 Retrieved February 3, 2024
- ↑ Barney Wiki Interview: Cheryl Ammeter February 1, 2024 Retrieved February 4, 2024
