A Brief History of The Rise of Fall of Lyrick Studios

This video was inspired by the KZbin channel Mr. Coat, and I want to give them a huge shout out too.
I also want to give a big thank you to the Barney Wiki, Wigglepedia and The MilanTooner (on Twitter) for the information and photos. Along with providing footage from a lot of KZbin channels that are too many.
this video was in production for a long while.
Starting with the script from January 12, And filming from February 22-28. Now I am fully aware that I missed a few information, but I do hope you understand we’re on the same page here.
Thank you.
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Messager - Carsyn Cunningham
Discord - Rooscoe#3462

[@stevewhite9854]

Very nice and comprehensive video! (And I should know...I was there, writing Barney!)

[@14RingsGaming]

That's really cool! What was it like writing stuff for barney steve?

[@stevewhite9854]

@@14RingsGaming As you can imagine, over the course of 16 years (for me) "what it was like" changed several times. At the beginning, it was exciting and very challenging because everyone involved was trying to do something that the experts said was impossible. It was fun to see the shows being shot and see my scripts coming to life. And I was working with a lot of interesting and talented people! I really enjoyed writing Barney picture books because I believe strongly in the value of kids learning a love of reading at an early age, and sharing that bonding time with a parent or grandparent. Sometimes the job could be very frustrating. Bad management decisions happened more and more often. Some people weren't good at their jobs, and a very few were just flat out malicious. That being said, among the cast and crew there was a wonderful sense of family that I still remember fondly. So there were very high "ups" and pretty low "downs," but overall I'm proud of the work we did, I'm glad that we were making a show which kids could enjoy but was also good for them, and I'm very humbled that I had the honor of being a little part of so many childhoods.

[@CarsynCunningham]

Glad you enjoyed it Mr. White

[@WillCWilson]

Nobody's done a video like this before [I think]. I can't wait!

[@WillCWilson]

As for my memories of Lyrick Studios, HOO BOY do I have several. Lyrick Studios is one of the companies that has never truly left me in my childhood, teen years, and current early adult life. They have stuck with me because of the many shows they put out being big parts of my childhood. A good half of the Barney VHS tapes and DVDs I had as a kid were from Lyrick Studios, mainly of the "Second Generation" era when Bob, Tim, and Duncan were voicing Barney. Over the course of the last decade, I have each of the tapes Lyrick distributed of VeggieTales [Minus the Blockbuster exclusives], and I have the 2 tapes they distributed of Bob the Builder and Kipper [with a fanmade cover I drew for "Kipper: Pools Parks and Picnics", since the tape I have no longer has the original cover. My copy of "Tiger Tales" still has the original cover, though.] I used to not like the Wiggles as a kid for some reason, maybe too loud and energetic for me? I dunno. Wishbone was something I didn't find out about until the 2010's, thanks to the internet videos of 90's PBS recordings, as well as Lionsgate and HiT releasing 4 episodes onto DVD in 2011. I still to this day wish that they would just release the entire series onto DVD, not just for the 90's kids, but also for a new generation of children. I also remember that iconic 1998 logo with the lake and the starry sky from many a watching of Barney or Kipper as a child. It's very calming and soothing, yet also majestic. Had Lyrick not been completely folded into HiT, they very much could have continued using this well into the 2010's, like the 1997 Warner Home Video logo was, before replacing it with a 16:9 widescreen remake similar to the one by Cayby J. After hearing more about Lyrick's history, I too find it sad that it got folded and it's original plans weren't carried out. I would've loved a Barney & Friends Season 7 with Lyrick's involvement and set at Barney's house. Although, I guess we wouldn't really see Barney transforming from toy to dinosaur much anymore though... or would we?? 🤔 I would've loved to have seen more VHS releases of Angelina Ballerina under the company, as well as of Percy the Park Keeper, and maybe of HiT's other shows, like Brambly Hedge, Archibald the Koala, and The Magic Key. Those books you mentioned at the end of the video... did they ever get released by another publishing company, or were they just left unreleased? If it's the latter, then that must've really sucked for the authors and writers who put those books together. Lyrick could've really worked well as a sidebrand of HiT Entertainment, advertising both their shows, as well as HiT's, under their own label. It really makes me want to make some 'alternate history' videos of Lyrick's stuff. [If you look at my channel, you'll see a playlist of a fanmade Lyrick Studios VHS copy of "Here Come the Teletubbies" from 1999, with previews of PBS Kids shows at the start, and previews from Lyrick shows at the end.] Phew! This is a long read, but hopefully, you got through it all, Carsyn!

[@bluescluesfan4645]

This may actually be the 20th anniversary of lyrick studios being discontinued but it is one of the homes for Barney

[@diegohernandez-romerovhsop216]

Awesome Can Wait

[@andrelott6920]

I loved Lyrick Studios and Barney the Dinosaur. I also liked Wishbone and I used to watch it on PBS, when I was little. The reason why I got into VeggieTales was because I saw that it was distributed by Lyrick Studios and I knew that it was the same studio that made Barney and Wishbone and it was the same reason why I got into The Wiggles.

