Kids for Character

This article is about the video. You may be looking for the song.

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Summary

Hosted by Tom Selleck and partnership with the Josephson Institute of Ethics and the Character Counts! Coalition. This direct-to-video PSA and Winner of the Parents' Choice Gold Award is to teach kids to learn the virtues of having good character along with the 6 Pillars of Character such as Trustworthiness, Respect, Responsibility, Fairness, Caring and Citizenship. Sing-Along with The Character Counts! Kids and other TV show characters such as Barney (from Barney & Friends), Julie Woo (from The Puzzle Place), Ms. Valerie Fizzle (from The Magic School Bus), Lamb Chop (from Lamb Chop's Play Along), Binyah Binyah (from Nickelodeon's Gullah Gullah Island), and Babar The Elephant.

A sequel was released in 1997 entitled "Choices Count" focus on teaching kids about making good choices, consequences, and listening to one's individual conscience. It also recaps the 6 Pillars of Character from the first video. Sing-Along with the Character Counts! Kids and other TV show characters such as Wishbone (from Wishbone), Loonette (from The Big Comfy Couch), B1 and B2 (from Bananas in Pajamas), Joe Scruggs and the return of Eddie Coker.

Songs

• 6 Pillars of Character
• Trustworthiness
• Respect
• Responsibility
• Fairness
• Caring
• Citizenship
• The 6 Simple Words of Character
• It's Your Character that Counts

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1. "It's Your Character that Counts"
2. "Six Simple Words"
3. "Respect"
4. "It's Not Fair" (Lamb Chop's Play Along)
5. "Go Underneath the Broomstick" (Gullah Gullah Island)
6. "Friends and Family" (Gullah Gullah Island)
7. "Kids for Character"

Cast & Crew

• The cast of Kids for Character
• Barney poses with other members of the show

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Host

• Tom Selleck

The Character Counts! Kids

• Michael (Corey Hayes)
• Sarah (Brittany Bentley)
• Joey (Mark Augustine II)
• Maria (Jaklyn Kenney)
• Patrick (Jack Mountford)
• Katie (Tessa Ludwick)

Barney & Friends

• Barney (Voice: Bob West, Costume: David Joyner)
• Baby Bop (Voice: Julie Johnson, Costume: Jeff Ayers)
• BJ (Voice: Patty Wirtz, Costume: Jeff Brooks)
• Min (Pia Hamilton, only in the Barney segment)
• Shawn (John David Bennett, II only in the Barney segment)
• Tosha (Hope Cervantes, only in the Barney segment)

The Puzzle Place

• Julie Woo (puppeteered by Alice Dinnean)
• Leon MacNeal (puppeteered by Noel MacNeal)

The Magic School Bus

• Ms. Valerie Frizzle (voiced by Tomlin)
• Liz (voiced by unknown)

Lamb Chop's Play-Along

• Shari Lewis (herself/Lamb Chop)

The Learning Station

• Don Monopoli (himself)

Gullah Gullah Island

• Binyah Binyah (puppeteered by Philip D. Garcia)
• James Alston (James Edward Coleman II)
• Vanessa Alston (Vanessa Baden)

Babar

• King Babar (voiced by Gordon Pinsent)

Guest Appearances

• Eddie Coker
• The Cat in the Hat (Dr. Suess)
• Fred Flintstone and Barney Rubble (Hanna-Barbera's The Flintstones)
• Yogi and Boo Boo Bear (Hanna-Barbera's Yogi Bear)
• George Jetson (Hanna-Barbera's The Jetsons)
• Kino (PBS's Storytime)
• Thomas the Tank Engine (Gullane)
• Spot the Dog (King Rollo)
• Scooby-Doo (Hanna-Barbera)
• Top Cat (Hanna-Barbera)
• Garfield (Paws)
• Peter Rabbit (Beatrix Potter)
• Madeline (Ludwig Bemelmans)
• Woody Woodpecker (MCA)
• Ronald McDonald (McDonald's)

