Brigsby Bear

Brigsby Bear
A man and a person in a bear costume shake hands below a large planetoid with a face.
Theatrical release poster
Directed byDave McCary
Screenplay by
Story byKyle Mooney
Produced by
Starring
CinematographyChristian Sprenger
Edited byJacob Craycroft
Music byDavid Wingo
Production
companies
Distributed bySony Pictures Classics
Release dates
  • January 23, 2017 (2017-01-23) (Sundance)
  • July 28, 2017 (2017-07-28) (United States)
Running time
97 minutes[1]
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Box office$681,632[2]

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 captive man raised in a bunker since he was a baby, where he obsessed over a children's television program titled Brigsby Bear, being rescued by the authorities. When he realizes Brigsby Bear was created by his captor that he called his dad, 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.

  1. ^ "Brigsby Bear". British Board of Film Classification. Archived from the original on January 23, 2018. Retrieved April 17, 2020. Retrieved September 6, 2017
  2. ^ "Brigsby Bear". Box Office Mojo. IMDb. Archived from the original on May 6, 2021. Retrieved May 6, 2021.