[@BigLightning4360]

When I was in my childhood years before being diagnosed with autism at the age of 5, my introduction to Lyrick Studios products would begin with the VeggieTales video cassette tape "The Toy That Saved Christmas" that I still have to this day. Another obscure memory to look back on would be the time I briefly had a Barney doll in farmer's clothes from "Barney's Great Adventure", which I wouldn't discover until 2013 in the KZbin atmosphere. Finally, during my freshman year in high school, my English class watched an episode of "Wishbone" featuring Odysseus and I would later watch the entire series at the start of the 2020 coronavirus pandemic to keep myself optimistic. If Richard Leach was still alive to keep his studio afloat, I could imagine pitching an animated film idea with the tone of "Barney" or Wishbone" that could bring in a bigger success than "Barney's Great Adventure", which I'm secretly invested in, with Stephen White's 1995 original script and Van Dyke Park's underappreciated score. Either way, thank you very much for sharing the history of Lyrick Studios!

[@andrelott6920]

I used to have a bunch of Barney VHS tapes, including a VHS tape of Barney’s Great Adventure: The Movie, and some Barney books that were from The Lyons Group/Lyrick Studios, a little Barney doll that came with a little Barney book on the back from Lyrick Studios, three original VeggieTales rereleased VHS tapes that were distributed by Lyrick Studios and the 2000 rereleased of VeggieTales: The Toy That Saved Christmas, a Lyrick Studios VHS tape of The Wiggles: Toot Toot, Bob The Builder: Can We Fix It? from Hit Entertainment and Lyrick Studios, and the first video that I owned that was released by the Lyrick Studios name was Kids For Character!

[@iansweeney9953]

I do remember Lyrick Studios distributed the classic VeggieTales episodes.

[@amaniwhite9622]

Hey there my fellow KZbinrs. I have a ❓ question for you today, what is your fondest memory of Lyricks studios? Leave your 💭 thoughts in the comments 💬 below! And Also, comment down below what are your childhood shows from the studio as well.

[@amaniwhite9622]

Hey there Carsyn! Thanks for uploading this video. I've grew up with watching Lyrick studios videos. It sucks that the Company is short-lived. But As a 90s kid, this company will always have a special place in my heart.💙

[@beckercolin]

This was SO well done and incredibly informative. Great work, Carsyn! Watching this video made me think so much about childhood! I didn't watch too much of Lyrick's stuff, however I was obsessed with Barney when I was a little kid.

[@sterlingnimbus1]

Veggietales and Bob The Builder were the Lyrick Studios VHS tapes I watched when I was younger! I watched The Toy That Saved Christmas and Lyle the Kindly Viking from Veggietales! And Bob the Builder: Can We Fix It, To The Rescue, and Pets in a Pickle! Unfortunately, as one who was born in the 2000s, that was during the final stretch of the Lyrick Studios era....

[@kulwinderkaur617]

My favorite barney vhs is more barney songs and super singing circus and you can be anything when I was a kid!

[@ACTwoThree]

Great Video Rooscoe!! 🔥🔥🔥 lots of hard work!

[@peeebsdisneyfanrethsollins7840]

PBS did very well with Barney and Wishbone.

[@johncoxmastercartoonist9390]

I'm sorry to say my family was not huge Barney fans growing up, but I did watch quite a few Lyrick Studios tapes as a kid, whether we owned or just borrowed from the library. I think the VeggieTales tapes "Where's God When I'm S-Scared?" and "Are You My Neighbor?" were the very first Lyrick Studios videos I ever watched. My other favorite Lyrick Studios releases were Shelley Duvall's Tall Tales & Legends. They and her previous series Faerie Tale Theater (never released by Lyrick, but by Cabin Fever under their "Razzmatazz Entertainment" label in the 90s) had great celebrity actors. Never owned Wishbone on video, but we used to sometimes watch it on PBS Kids. As a logo fan and artist, I also love both Lyrick Studios logos, especially the 1998 one.

[@theintrovertedaspie9095]

Im a logo fan myself.

[@SinfulXavi]

I still have most of the VHSs under “The Lyons Group” banner, still have my old VHS copy of Barney’s Great Adventure, and many others in between Lyons and Lyrick. Including some of Wishbone, since I love story books then and now based off of what the show was recreating. And to this day, even have the only merch I possess…. A wash rag with Barney The Dinosaur. The rag has a copyright of 1991 by The Lyons Group, and was passed down to me from my grandmother when I was 4. After she passed away in 2010, it was lost for a long time, as I thought. Until 2022, my aunt found it on her clothes pile neatly stacked in the closet and handed it to me and told me about it, even the history of it from my grandmother to me…. I cried knowing it is still there, but slightly faded but in great condition, and was a huge piece in my life and a memory of my grandmother… I will always keep it safe until I pass on, then who knows what will happen to it. Some great memories from Lyons Group and Lyrick Studios that will never leave my head.

