Brigsby Bear

Brigsby Bear is a 2017 American comedy-drama film directed by Dave McCary in his feature directorial debut, written by Kevin Costello and Kyle Mooney, and starring Mooney, Claire Danes, Mark Hamill, Greg Kinnear, Andy Samberg, Matt Walsh, and Michaela Watkins. It tells the story of a man abducted as a baby and raised in isolation in a bunker where he obsessed over a children's television program centered on a character named Brigsby Bear; after being rescued by the authorities and realizing that the show had been made for him only by one of his captors, his fascination leads him to finish the storyline himself. The film was inspired by McCary, Mooney, and Costello's middle school experiences making short films together, with a story stemming from Mooney's fascination with 1980s children's shows. Principal photography took place in Utah during Mooney and McCary's break from working on Saturday Night Live in 2016. The film premiered at the Sundance Film Festival on January 23, 2017, and was theatrically released by Sony Pictures Classics on July 28. Upon release, Brigsby Bear received generally positive reviews from critics, who praised the script, direction, cast, and art design, and also commended the film's sentimental tone.