BUDDY - ONE ON ONE WITH WRITER DIRECTOR CASPER KELLY

Prepare to me Buddy, star of a children’s TV show that you DON’T want your children watching!

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?

Children's television taught us that every problem could be solved in a tidy 22 minutes with the help of a kind, lovable mascot. But what if the children living inside those perfect worlds didn't want to follow the script? How did they know what to do? And what happened when they refused?

 Inside the colourful 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.

 BUDDY stars Emmy Award-winning actress and producer Cristin Milioti as Grace, Delaney Quinn as Freddy, Topher Grace as Ben, with Keegan-Michael Key voicing Buddy. The voice cast also includes Patton Oswalt as Strappy and Michael Shannon as Willie.

 Writer-director Casper Kelly is best known for the viral cult phenomenon Too Many Cooks (with now more than 28 million YouTube views), the Emmy-nominated series Your Pretty Face Is Going to Hell, the V/H/S franchise, and Adult Swim Yule Log, which The New York Times called "outrageous in all the best ways."

Casper Kelly attends the ‘Buddy’ premiere during the 2026 Sundance Film Festival on January 22, 2026 in Park City, Utah. credit: Dia Dipasupil/Getty

Behind the camera, the film brings together an acclaimed creative team from horror favourites, including cinematographer Zach Kuperstein (Barbarian), editor Josh Ethier, ACE (Companion), and the producers of Weapons.

BUDDY Opens August 28 in Theatres Across Canada

I spoke with Casper Kelly about creating this bright orange unicorn for the big screen and where in his own imagination did the idea for the film stem from.