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 originally called his dad, his fascination leads him to finish the storyline himself.

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.

She tells him that she never knew the true circumstances behind the side acting job, having been told by Ted that it was for Canadian public access television.

One night, James breaks out of the institution to grab his belongings, but discovers his family, along with Spencer and Vogel, building a Brigsby Bear set in their garage.

[4] Mooney and McCary, alongside Beck Bennett and Nick Rutherford, later formed the sketch group Good Neighbor, and all joined the cast and crew of Saturday Night Live (SNL) in 2013.

[7] Mooney was fascinated by children's television shows from the 1980s, which he felt combined "happy-go-lucky and positive meets the creepy, weird, and psychedelic.

[8] Their positions at SNL allowed them to cast their film with big names such as Mark Hamill, who plays Ted, the main villain.

[10] McCary likened Ted's character to a depraved Jim Henson, "teaching weird lessons about the world in a loving way.

The site's critical consensus reads, "Audiences attuned to Brigsby Bear's strange frequency will be moved by its earnest – and endearingly original – approach to pop culture's impact and the creative urge.

[21] Manohla Dargis from The New York Times summarized it as a "sweet and sometimes delightful melancholic story," which she praised for its direction in tackling subjects about imagination and love.

"[23] Geoff Berkshire of Variety praised every aspect of the film from its cast to script, but singled out the art department's successful presentation of the Brigsby show and the underground bunker from the opening scenes.

Club felt it could have been a "soulful fairy tale," but ended up "a quirky sitcom recovery fable about transforming our childhoods through art to overcome them.

"[27] Stephanie Merry from The Washington Post perceived the film's genuine tone as fresh and that it "never ventures into the caustic simply for the sake of comedy.

"[30] Entertainment Weekly's Chris Nashawaty considered it a "slight, handcrafted indie that's sweet, skewed, and feels a bit like a skit stretched out to feature length.

"[31] David Ehrlich of IndieWire felt the film veered into formula, concluding that it "settles for a weak trajectory that isn't good enough to be weird.