Bingo (2025 film)

Bingo is a 2025 American animated Western buddy comedy film inspired the , directed by Brandon Greene, and produced and released by Walt Disney Pictures. The film features the voices of Owen Wilson, David Spade, Will Ferrell, Drew Barrymore, Ginnifer Goodwin, Sean Hayes, Richard E. Grant, Randy Quaid, Kenan Thompson, Bobby Cannavale, Dwayne Johnson, Roseanne Barr, Jennifer Tilly, Cuba Gooding Jr., Judi Dench and Sam Elliott. It is not produced by Walt Disney Animation Studios. The film features a musical score by Alan Menken, with songs produced by the musician Josh Woodward.
It tells the story of Bingo (Wilson), a runaway who ran away from the circus and lost his father, Max (Elliott) to a flash flood while traveling. He later finds himself at a dairy farm run by Farmer Ted MacDonald (Ferrell) and his mother (Glenn Close). Ted adopts him as his dog and the two develop a strong bond. Years went by and when an eviction notice shows up at the gates of the farm, Bingo, along with his friends and family: Dusty (Spade), a stray cat, Maria (Goodwin), a white sheep, Jack (Hayes), a donkey, and three dairy cows, Bessie (Barr), Fran (Tilly), and Mrs. Clarabelle (Dench), take it upon themselves to prevent their home from being taken away. To do so, they set out on a quest, along with the Sheriff's horse (Gooding Jr.), Dusty's older brother (Grant), and three dogs from the Bingo's old circus (Cannavale, Johnson, and Thompson) to collect the ransom on outlaw Wiley the Kid (Quaid), a wanted cattle rustler.
The film was released in theaters on April 10, 2025 by to mainly positive critical reception, and grossed $170 million against a budget of $10 million. The film's success led to spawn a television series, titled Bingo & Company, which ran on Disney Junior for four seasons from 2026 to 2030, a sequel, Bingo and Son (2028), and a midquel, Bingo's Puppy Years (2033) which were both released on Disney+.
== Plot ==
In Texas, Bingo is an outcast puppy who lives at the Bradford Bros. Circus with his father, Max. Bingo is a pacifist, and is bullied by the other puppies Hunter (a ), Chase (a ), and Butch (a ). His only best friend is a stray kitten named Dusty who he just met. Their star puppy, Lauren, develops an infection from having stepped on a nail, so they use Bingo in place of her for their next act, The Ring of Fire. But Bingo is afraid of fire, having him and Max being separated from his mother because of a fire as a puppy, and chickens out. In rage of the embarrassment, Steve gets ready to shoot him, but his wife, Ginger and Cash and while trying to restrain him, she tells Max and Bingo to start over and find a family. Bingo does so when Ginger finally agrees with Steve to kill him when Bingo mistakes her orders several times.
Bingo and Max are left with no home and had to find a new place. During several travels and obstacles, They see a gunshot sound come from Wiley the Kid, a cattle rustler and escaped. Max takes Bingo to track a town, leading them into a ravine. Max saves Bingo from a flash flood before being swept away and killed.
Without his father, Bingo shoulders more of the workload. He is captured by a hobo who cells him to Ted MacDonald, a farmer who runs a small farm with his mother, Jess. Although hesitant at first, he finally warms up to him. He meets a white lamb named Maria and a donkey named Jack and became friends. Another new member of the farm member, Meggie, a former show cow and Bingo once again ran into Dusty and introduces him to his new family.
The next morning, Bingo follows Ted, while taking care of an egg into the zoo, where schoolteacher Mandy Bertha and her students meet the little puppy. Bingo floats away on helium balloons and Ted tries to save both him and the egg, but the balloons are popped by bird control spikes, but they are saved by Ted. Dusty tries to escape from animal control Eli and Lenny, but Bingo saves him. After some crazy shenanigans, Ted officially accepts him as his own. Bingo has truly found his place. 
Some years later, Bingo has grown into an adult dog. Earl Barton, the local Sheriff arrives to tell Ted that their bank is cracking down on debtors. Jess has three days to pay the bank $750, or the farm will be sold to the highest bidder. Hearing this, Dusty convinces Bingo, his friends, Meggie and two other cows (Bridget, a happy-go-lucky character, and Mrs. Clarabelle, who has had leadership go to her head) to go to town to attempt winning prize money at a fair. While the animals are in town, they learned that Dusty has an older brother named Livingston Von Fuzzypants III Esquire and that his real name is "Tumbleton". A bounty hunter named Ace (whom Mack, the Sheriff's horse, idolizes) drops a criminal off and collects the reward. Stating he needs a replacement horse to go after Abraham Kramer while his own horse rests, he takes Mack. When Bingo and Bessie found out that the reward for capturing Wiley is exactly $750, Bingo convinces the other cows to try to capture him to save the farm.
