Fact1: James lives in underground home with Ted and April Mitchum, Fact2: James only connection with outside world is educational children 's show Forced to stay underground by parents, Fact3: Vogel has been working on James case, Fact4: Aubrey takes James to party, Fact5: Bear becomes smash hit YouTube generating new audience to show and buzz for movie
Output: James lives in an underground home with his parents Ted and April Mitchum. Forced to stay underground by his parents, James only connection with the outside world is an educational childrens show called Brigsby Bear. James is obsessed with the show, owning every cassette, and filling most of his room with memorabilia. One night, while sneaking out to hang out on the roof, James sees several police cars approach the home and is taken away from Ted and April, who are arrested. James is then brought to the police station and meets Detective Vogel, who has been working on James case. Vogel informs James that Ted and April are not his real parents, and that he has been held captive ever since he was a baby. He also informs James that Brigsby Bear is not real, and was entirely made up by the Mitchums, with Vogel explaining that they tracked Ted from the studio where the show is made. Vogel then introduces James to his real parents, Greg and Louise Pope, and their teenage daughter Aubrey. As they try to introduce James to his new life, he cannot stop thinking about Brigsby Bear not being real. One night, Aubrey takes James to a party. He then starts talking about Brigsby Bear to his new friends and comes up with the idea to make a movie based on the character to close the series. Spencer, Aubreys friend who is also a filmmaker, agrees to make the movie with him. After Detective Vogel lends James the props from the show, he begins to make his movie. Spencer also starts uploading episodes of Brigsby Bear to YouTube, where it becomes a smash hit, generating a new audience to the show and buzz for the movie. Greg and Louise dont approve of James activities, as they fear it hinders his chances of living a normal life. While filming in the forest, James uses an explosive he made that detonates and causes a small fire, surprising Spencer. The group is arrested but James takes the blame for it. The police let him go, but they confiscate the Brigsby Bear costumes and props once again. Determined to continue production, James takes one of his parents cars out one night, intending to steal back the costumes and props. He takes a detour first to his old underground home, now abandoned and cordoned off with yellow tape. On his way back, James stops by a diner. There he discovers Whitney, the actress who played Arielle and Nina Smiles in the show, just finishing her shift. She tells him how her dual performance was achieved with special effects and that she never knew the true circumstances behind the side acting job, having been told by Ted Mitchum that it was for Canadian public access. As the police arrive outside to take him back, James asks Whitney to reprise her dual role for his film and admits that he developed a longtime crush on her through the show. Following a recommendation from Emily, the familys psychiatrist, James is placed in a mental institution. Meanwhile, Aubrey shows her parents parts of the movie, where the two realize that making the movie has been making James happy and has been helping him live a normal life. One night James breaks out of the institution to return home and grab some belongings but discovers his family, along with Spencer and Detective Vogel, building a Brigsby Bear set in their garage and tell him after seeing how happy he is making the movie, they have agreed to help out as well. James later visits Ted, who is now in jail along with April for the kidnapping. James tells Ted about the movie and how it is missing the most crucial part; the Brigsby voice. Ted agrees to record the voice of Brigsby and James finishes the movie with Detective Vogel fulfilling his early acting dreams by playing a character and Whitney reprising her dual role as the Smiles sisters. On premiere night, the show is sold out and James is worried that no one will like it and stays out of the theatre while the movie plays. When James walks back into the room, he is met with a standing ovation. Happy that the film is a success, James looks over to the stage, he sees Brigsby wave goodbye and disappear.