Buddy (2026) Review

The titular star of children’s television show It’s Buddy is, as the opening title song goes, a unicorn from a magic land, who transforms from tiny toy to life size creature when the kids in the programme mention his name. He’s there to teach his audience the value of kindness and consideration with the help of the other colourful characters in his universe. That is, until Buddy loses his cool and reveals the monster inside, leaving young Freddy (Delaney Quinn) to find a way of leading her friends to safety…

Directed by Casper Kelly, who was also behind Adult Swim’s Too Many Cooks and the iconic Cheddar Goblin commercial within Cage rage descent into Hell Mandy, Buddy conjures up a similar atmosphere of authentic, small screen strangeness and channels it into a feature length fever dream of puppetry and Purgatory as the chances of escaping the wrath of a bright orange demon seems ever more remote as Buddy’s blood lust, coupled with his obsession with receiving a restorative hug in order to draw a veil over his latest episode, grows ever more extreme.

The initial structure follows a run of It’s Buddy episodes, complete with specific changes in the opening title sequence to accommodate the new kid who’s introduced to replace the one who Buddy killed, before switching to a suburban setting in which mum of two Grace (Cristin Milioti) suddenly seems strangely drawn to the show via feelings of a third child to which she feels connected, much to the increasing chagrin of husband Ben (Topher Grace). It’s just a matter of time before worlds collide, which they do in a disturbing yet hilarious sequence inflected with such telly terrors as Poltergeist and Videodrome.

One of the many reasons which Buddy works so well is the perfect recreation of those morning shows in which a benign version of what would usually be portrayed as a savage beast – I’m immediately thinking Barney – dishes out wholesome advice to those around him. The screenplay, by Kelly and Jamie King, is reverential to the format but gives it a dark twist, manipulating the dialogue and the song and dance numbers to imbue them with a real sense of foreboding menace.

The other, non-child friends of Buddy are memorable too, such as the sweet, innocent and oblivious Betty Bunny and the chatty Mr. Mailbox, who gets some brutal punishment for his oversized lip when he oversteps the mark. There’s also sentient backpack Strappy – given a sympathetic vocal work courtesy of the one and only Patton Oswalt – who is picked up for the ride as the group hops the fence and heads for the sanctuary of the distant Diamond City, with Buddy in hot pursuit.

The beauty of Buddy’s universe is that there’s little signposting as to where the adventure will head next. Case in point: a campfire sojourn in which the kids meet a down home country type called George (Clint Howard) and his cowboy ventriloquist dummy friend Willie (voiced by Michael Shannon) which rapidly quickly veers off from wholesome singalong into hilariously wrong, far from PG territory.

The screenplay’s willingness to put its younger characters under constant threat taps into a specifically warped sense of humour. However, this also gives the piece proper stakes. Even in horror movies, there’s often a feeling of “well, they’re not going to kill the kid, are they?” Buddy breaks that rule almost immediately and continues to do so in sequences that are ridiculous and terrifying at the same time. The voice behind our unhinged central character is Keegan Michael Key, already well versed in sketch comedy set ups that tip into something far more unsettling, and he’s a canny choice to portray that blend of sweet and psycho.

Cristin Miloti is, of course, excellent – when is she not excellent? – as the mother consumed by the effects of an inexplicable, somehow supernatural force and Topher Grace makes an impact in a smaller but nonetheless effective role as the increasingly less sympathetic husband. The bulk of the plaudits, however, should go to Delaney Quinn, a talented young performer who is relied upon to carry much of the movie whenever it finds itself in Buddy’s very strange land and she meets the various challenges of this frankly warped mission in an incredibly impressive manner.

So, is Buddy funny? Yes, it is. Is it horrific? Yes, it is. It is emotional. Yes, it is. The tale deftly switches tone without ever undermining itself. Laugh out loud moments give way to bona fide shocks and there’s also space to absorb the genuine impact of the loss experienced by various characters along the way. The proceedings are never allowed to wallow but at the same time there’s a strong feeling that even the most cartoonish of the cast are in no way disposable and the ramifications resonate.

Balancing the sincere and the severe with noteworthy assuredness, Buddy is a source of vindication for all of us who saw a purple dinosaur trying to educate kids rather than eat them and thought “There’s got to be something sinister going on here.” And if you’re not of that era, just sit back and enjoy the outrageous carnage and memorable designs of the costumes and puppets. Poor old Couchy…

Movie Rating:

Buddy trailer