As Dusty tells his brother why he ran away, they were taken to the Bradford Bros. Circus, where Bingo meets his old comrades Hunter, Butch, and Chase along with their mentor and Cash's old friend, Charlie. That night, they hide among a large herd of steers, when Abraham Kramer appears. Before any of them can do anything, Kramer begins a yodeling song which sends all the cattle (except Fran, who is tone deaf) into a trance that causes them to dance madly and follow Kramer anywhere. Bingo and the others escape and Fran is able to bring Bessie and Mrs. Clarabelle back to their senses just before Wiley closes the path behind him with a rock-slide to stop Ace and his men from chasing him. As Ace discusses with his men what his next move will be, Mack starts talking with Bingo and Dusty as old friends and miming actions. This causes Ace to believe Mack is frightened by dogs, so he sends Mack back to the Sheriff. Mack escapes, determined to capture Kramer for himself to prove his worth. Chase is captured and sent to the pound, and Hunter informs a horrified Bingo that non-fighters now become roadkill.
Bingo, Dusty, Maria, Jack, Livingston, Hunter, and Butch continue their search for Kramer, determined to pass Mack and get to Wiley first. Charlie accompanies Meggie, Bridget, and Mrs. Clarabelle to find the gang and capture Kramer. During the travel, they were attacked by a coyote and Hunter fights it but lost. The coyote's tails gets stuck between a rock and Bingo and Dusty pushes the boulder crushing the coyote. Back at the farm Ted speaks with Mandy, who helps him understand what is important in life. He sets out to go find his animals.
Jack and Butch want to sleep, but the restless Bingo is unable to settle. Annoyed, Dusty tags along, but Jack loses his courage and follows. Bingo leaps across a fast-moving river and wants Jack to do the same. Jack falls in and is swept downstream. He grabs a branch over a waterfall and calls for Bingo's help, but Bingo is paralyzed by a flashback of his father's death. Jack falls from the branch and Bingo snaps out of the flashback, rescuing his friend. Bingo is ashamed that Jack nearly died because of his fear of the past as they spend the night in a cave. That night, Bingo comforts Butch as he grieves for Chase, making a friend of him.
As Dusty was getting ready for bed, he finds a bullet on the ground and shows it to Bingo. It was Kramer's bullet. Realizing that Kramer was responsible for the flood and all the animal cruelty, especially to dogs, Bingo warns the others about what's more to Kramer. Hunter refuses to accept the truth, and starts fighting Bingo, accidentally knocking him off the cliff. He gets taken to the pound.
During their search for Bingo and the others, Meggie, Bridget, Mrs. Clarabelle, and Charlie have a fallout when they lose the trail in a flash flood. Mrs. Clarabelle accuses Meggie of wanting to go after Kramer only as a personal vendetta, arguing that she, Bridget, and Bingo are better off without Meggie. The four spend the night under a large rock, with Meggie deciding to leave the next morning while Bridget and Mrs. Clarabelle decide to return to the barnyard once they find Bingo and his friends and to say their final farewells.
As Bingo was sleeping, he wakes up to what appears to be his father, which he calls him into a meadow. Max encourages him to step up to become a brave leader as he is needed by his family and friends before informing him that Ted is out there looking for them and might get captured, encouraging him to stop Kramer once and for all, no matter what it takes. After some thought, Bingo is initially iffy, but it turns out it was only a dream. The gang wakes and found out that Butch was gone to. Bingo, Dusty, Maria, and Jack reunite with their adoptive bovine aunts. After explaining the situation, Bingo and Bessie decide to go after Kramer, but Dusty convinces Mrs. Clarabelle that they help. Dusty leads the gang to Kramer's lair in Echo Mine where Butch has been. Butch tried to get in but was told cows only, but Meggie vouched for him. At the mine, Kramer reveals that he has been stealing all cattle from his former patrons and kills dogs and cooks them. When his former patrons can no longer support their land, Wiley buys the land when it is auctioned off, under the guise of the respectable-looking Yancy O'Dell, using the very money he gets from selling the cattle he stole. Ted hears all this and tries to escape but is captured and tied up in a pole in a mine. 
