Rotten Tomatoes Submit search Movies Tv shows RT App News Showtimes

Buddy

Play trailer 0:35 Poster for Buddy R Now Playing 1h 35m Horror Comedy Play Trailer Watchlist
Watchlist Tomatometer Popcornmeter
87% Tomatometer 95 Reviews 79% Popcornmeter 250+ 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.
Now in Theaters Now Playing Buy Tickets

Where to Watch

Buddy

Buddy

What to Know

Critics Consensus

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

Read Critics Reviews

Critics Reviews

View More
Tomris Laffly RogerEbert.com 1d
3.5/4
It’s a trippy, ballsy, and genuinely entertaining package that shouldn’t work at all. But it does, and I can’t believe it exists. Go to Full Review Randy Myers San Jose Mercury News 1d
3/4
The voice cast — Keegan-Michael Key freaked me out as Buddy — is almost too good, and the young cast is strong, too. The only bummer is that it doesn’t exactly stick the landing at the end, but everything else works. Go to Full Review Erik Piepenburg New York Times 2d
Look past some logical holes and desultory messages, and there’s a playfully twisted and unsparingly gory horror romp here that fans of Kelly’s 2014 viral short film, “Too Many Cooks,” a macabre sitcom sendup, will eat up. Go to Full Review Andrew Parker The Gate 5h
7/10
It’s unnerving not only because of the disconnect between its supposedly idealized world and the gory subject matter, but because it taps into fears viewers might have without them realizing at first how they’re being impacted. Go to Full Review Sean P. Means The Movie Cricket 5h
3.5/4
With a premise like this, the difficulty is in sticking the landing, and "Buddy" delivers with a tense, bloody conclusion that will make you think twice about what you let your little kids watch. Go to Full Review Alise Chaffins MacGuffin or Meaning (Substack) 6h
3.5/5
The film gets lost in the weeds a bit in the back half, but an exceptional first act and a phenomenal voice performance by Keegan-Michael Key make this a fun and unsettling movie. Go to Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

View More
Aron A 13m Really twisted really weird and scary but really really good highly recommended watching it See more Cesar 19m Buddy new horror icon See more Michael H 31m very underrated, can seem a bit disconnected at times, but overall I highly recommend it. See more Jaden 48m This movie caught me really off guard See more Kieran 1h Good atmosphere and acting but the unfinished story and often corny jokes and unfunny sequences make it hard to be invested when the real horror comes around. The story is one giant unfinished hole of questions and confusion. Worth a watch when it hits streaming. See more Alex 2h Real different and fun movie See more Read all reviews
Buddy

My Rating

Read More Read Less WRITE A REVIEW EDIT REVIEW POST RATING

Cast & Crew

View All

Chris 'Casper' Kelly

Director

Cristin Milioti

Grace

Delaney Quinn

Freddy

Topher Grace

Ben

Keegan-Michael Key

Buddy

Michael Shannon

Willie

More Like This

View All
Cold Storage 81% 75% Cold Storage Watchlist TRAILER for Cold Storage The Becomers 94% % The Becomers Watchlist TRAILER for The Becomers The Brain that Wouldn't Die 83% % The Brain that Wouldn't Die Watchlist Companion 93% 88% Companion Watchlist TRAILER for Companion She Loved Blossoms More 90% % She Loved Blossoms More Watchlist Discover more movies and TV shows. View More
View All

Buddy

Buddy: Teaser - The Best Movie in the World! Buddy: Teaser - The Best Movie in the World! 0:31 Now Playing Buddy: Teaser Trailer 3 Buddy: Teaser Trailer 3 0:35 Now Playing Buddy: Teaser Trailer 2 Buddy: Teaser Trailer 2 0:48 Now Playing Buddy: Teaser Trailer Buddy: Teaser Trailer 0:41 Now Playing View more videos
View All

Buddy

Buddy (2026) View more photos

Movie Info

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)
Genre
Horror, Comedy
Original Language
English
Release Date (Theaters)
Aug 28, 2026, Wide
Runtime
1h 35m
Aspect Ratio
Flat (1.85:1)
Join The Newsletter Join The Newsletter Cookie Settings