[@CuriousGeorgeVHS]

Awesome vid on a great subject. Cool informative stuff like this doesn't surface often.

[@matthewalbanese6222]

Barney is my childhood too! And I love all his home videos especially ones from Lyrick Studios!😁😍

[@dezputtyranger2724]

I live in Plano Texas not that far from lyrick studio.... Back in 1995 Rick duffield the creator of wishbone came to our school Armstrong Middle School to pitch a story about a small dog who loves to read books and loves to be the main character in The adventures it became wishbone... I love that this studio came from my town growing up I always was like that studio right there made Barney and Friends and wishbone and veggie tales and The wiggles!!!! All amazing shows great job on your video by the way keep up the good work.... And also we ended up moving to Murphy Texas we lived on the same street as South fork ranch 👀

[@cisumfive_34]

Barney, the wiggles and veggietales were the only show who were making lyrick big

[@QueenofVHS]

6:26 "You won't be to find it anywhere" Me: (laughs in Lyrick screener copy I paid 25 dollars for and ended up on a Shelley Duvall podcast for)

[@MSwolfdog158]

I remember that wish bone on PBS kids that I saw the dog was talanted I watch on KZbin.

[@magnetoonproductions9541]

Hit and Lyrick sure had a lot of potential.

[@jordanhowell7798]

Lyrick Studios was to me the Abbey Home Entertainment of the United States. It's sad the Hit Entertainment destroyed Lyrick sadly.

[@joshuabonilla6861]

I remembered these companies of the logos when I was boy

[@HiTopsVideoMemorabilia]

6:00 Hi-Tops Video is my favorite VHS company of all time! I have the copy of this movie.

[@marines285]

Yes

[@jakethecarsandreactorvideo9409]

I had some lyrick studios vhs I saw the lyrick studios logo on Bob the builder vhs

[@mycharity4kids]

I remember that logo from my Barney Waiting For Santa VHS.

[@SuperPsychic101]

4:15 - PERIODT!

[@matthewalbanese6222]

Well, I do agree with Carsyn that Barney really IS a childhood hero. In fact, he’s one of the most popular preschool children’s tv characters of all time!

[@theintrovertedaspie9095]

I was born in 1999 so it was the tale end of Lyrick's existence. I was still 1 when it shut down. I remember,mber seeing the logo on the back of the Veggietales VHSs I grew up watching. Im also autistic, but just on the spectrum.

[@andrelott6920]

According to Phil Vischer, he chose the company to release the VeggieTales videos since Lyrick Studios' founder and former chairman Richard C. Leach was a committed Christian, and the company let the religious tones on the shows remain intact, unlike other distributors Big Idea had asked beforehand. Also because of VeggieTales I first started to learn about God and The Bible and when I was 11 years old I started watching TBN, a channel that I just found out at the time, and I started watching other Christian kids programs too and later on, during those programs, I was learning about being born again and I became a born again Christian when I was 13 years old!

[@theintrovertedaspie9095]

My research says Lyrick Studios was founded in 1988.

[@WildArtist9016]

I have a soft spot for the Wiggles

[@pedroaugustomoura8968]

4:28 jumpscare

[@CarsynCunningham]

What are your memories of Lyrick Studios? I would love to hear your thoughts and what your memories are from this studio itself. No comments with cussing is required. Make sure to keep them as family friendly as possible.

[@HiTopsVideoMemorabilia]

The first logo with the flying letters and colors with 2 perfect jingles.

[@jordanhowell7798]

I've always seen their logo on many of my UK Barney VHS tapes.

[@madisondaniels2524]

My memories is the second logo because of its jumpscare of the hand. Still, I love this logo because the letters are colorful. I wish this logo revives and comes back. Maybe you should make a petition to bring back Lyrick Studios.

[@amaniwhite9622]

My fondest memories From Lyrick studios is Barney, And veggieTales 🍅🥒 to be honest, that's pretty much it. Thanks for the question. By the way. I've subscribed to your channel and hit the notification bell 🔔 as well. 🔔🔔( 🔔🔔Ding-Ding 🔔🔔) 🔔🔔

[@amaniwhite9622]

Also, I like the first and 2nd logo. The 2nd logo is very Beautiful, and I wasn't scared of the hand at all!

[@williamfriedman6990]

I hope to make a rap song one day, and use the lyric studios music as the sample

[@amobiuzukwu7949]

I have 3 Lyrick Studios that was Released by Barney. Barney What a World We Share Be my Valentine, love Barney More Barney Songs

[@stevennorthrup5790]

Joe Scruggs and Groundling Marsh came nowhere near as close as Barney in terms of popularity. So, yeah. Their videos did not last long.

[@smoothwaveproudctions6678]

the only reason why i member lyrick studios is becuase they use to distribute a few videos by the wiggles cuz i had a lot of wiggle videos when i was a kid they were my childhood favourites

[@amaniwhite9622]

Hahaha! Sound like The member berries from South park!

[@TheStormBolt-gf8qi]

Barney

[@tjglover2847]

barney