Buddy - The scoop and digest

Casper Kelly co-writes the horror parody of Barney & Friends with Jamie King.

Keegan-Michael Key - Buddy

Delaney Quinn - Freddy

Cristin Milioti - Grace

Tristan Broders - Oliver

Madison Skyy Polan - Hannah

Tory Jacqui Malone - Tyler

Topher Grace - Ben

Patton Oswalt - Strappy

Clint Howard - George

Michael Shannon - Willie

Jimmica Collins - Betty Bunny

Summary

1999 children's TV series It's Buddy! is hosted by Buddy, a magical anthropomorphic orange unicorn, and Betty Bunny.

Child actors include Freddy, Wade, Oliver and Hannah, supporting adults Mailman Miles and Nurse Nancy, and numerous sentient background objects, including Worry Well, Mr. Mailbox and Charlie the Train.

'Episodes' are family-friendly, but Buddy has a murderous streak.

Meanwhile, in the real world, a woman called Grace hires a parapsychologist to cleanse her house from what she believes is haunted by a wooden chair.  During which, Grace becomes convinced that she had a third child.

That night, Buddy coaxes Grace towards a TV and she's pulled into his world, becoming the new Nancy in the process.

Can all concerned escape surreal dimension?

King of fun and games

Although immediately comparable to The Banana Splits Movie (a horror re-imagining of real 1968 series The Banana Splits), I had a blast.

There's a bevvy of zany kills to enjoy and humour made me chuckle for the right reasons.

"Really Wade, on my birthday?"

Delivery is just brilliant.

Once Freddy, Oliver and Hannah briefly escape the garden for Diamond City (which turns out to be a miniature model), they meet elderly cowboy George and his potty-mouthed marionette Willie, who make the perfect creepy couple.

After axing George and drowning Willie, Buddy catches kids and resets series for the final time.

Back at the ranch, Grace recognises Freddy as her missing daughter.

The children taunt Buddy saying they hate him, causing antagonist to mutate into a wolf-like Godzilla monster, credited as Dark Buddy.

Buddy goes on a kill crazy rampage, and after chasing Freddy through a school, he trips over Strappy and gets impaled on Mr. Mailbox's post.

Freddy finds a gymnasium containing several televisions displaying rooms of real houses, with another child absorbed into It's Buddy!

She phases through to an empty house and is heartbroken that Strappy and Mr. Mailbox are now lifeless.  The father of a Spanish family asks who she is.

A mural at school depicting Buddy, Bobby and Benny teases a sequel, which I'd happily entertain.