BARNABY UNBOXED!

Reprising The Barnabus Project (2020), the Fan brothers revisit the reopened Perfect Pets store, which sells adorable boxed creatures with engineered, interactive personalities.

Barnaby, “half mouse and half elephant, with just a dash of flamingo,” is anxious about the exciting new Perfect Pets on offer. As the last Barnaby on the shelf, will he ever be chosen? Then, a light-skinned little girl does just that. At first, the pair are inseparable. She reads him bedtime stories; he helps her with chores. And every Saturday morning, they watch Barnaby and Friends (our hero is a branded tie-in to this popular TV show). Everything changes one day when they tune in to find that Barnaby’s been replaced by new “Rainbow Barnaby.” When the girl’s father won’t buy the colorful new Pet, the girl’s interest in plain pink Barnaby wanes. As her father walks him one rainy Saturday, Barnaby slips his collar, intending to run away just “long enough for people to miss him.” Days become months. Barnaby escapes a feline “orange beast,” discovers other lost Pets in a dumpster, and encounters his Rainbow doppelgänger, who disparages Barnaby’s dirty, now-gray fur. In the park, squirrels teach Barnaby their wild ways, sheltering him all winter. Spring brings a reunion with the searching girl, who reawakens Barnaby’s memories. The Fans’ deft pictures combine intricate details and ground-level perspective, conveying empathy for children and the even smaller creatures that populate their world. Human characters are diverse.

Joy, despair, reunion, community—delightfully, all here.