Barnyard (2006)

Directed by: Steve Oedekerk

Cat Out of the Bag Alert! This review contains some spoilers for this film!

Synopsis: Otis the cow (voiced by Kevin James) would rather play than help his father Ben (voiced by Sam Elliott) guard the farm from coyotes.

Cartoon Cats: This notoriously bizarre film suffers from all kinds of weirdness, not the least of which is male cow characters with udders (why not just make them bulls?) There are three cats in the movie, none of which are mentioned by name. The most notable is a female percussionist and singer with The Barn Boys (she is sometimes referred to online as Tambourine Cat).

Barnyard - Tambourine Cat performing on stage

Barnyard - Tambourine Cat performing on stage with The Barn Boys

She has a solo turn in the band’s first number Hittin’ the Hay.

Barnyard - Tambourine Cat performing on stage animated gif

The cat musician is also performing as backup for rapper Biggie Cheese, a very large rat, who performs Boombastic.

Barnyard - Tambourine Cat performing behind Biggie Cheese on stage

In one of the films more bizarre moments, the band whistles to encourage a bizarre creature named Wild Mike, a hairy unidentifiable animal, to burst out of a crate and go into a mad dance that drives all the barnyard critters to join in.

Barnyard - Tambourine Cat performing behind Wild Mike

Barnyard - Tambourine Cat performing on stage with sheep dog

Another cat character is a tiny yellow and orange tabby kitten, also not named. The kitten is nervous when Otis and his friends burst late into the barn during a meeting.

Barnyard - small yellow and orange tabby kitten sitting at back of meeting

Barnyard - small yellow and orange tabby kitten cringing at back of meeting as Otis and his friends arrive late

At another meeting, Duke the dog is trying to get all of the animals to pick him as their new leader. When the vote is called, three dogs hold up pro-Duke signs. The kitten is sitting between them and one dog growls at him, forcing the poor kitten to hold up an “I ‘Heart’ Duke” sign.

Barnyard - small yellow and orange tabby kitten sitting between dogs holding up signs for Duke

Barnyard - small yellow and orange tabby kitten threatened by dogs holding up signs for Duke

Barnyard - small yellow and orange tabby kitten joining dogs holding up signs for Duke

Barnyard - small yellow and orange tabby kitten threatened by dogs into holding up sign for Duke animated gif

The kitten is last seen in the final moments of the film, watching with a gray cat through the slats of a stall at a newborn baby cow. The gray cat appears in a couple of scenes as a background character.