Buddy

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Buddy

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1h 35m

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Popcornmeter

88%

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137 Reviews

76%

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1,000+ Verified Ratings

Remember BUDDY--the bright orange unicorn and star of that classic children's television show who brought joy and life lessons into your living room? Inside the colorful world of "It's Buddy!", a group of children spend their days singing, dancing, and helping Buddy spread happiness. But when one child refuses to play along, Buddy is not pleased and cracks begin to appear in this seemingly perfect world.

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Critics Consensus

Buddy weaponizes the cheery conventions of children's entertainment into an inventive, hilarious, and creepy descent into pop culture madness.

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Audience Says

Intentionally weird and darkly funny, Buddy is to horror fans what Bluey is to millennial parents: chicken soup for the soul.

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Joey Shapiro

Chicago Reader

Sep 8, 2026

I’m also not sure if it has anything to say that hasn’t already been said by the numerous direct-to-Tubi movies that came before it.

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Alison Willmore

New York Magazine/Vulture

Sep 8, 2026

It wants to bring to mind is not some half-remembered children’s programming but an Adult Swim show that riffed on that sort of stuff. And, costume-character carnage aside, that’s just not as compelling.

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Robert Abele

Los Angeles Times

Sep 1, 2026

Enjoyably weird to the end, its horror soul in line with the creepypasta ethos of something undefined yet eternal.

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Sheraz Farooqi

CinemaDebate

14 hrs ago

3/5

Buddy is a solid horror film that makes the most of its small budget, delivering enough creepy moments and nostalgic fun to keep things entertaining. Any millennial who grew up with Barney will get the goosebumps from seeing this film

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Amanda the Jedi

Amanda the Jedi (Youtube)

18 hrs ago

As absurd as it is disturbing.

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Walter Chaw

Film Freak Central

5 days ago

3.5/4

Casper Kelly’s Buddy is the exact movie of this moment, a genuinely cathartic picture about how everyone pretending that everything is okay gets gutted, beheaded, flayed, folded, spindled and mutilated but not before they’re humiliated.

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S

1 day ago

Worst movie Ive ever seen.

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Allen

1 day ago

Interesting take on the evil children’s program character trope. Better than it should be!

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Marcc

1 day ago

this movie had amazing set design, costumes, and really great moments. all of the actors and actresses did a phenomenal job bringing to life this nostalgia with a horror twist.

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Sebastian

1 day ago

scared me so so much?

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Michelle

2 days ago

Movie was trash biggest waste of time money and brain cells

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Anthony

2 days ago

movie was hilarious and gory. perfect. needs a sequel.

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Buddy: Teaser - The Best Movie in the World!

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Buddy: Teaser Trailer

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Synopsis

Remember BUDDY--the bright orange unicorn and star of that classic children's television show who brought joy and life lessons into your living room? Inside the colorful world of "It's Buddy!", a group of children spend their days singing, dancing, and helping Buddy spread happiness. But when one child refuses to play along, Buddy is not pleased and cracks begin to appear in this seemingly perfect world.

Director: Chris 'Casper' Kelly
Producer: Tyler Davidson, Drew Sykes, Raphael Margules, J.D. Lifshitz, Tracy Rosenblum
Screenwriter: Chris 'Casper' Kelly, Jamie King
Distributor: Roadside Attractions / Saban Films
Production Co: BoulderLight Pictures, Low Spark Films, Sipur Studios, Substance
Rating: R (Bloody Violence|Some Drug Content|Language)
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Aug 28, 2026, Wide
Box Office (Gross USA): $24.9M
Runtime: 1h 35m
Aspect Ratio: Flat (1.85:1)

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