Bingo breaks out and rescues Hunter, as well as Chase, who had not yet been killed. Steve runs into the room and tells Ginger that he has found Ted tied and that they have no choice but to call the police. Meanwhile, Eli and Lenny are attacked by Chase and Hunter, and is captured and tied up with Ted. Carelessly, Eli tosses his cigarette, setting the lair on fire just as they break for the car. Ted, seemingly dying of the heat and smoke inhalation, tells Bingo to ring the fire alarm. Bingo does so, overcoming his fear of fire. The police move in and listen to the game on the radio. Then they arrest Lenny and Eli and nurse Ted's injuries. Dusty then gets into an encounter with a policeman, who believes he has been drinking and fines him. 
The gang capture Kramer, but They run off with Wiley's accomplices and buyer in pursuit on a steam train. Ace arrives. When the chase stops, Ace is revealed to work for Kramer. Crushed by this, Mack decides to help the Scott and his animals and fights Ace while setting the others free. Kramer dons his Yancy O'Dell costume and leaves Scott and the animals stranded in the middle of the desert with the train, while he goes to attend the auction. However, Bingo and friends arrive using the train to the farm and expose Kramer. Kramer is arrested, and the farm is saved by the reward money. Dusty decides that he's leaving to go back home with Livingston but when he meets Mandy and adopts him which makes him and Livingston want to stay. 
A few weeks pass, Ted married Mandy and at the county fair, most of the livestock on the barnyard have won prizes. Bingo is the new leader of the barnyard, Charlie moves in with Geoff the Goat as his neighbor, the dogs are now a part of this family, and two steer and Kramer's charming and gentlemanly steed Bully the Buffalo arrive unexpectedly to live at the barnyard, expanding the farm. Ted and Mandy share a romantic moment but are interrupted by Dusty, who has started a rocket; Bingo jumps in with him and they end up repeatedly circumnavigating the globe.
== Voice Cast ==
* Owen Wilson as Bingo, a kind, flower loving, playful and the titular main protagonist and narrator of the film. He ran away from the circus and escaped to the farm.
**Lara Jill Miller as Young Bingo
* David Spade as Tumbleton “Dusty” Von Fuzzypants, a mischievous stray and Bingo’s best friend and the deuteragonist. He left the fancy lifestyle to find new places.
**Jason Marsden as Young Dusty
* Will Ferrell as Ted MacDonald, a farmer and Bingo’s owner and the tritagonist.
* Drew Barrymore as Mandy Bertha, an elementary school teacher and Ted’s love interest.
* Ginnifer Goodwin as Maria, a white sheep and one of Bingo’s friends.
** Tara Strong as Young Maria
*Sean Hayes as Jack, a worrywart donkey and one of Bingo’s friends.
**Pamela Adlon as Young Jack
* Richard E. Grant as Livingston Von Fuzzypants III Esquire, a and Dusty’s snobby and sophisticated older brother.
**Teresa Gallagher as Young Livingston
* Sam Elliott as Max, a and Bingo’s father and main star of the circus, until his death.
*Randy Quaid as Abraham Kramer, a western outlaw with an eyepatch on his left eye and the main antagonist of the film.
*Kenan Thompson as Butch, a undersized but fast .
**Grey Griffin as Young Butch
*Bobby Cannavale as Hunter, a who bullies Bingo due to him being a screw up and his fear of fire.
**E.G. Daily as Young Hunter
*Dwayne Johnson as Chase, a narcissistic-yet-friendly .
**Jamaal Avery Jr. as Young Chase
*Roseanne Barr as Meggie, a former and the newest animal in the farm.
*Judi Dench as Mrs. Clarabelle, a cow who serves as the leader of animals in the farm before passing the torch to Bingo at the end of the film.
*Jennifer Tilly as Bridget, an optimistic and innocent minded cow.
*Cuba Gooding Jr. as Mack, a self-centered, action-loving horse who dreams of being a hero.
*John Goodman as Maestro Bradford, the ringmaster and co-owner of the Bradford Bros. Circus.
*Blake Shelton as Brad Bradford, Maestro's brother and co-owner of the Bradford Bros. Circus.
*Alan Tudyk as Charlie, a , a trainer of puppies in the circus, and Jim’s old friend.
**Tudyk also voices Russell, Sam's dog and Mack's friend.
*Charles Dennis as Ace, a famous bounty hunter and Mack's idol.
*Glenn Close as Jess MacDonald, Ted's mother and former owner of the barnyard.
*Ben Giroux as Buster, a wisecracking and cheeky baby bird and one of Bingo's friends.
*Andie MacDowell as Ella, Buster's overprotective mother.
*Fred Tatasciore as Slurper, a pig who is one of Bingo's friends.
*Cam Clarke as Benny, a panicky, neurotic badger who is one of Bingo's friends.
