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'Barnyard' evokes a sense of deja-moo

"Don't count your chickens before they're hatched."

"Closing the barn door after the horse has bolted."

"Betting the farm."

Lots of clichés find a home in the barnyard.

Paramount Pictures 'Barnyard' 2 out of 5 stars The verdict: Kids will love it, and you'll find a few funny moments. Director: Steve Oedekerk Starring: Kevin James, Courteney Cox Arquette, Danny Glover, Sam Elliott, Wanda Sykes Run time: 90 minutes Release date: August 4, 2006 Rating: PG for some mild peril and rude humor. See showtimes On the web Official movie site View the trailer    Trailers require Quicktime [an error occurred while processing this directive]

Likewise, lots of clichés find a home in "Barnyard: The Original Party Animals," the new 3D animated children's flick from Nickelodeon.

In fact, almost everything in the film produces a distinct sense of deja-moo: The cows appear to have stepped out of a "Far Side" panel; Danny Glover's Miles looks just like "Shrek's" Donkey; the villainous coyote, Dag, is a fleshed-out version of Wile E. Coyote (but with menacing aptitude). And the plot? It's as if "The Lion King" has been remade by the Farrelly brothers.

Since you'll know how the film will end within the first 10 minutes, it helps that writer/director Steve Oedekerk ("Bruce Almighty," "Santa Claus vs. The Snowman") has littered "Barnyard's" countryside with some hilarious moments.

For starters, these really are the party animals of the film's subtitle, participating in wild barn dances beyond the not-so-watchful eye of the oblivious farmer. When he accidentally walks in on one of these bashes, the animals go to hilarious escalating (and painful) lengths to convince him that what he saw and heard was actually an blunt-trauma-induced hallucination.

Ever heard of cow-tipping? Another great scene involves a group of bovines going on a revenge "boy-tipping" mission. While on the resulting joyride, they appear to drink to intoxication, which is not a great visual for a children's film. But the fact that cows are getting tanked on milk just takes it to a disturbing new level.

Oedekerk fills many of the frames with sly humor. The chickens throw darts, and they have a picture of Col. Sanders taped to their dart board. After the barnyard's bovine leader — ahem — "buys the farm," a dog lobbies for his position but loses the vote ... how effective a protector can an animal be if he can't help but compulsively chase a tossed ball?

If the humor is smart and effective, the animation is lackluster and uneven — the pixel pushers at Pixar have spoiled us. Some scenes appear amazingly realistic, but in others the backgrounds are flat and the characters too shiny. There are a pair of violent scenes that should pack extra emotional wallop simply by virtue of the 3D illusion, but luckily for small kids, "Barnyard" can't quite pull off the pathos nor fear it shoots for.

And small kids are likely to be the most entertained by this fast-moving film; actually, I'm betting the farm they'll love it.