Buddy

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Buddy

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1h 36m

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Popcornmeter

88%

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138 Reviews

75%

Popcornmeter

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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Tim Stevens

The Spool

Sep 29, 2026

For the world it creates and a Milioti who earnestly commits, it’s worth a watch.

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Sheraz Farooqi

CinemaDebate

Sep 28, 2026

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)

Sep 28, 2026

As absurd as it is disturbing.

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Ernesto

1 day ago

Something about it makes you enjoy this movie!

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Savannah

2 days ago

Great movie! Such an interesting concept

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Grant Kellam

2 days ago

It was a dark and twisted adventure in a Barney-like universe with lots of lore and creative world building. It wasn’t my favorite horror movie, but was still quite a time in theaters. I’d recommend adding it to your personal collection of movies.

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David S

3 days ago

Amazing production and set design. Kid actors were great and were dialed in to the over acting needed for a kid show. Looking forward to a hopeful sequel. So much lore and theories to discuss.

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Samantha

5 days ago

Very misleading trailer. The colorful unicorn, children’s-show theme, and sing-along marketing made this look like a fun movie for kids. The actual movie contains graphic violence, gore, and disturbing content that is absolutely not appropriate for children. I understand the contrast is intentional, but the marketing should have made the horror aspect much clearer. Unfortunately, it wasn’t interesting enough for me as an adult either. Too inappropriate for kids, but not entertaining enough for adults.

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styra

5 days ago

Sonic.exe makes his big screen debut.

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Buddy: Teaser - The Best Movie in the World!

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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 (Some Drug Content|Language|Bloody Violence)
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Aug 28, 2026, Wide
Release Date (Streaming): Oct 13, 2026
Box Office (Gross USA): $26.4M
Runtime: 1h 36m
Aspect Ratio: Flat (1.85:1)

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