The film is produced, written and directed by Steve Oedekerk and features an ensemble cast of Kevin James, Courteney Cox, Sam Elliott, Danny Glover, Wanda Sykes, Andie MacDowell, Tino Insana, John DiMaggio and David Koechner.

It tells the story of Otis, a carefree Holstein cow (actually a male bullock with an udder) who learns the value of responsibility when he becomes the leader of his farm home's community after his adoptive father's death from a coyote attack.

Otis, a male carefree Holstein steer lives on a farm in the Arizonian town of Oedeville where its animal occupants are allowed to reveal their anthropomorphism when humans are not watching them.

One evening, Otis convinces Ben to cover his night watch so he can attend a massive party in the barn and impress Daisy, a pregnant cow who recently arrived at the farm with her best friend Bessy as a newcomer.

He struggles with his new position and duties, which unexpectedly include salvaging an incident in which the farmer witnesses the animals partying and Miles, an elderly mule and Ben's childhood friend, knocking him unconscious.

After narrowly avoiding the authorities, Otis returns for his night watch and shares a tender moment with Daisy, who recalls the time her late husband and fellow cattle were killed during a rainstorm.

Ashamed, Otis decides to abandon the farm, but relents after learning that the coyotes have kidnapped the hens, including Etta and her young daughter Maddy, during the day behind his back.

The hens' chicks were portrayed by Eliana Bendetson, Paul Butcher, Khamani Griffin, Arlo Levin, Liliana Mumy, Cydney Neal, Cat Ozawa, Thomas Pistor, Isaiah Tefilo and George Van Newkirk.

[9] Roger Moore of the Orlando Sentinel gave the film 2 stars out of 5, saying that, "with Barnyard, another quick-and-dirty 'all-star cast' mess churned out by the digital start-ups hired to steal some of Pixar's cash, the year that computer-generated animation 'jumps the shark' becomes official.

Politically correct, anatomically incorrect, and ugly to look at, the only thing that saves Barnyard is writer (and director) Steve Oedekerk's gift for gags and almost-edgy humor.

"[13] Claudia Puig of USA Today gave the film a score of 2.5/4, calling it "a sweet and mildly funny movie that will entertain young audiences, but one aspect is utterly mystifying: The two main characters, father and son bovine creatures, have large, distracting udders.