BUDDY (2026) – Review
Well, that’s a coincidence. This last weekend of Summer sees another feature film with its roots in Children’s TV pop culture. While the Looney Tunes crew originated as short subjects in movie theatres, when TV arrived, these seven-minute epics had a long-time Saturday morning slot on network TV, while being part of the content for many local “kiddie shows” hosted usually by members of the “news team” (in my area, the longest airing was “Cactus Pete”). This other flick explores the world of puppet shows and other “live-action” programs centering on actors in big puffy costumes that were a staple on “edu-tainment” programs, usually on weekday afternoons on PBS affiliates. Oh, the other big difference between these two movies is that the other one is a satirical comedy while this one is almost purely parody-horror. Yes, you read that right. And, like many other horror icons like Michael, Jason, and Freddy, he’s also best known by his first name. It’s BUDDY.
Oh, and that’s the name of the TV program, “It’s Buddy”.The film’s first moments are the show’s opening titles, introducing the energetic preteen human children cavorting with a six-foot-tall plush orange unicorn. In this bright, shiny pastel-colored world, everything seems to be alive, from the mailbox to the furniture, and even a backpack named “Strappy” that belongs to a young girl named Freddy (Delaney Quinn). There are also some “peripheral adult” humans like Mailman Miles and Nurse Nancy. However, the main”players” are Freddy and her pre-teen pals Wade, Oliver, and Josh. Oh, Buddy is their fuzzy lil’ toy that comes to life and “life-sized” (voiced by Keegan-Michael Key) when the kids speak his name. In this episode, the kids are throwing a big “dance party”, which excites everyone except for the surly (maybe he’s edging closer to being a teen) Josh, who would rather read his SF book. Buddy takes him aside and tries to gently prod him into some dance moves. When Josh balks, Buddy pushes him “off-camera”. On the next episode, there’s a new character in the opening, Hannah. When Freddy and Wade ask Buddy about Josh, Buddy tells them that he’s gone to “Diamond City”. Later, Freddy spies Josh’s book in “Trashy”. And when they see Buddy with Nurse Nancy, the kids know that something is very wrong. Can they escape Buddy’s “slay ground”?The story then switches to the “real world”, as a busy mother, Grace (Cristin Miloti), begins to unravel as she has flashes of a different reality. This concerns her hubby Ben (Topher Grace) and her two sons. These dark thoughts culminate when the TV pops on to reveal a beckoning Buddy, an image Ben doesn’t see. And there’s nothing about this show online. Can she, along with Freddy and her pals, escape the warm, lingering long hugs from this orange “play(slay)mate”?
Most of the heavy human “dramatics’ are handled by two actresses. The one in “reality ” is the talented Ms. Milioti (so wonderful in the HBO limited series “The Penguin”) as the distraught and extremely confused Grace. She is a “woman on the edge” and Milioti draws us into her fearful realizations, while also venting her frustrations when being casually dismissed. In the TV world, it’s Quinn as the increasingly frightened Freddy. She’s the first to see that all is not “sweetness and fun” in their backyard setting. Yet Quinn gives her an inner strength and intelligence that keeps us in her “corner”. Topher Grace uses her sitcom-honed comic timing as Ben tries to understand and stifle this “disruption”. Without spoiling this inspired casting, another one of the trapped humans is played by a cult TV fave who’s a beloved star’s sibling (hint hint). And his fellow traveler is a snarky puppet voiced by a two-time Oscar-nominated actor. But the best vocal performance is Key in the title role (with Sergey Zhuravsky in the big suit), who switches from an all-too-sweet “sing-song” cadence to threatening passive-aggressive menace that is quite chilling.
Much like this year’s big hits OBSESSION and BACKROOMS, this is “high concept horror” on a grand scale, orchestrated by another filmmaker from the online short film arena. Casper Kelly made a big splash with his remarkable 80’s sitcom spoof TOO MANY COOKS a dozen years ago, so he was more than adequately prepared for this deep, deep dive in 1990’s kids’ TV. Crafting the screenplay with Jamie King, they capture the brightly lit, candy-colored fakery of that era, mixing elements of “Pee Wee’s Playhouse”, “Thomas the Tank Engine”, and, well, let’s call him “Purple-saurus Rex”, complete with a quartet of kids a bit too mature for the show’s intended audience. So they have the “look” down pat, but is this an SNL-style TV spoof skit that’s stretched too thin for a feature? This is a fairly brisk 96 minutes, helped by the jumps between the “TV world” and the “real”. And there’s a sustained creepy vibe, heightened by the artificiality of the settings, especially the songs and “hi-jinks”. And, as the online ads promise, it is gory, more than earning its “R” rating, though that is exaggerated to excess. Kudos to the use of practical effects, though some CGI is used sparingly. Kelly and King’s script takes several interesting and unexpected twists and turns that lead to a finale that inspires a deeper dive to explore the hints of a dark, sinister conspiracy. Sure, making fun of that old 90s PBS saccharine slob is an easy target, but there are enough scares, shocks, and gags (in every sense) to warrant a big warm cinema hug for our new movie pal BUDDY. Just remember to smile and do what he says…or else.
3 out of 4
BUDDY is now playing exclusively in theatres