*Rob Paulsen as Rudy, a rooster who is another one of Bingo's friends.
*Joe Flaherty as Geoff, a grumpy goat in the barnyard.
*Candi Milo as Helen, a chicken in the barnyard.
*Tony Hale as Oliver, a pig in the barnyard.
*Steve Buscemi as Winston, a lack market businessman who negotiates with Wiley.
*Richard Riehle as Sherriff Earl Barton, the town sheriff and Mack's owner.
*Nick Frost and Simon Pegg as Eli and Lenny, the dogcatchers and Wiley's two nephews and henchmen.
*Brad Garrett as Carl, a Cane Corso.
**Garrett also voices Bully, Willy the Kid's pet buffalo.
*Stephen Root as Frank, a Pitbull.
*Suzie Plakson as Ginger, a Circus performer and wife of Steve who along with him is the first owners of Bingo.
*Kevin Bacon as Steve, a Circus performer who is the first owner of Bingo.
*Claudia Cardinale as Anne, the owner of a saloon.
== Production ==
=== Development ===
Brandon Greene contacted Disney in 2023 about the possibility of producing a film based on the classic nursery rhyme "Bingo". When he pitched both projects at the Gong Show meeting, the executives were more interested in Encanto, which went into production first. When Zippy: The Movie was finished, Greene went back to his Western pitch and came up with an "idea that might combine Captains Courageous with a Western." Greene then developed his concept into a forty-page film treatment, which was well received by Feature Animation president Jennifer Lee. Soon after, the project, went into development." The story originated as a supernatural western about a timid farmer and the title character who visit a ghost town and confronts an undead cattle hustler named Kramer. Bingo's eventual best friend and sidekick, Dusty, had not yet been added. It was later reconceived into a story about Bingo as the main character, switching the role with the farmer.
=== Writing ===
In 2024, in an attempt to salvage the production and retain the existing characters and background art, story artist Michael LaBash suggested a different approach to the story with a coming of age story that involved the title character who become a bounty hunter to save the farm. The animals were going to have no dialogue at all so it can be different from other Disney talking dog films. But dialogue was added to them to make it more appealing for kids. The idea of a cat buddy for Bingo emerged at an April 6, 2025 "story summit" in Burbank with employees from Disney. A term coined by Greene, a "story summit" was a crash exercise that would yield a finished story in only two days. Such a character, the group agreed, would give the title character someone to talk to about his predicament. Development artists drew a concept sketch of a tabby cat as a concept for the character, and everyone was generally receptive to it. Greene named the character Hamilton, named after the . Eventually, Hamilton was renamed Dusty. He was originally a snobby and sophisticated cat but was changed to a crazy and adventrous stray cat with his brother Livingston giving the personality. The idea of Bingo of originally being in the circus was from . 
=== Casting ===
Tobey Maguire was considered for the voice role of Bingo. He screen tested for the role and was interested, but when Brandon Greene was unable to make contact with him, he took it as a "no". The voice role of Bingo went to Owen Wilson. Wilson interpreted the character to himself as the animated equivalent of Marmaduke. "He's like a seasoned lineman in the tenth year of his career," he said at the time. "He is totally dedicated and a total pro." After Calling David Spade about the film, he accepted that of Tumbleton "Dusty" Von Fuzzypants, Bingo's feline best friend and sidekick since Wilson and Spade were originally going to be together in The Kingdom of the Sun.
=== Music ===
The film's instrumental score was composed by Alan Menken, who replaced Klaus Badelt. Hans Zimmer served as the film's executive score producer.
Josh Woodward was hired to write and perform the songs in the film. Woodward said that he was originally asked to write two songs for Bingo, but his enthusiasm for the film led him to write more. He worked closely with the animation team and described a back-and-forth process in which he would provide a sketch of a song in response to a preliminary drawing of a scene, then followed by more detailed animations and lyrics. Describing the songwriting process, Woodward recalled: "The balance was writing lyrics that didn't match things too perfectly, but would kind of reference what was going on in the film. I tried to make metaphors that describe the scene better than trying to exactly match what was going on." Woodward said that many of the film's songs were written for or inspired by his eldest son.
== Release ==
Bingo was scheduled for a 2026 release, while Zippy: The Movie was originally slated for a spring 2025 release. However, Disney announced that Zippy: The Movie would be released in summer of 2026, while Bingo was pushed back for a spring 2025 release. Contrary to speculation, news writer Jim Hill stated the release date switch was not because Bingo was suffering from story rewrites, but to promote it on the Platinum Edition release.
=== Home media ===
Bingo was released on DVD and Blu-ray on September 16, 2025. The DVD came with 3 animated shorts featuring the film's voice cast and animated intros to the DVD menu featuring the same cast.
