Publication Date: 08-29-2026

Buddy (2026) review

Dir. Casper Kelly

By: Steve Pulaski

Rating: ★★★½

Who was the last filmmaker to have made a couple feature-length films but still best be known for a short less than 15 minutes in length that gained steam from being shown on Adult Swim in the wee hours of the morning? That would be Casper Kelly, whose divine work Too Many Cooks spoofed the TV sitcom convention of having opening credits introduce their cast, caught in the middle of random activities, set to an infuriatingly catchy song. As the short went on, it got darker, stranger, and even horrific.

The very same execution is in play with Kelly’s latest feature, Buddy, a wildly entertaining, horror send-up of those oppressively cheery, candy-colored kid shows from the 1980s and 1990s where any emotion other than happiness was quickly remedied by a song and/or dance number.

Chiefly inspired by Barney the Dinosaur, the titular character is a big, anthropomorphic talking orange unicorn (voiced by Keegan-Michael Key), the star of his own show called It’s Buddy! in which he interacts with a gaggle of children in a colorful playground environment. The children play, do chores, and sing in harmony as various side-characters such as a big talking bunny, a mailbox, mailman, nurse, and train all pop in-and-out of the set at leisure. The cast of children — most of whom played by novices — include the quick-witted Freddy (Delaney Quinn); the plucky Wade (Caleb “CJ” Williams); bespectacled Oliver (Tristan Broders, channeling Blake Ewing of Full House fame in appearance and attitude); and bookish Josh (Luke Speakman).

Everything seems well in this idyllic utopia for children. Zach Kuperstein’s photography captures the cheerful, kiddy fun with appropriate analog TV grain in a tight 4:3 aspect ratio. Buddy recites a lot of pablum about teamwork, cooperation, and having fun, and as long as the children dutifully follow his orders, peace prevails. But when Josh decides he doesn’t want to join in on a dance party, and would rather read, Buddy gets angry. So angry that he takes him off-screen. Later, Freddy discovers Josh’s book, splattered with blood, in the trash-can. Horror fans, rest assured: this is the only kill that happens off-screen. Buddy proves to be a bit of a show-off.

Buddy is divided into three distinct acts, the first adopting an episodic structure, as if we’re watching a VHS tape with three It’s Buddy! episodes on it. The inaugural act crescendos with the young cast trying to process real-life fears such as death and stalking all while being trapped in an environment that tries its hardest to nullify any sense of real-world harm with artificiality at every turn.

The second act revolves around a random family in the real-world, led by Ben and Grace (Topher Grace and Cristin Milioti), with their two children. Grace starts to have a mental breakdown, feeling as if she is missing a child she can’t recall. Ben gets frustrated when she consults a psychic on a whim, and then delivers the kind of smug, sarcastic monologue that Topher Grace has perfected since his Eric Forman days. Finally, the third act goes for a bit of a mix of styles. The kids wander outside the comforting It’s Buddy! set into a dark, dingy forest ala Wizard of Oz where they happen upon Wild West rejects — a marionette voiced by Michael Shannon and a cowboy played by Clint Howard, whose dynamic recalls that of George and Lenny’s in Of Mice and Men — and try to secure their talking backpack named Strappy (voiced by Patton Oswalt).

Kelly and co-writer Jamie King bring the same absurdist style of humor and remarkable commitment to their bit via set design and structure that the former did with his many uproariously funny Adult Swim Infomercials, or Kelly’s Yule Log movie and its sequel. You never quite know where the story is going, and even if it does feel as if it’s getting long-in-the-tooth with too many setting changes late, it still manages to grip you by its unpredictability and its perversion of children’s TV. Yeah, I’ve heard much of what came after Winnie-the-Pooh: Blood and Honey 2 might qualify too, but from what I can decipher, no film that turns Peter Pan or Steamboat Willie into a serial killer matches the kind of pulpy, stylistically potent breed of absurdism that Buddy cultivates and makes look so seamless.

This is a movie for those of us who watched shows like Are You Afraid of the Dark?, Barney & Friends, Fetch! with Ruff Ruffman, Sesame Street, and Zoom as kids and wondered, even then, “where are those kids now?” Hopefully in a better mental state than Freddy and company from It’s Buddy!, that’s for sure.

Starring: Delaney Quinn, Caleb “CJ” Williams, Tristan Broders, Madison Skyy Polan, Luke Speakman, Tory Jacqui Malone, Cristin Milioti, Topher Grace, and Clint Howard. Voiced by: Keegan-Michael Key, Patton Oswalt, Michael Shannon, Jimmica Collins, and Erica Bauza. Directed by: Casper Kelly.