Executive Producers

• Anne Josephson
• Michael Josephson

Producer

• Tony Peugh

Directors

• Robert Hersh
• Red Schilowitz
• Rob Gorrell

Music Director

• Joe Phillips

Original Music

• Joe Phillips and Tony Peugh: "Six Simple Words" and "Kids for Character"
• Joe Phillips and Stephen White: "Respect"
• Paul Tracy: "It's Your Character that Counts"

Writers

• Rob Gorrell
• James Hecht
• Anne Josephson
• Tony Peugh

Unit Production Manager

• Leah Gambai

Production Supervisor

• Laura Snow

Assistant to the Producer

• Judy Kemer

Choreographer

• Cynthia Thomas

Casting Director

• Pati Thomas-Robinson

Logo Design

• Lori Sanchez

Post Production Editing

• Century III at Universal Studios Florida

Editor

• Tom Breslin

Graphics

• Jennifer Hines

Audio Mix Engineer

• Bob Bass

Post Production Audio

• Soundelux Florida, Inc

Assistant Music Director

• Jennifer Blechschmid

Dialogue Editior

• Laura Evans

Sounds Effects Editors

• Neal Anderson
• Jeff Largent

Music Editior

• Patrick N. Sellers

Technical Support

• Travis Meck
• Vinnie Gonzalez
• Chuck Jones
• Scott Dismukes

Segment Producer

• Deborah Mayer

Major Funding Provided by

• IBM
• Sears
• SCE Corp
• PBS

Gallery

VHS

1996 VHS

Exclusive only to Blockbuster

Spanish-Language VHS

VHS Covers

Original Release (1996)

1996 Spine

1996 Top Flap

1996 Back Cover

Clamshell Case Release (1996)

Reprinted Release (1997)

1997 Spine

1997 Top Flap

Spanish-Language Release (1996)

Spanish-Language Spine

Spanish-Language Top Flap

Video Promotions

Promo Ad seen from the Barney Fan Club News ~ It's Showtime ~ Number 1, 1996

A promotional photo of Barney, Baby Bop, and the kids from the Barney "Respect" segment

Scenes

Barney, BJ, and Baby Bop hugging Julie and Leon from The Puzzle Place and Kino from Kino's Storytime in Kids for Character.

Behind the Scenes

Barney, BJ, and Baby Bop during the filming of "Kids for Character".

Production

Filming

Filming for the material content of Kids for Character occurred in October 1995 at the Universal Studios theme park in Orlando, Florida.

Trivia

• This video marked:
  • The first time where Jeff Gittle directed for Barney. He would return to directing two years later for the episode "What's in a Name?"
  • The first Barney video to have Joseph Phillips as a music director.
  • The first Barney video to be released and distributed by Lyrick Studios, however the logo would not be shown on tapes until 1997.
  • The first appearance of the 1996 Baby Bop costume.
  • The last time where Min and Shawn appeared together.
  • The last appearance of Barney's 1994 costume. However, it was still used in other live appearances and material until 1998.
  • Barney's 1994 costume looks different than before.
• The prototype version of the Lyrick Studios logo was used in the original printings, later printings used the actual Lyrick Studios logo.
• Unlike the English of this video, Niños Pro Carácter is sponsored by the YMCA of America.
• It was also dubbed and released in Spanish entitled Niños Pro Carácter.
• Bob West (the voice of Barney) makes an appearance with the end crowd song holding the Puzzle Place banner.
• The Barney segment was filmed at or around the same time as the filming for Once Upon A Time (judging from the fact that Shawn and Tosha wear the same outfits in both).
  • Although BJ doesn't appear during the Barney segment in this video, he appears in the middle and in the end of this video.
• This video is dedicated with respect and admiration to the memory of Barbara Jordan, a founding board member and national co-spokesperson for the Character Counts coalition.
• Exclusive to Blockbuster, Kids for Character and Barney Safety were one of many other Barney Home Videos that were a combo VHS (where both tapes are the same one not individually released like for retail).
• Shawn later wore the same shirt shown in Once Upon A Time.
• Min later wore the same outfit shown in Barney's Fun & Games.