== Reception ==
On the review aggregation website Rotten Tomatoes, Bingo has a 70% approval rating based on 107 reviews, with an average rating of 6.13/10. The website's consensus reads: "Bingo is a bright, sweet, and funny film." On Metacritic, the film has an average score of 62 out of 100 based on reviews from 28 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews". Audiences polled by CinemaScore during opening weekend gave the film an average grade of "A-" on an A+ to F scale. Reviews frequently praised the film's light-hearted tone and its traditional animation style, though some criticized the plot and modern references.
In The New York Times, Dana Stevens called the film "an unexpected delight", praising its "top-drawer voice talent" and "old-fashioned two-dimensional animation that echoes the simple colors and shapes of the books". The Austin Chronicle's Marrit Ingman wrote positively of the film's "sweet, simple message" that "children see the world differently and have much to teach the people who love them." Christy Lemire of the Associated Press praised George's character design, writing that "with his big eyes and bright smile and perpetually sunny disposition, he's pretty much impossible to resist." Roger Ebert gave the film three out of four stars, noting that it remained "inspiring to the spirit and innocence" and writing that the visual style was "uncluttered, charming, and not so realistic that it undermines the fantasies on the screen". Ebert wrote that while he did not particularly enjoy the film himself, he nevertheless gave the film a "thumbs up" on his Ebert & Roeper show because he felt that it would be enjoyable for young children.
Richard Roeper, Ebert's co-host, criticized the film for similar reasons and said that he could not "tell people my age, or someone twenty-five [years old], that they should see nine or ten bucks to see this movie". Brian Lowry of Variety felt that the plot as too simplistic, writing that the film consisted primarily of "various chases through the city" and was "rudimentary on every level". On the other hand, Michael Phillips of the Chicago Tribune wrote that the film was "overplotted and misfocused" and that "the script's jokes are tougher to find than the shrine", though he praised the film for staying "relatively faithful to the style of the original and delightful illustrations". Jan Stuart of Newsday criticized the film's modern references in the film, including cell phones and lattes, writing that they resulted in "modernization traps that the makers of the very respectable Winnie the Pooh films managed to avoid". Owen Gleiberman of Entertainment Weekly also negatively noted the anachronisms in the film, such as the use of caller ID.
The song "Bingo Was His Name-O" by Desmond Dennis received a Satellite Award nomination for Best Song.
== Soundtrack ==
Music from and Inspired by Bingo, the soundtrack of the film, it will be released on March 13, 2025 with songs from Josh Woodward, Carter and Carter, Baha Men and Desmond Dennis.
No. Title.......................................................................Music
# "Bingo Was His Name-O"....................................Desmond Dennis
# "Learn to Fly"....................................Josh Woodward
#"Walk Outside"....................................Dan Crow
#"Old MacDonald Had A Farm"....................................Disney's Sing Along Songs
# "Little Patch of Heaven"....................................Carter and Carter
# "Stickybee"....................................Josh Woodward
# "Who Let the Dogs Out?"....................................Baha Men
#"Hillbilly Holla"....................................North Mississippi Allstars
# "The Yodel Song"....................................Randy Quaid
# "Atomic Dog"....................................George Clinton
# "Won't Back Down"....................................Sam Elliott
# "Don't Close Your Eyes"....................................Josh Woodward
# "Goodbye To Spring"....................................Josh Woodward
#"Sweet Home Alabama"....................................Lynyrd Skynyrd
# "Airplane Mode"....................................Josh Woodward
# "Morning Blue....................................Josh Woodward
== Television series ==
On September 25, 2026, an animated television series based on the film and titled Bingo & Company premiered on Disney Junior. James Arnold Taylor replaced Owen Wilson in the role of Bingo along with half of the others with exception of the other half. The series ran for four seasons, and ended on November 8, 2030.
== Sequels ==
* A sequel titled Bingo and Son was released on May 5, 2028 on Disney+. The film introduces to Bingo's son, Banjo.
* A midquel, titled Bingo's Puppy Years, was released on August 18, 2033 also on Disney+. The film takes place during the youth of Bingo his pals, before the events of the later half of the first film.
== Trivia ==
* Bingo is not made by Walt Disney Animation Studios.
* Owen Wilson and David Spade previously worked on Kingdom of the Sun before it was changed to The Emperor's New Groove.
* This is Josh Woodward's first animated film.
*The music used for "Old MacDonald Had A Farm" is the instrumental version from Disney's Sing Along Songs.
*Despite being a , Dusty has an American accent.
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