The Bear and Friends Movie

Official release poster

***The Bear and Friends Movie*** is an American comedy adventure film based on the series of the same name, serving as the fourth film in the franchise. It is directed by Gabriel Combs and Kadence Lovett (in Lovett's feature directorial debut) and serves as a soft reboot of the franchise, ignoring the events of the previous films in favor of a new canon, with only *Unicorn: A Bear and Friends Story* (2021) remaining canon due to its importance to the series. It is produced by Gabriel Combs Movies and distributed by YouTube Originals. It stars Combs and Lovett alongside Niko Lovett and Kamden Lovett, all reprising their roles from the series and previous films.

On January 1, 2023, it was announced that a fifth season and new feature film were in development for the *Bear and Friends* franchise, with the season setting a release date for April, while the film (titled *The Bear and Friends Movie*) was set for an unknown date. It was later announced that the fifth season would be indefinitely delayed for production of the film to begin, and it was also confirmed that the film would establish a new canon for the franchise. Filming began on May 30, 2023, and concluded on September 7, taking place in the BAF House and in La Platte, Nebraska for additional scenes.

The film was officially released on YouTube on November 3, 2023. The film was considered a failure, receiving only 28 views, but received critical acclaim, with fans lauding its story, performances, humor, themes, direction, soundtrack, character development, and emotional weight. It is widely considered an improvement over its predecessors and the best film in the franchise.

## Plot

2 years following the events of the fourth season, Bear and his friends Dog and Unicorn are living their best lives without a care in the world. One morning, Bear's Dad arrives to visit, revealing to Bear that a war is coming and that someone is coming after them. Bear disbelieves him and kicks him out of the house, upset with him over him walking out of his life 12 years ago.

Suddenly, a bounty hunter named Steve breaks into the house and battles the three, knocking out Bear and badly injuring Unicorn. As Bear awakens, Bear's Dad reveals that he was sent by Steinbeck, who was once his enemy when he was friends with Dog's Dad and Unicorn's Mom. Bear decides to travel to Steinbeck's lair with the help of his friends - Bear's Dad, Dog, Unicorn, Sam, Fred the Flamingo, Josh, and Unicorn’s Dad - to figure out what he's planning. They arrive at Steinbeck's lair, where he captures them and reveals that he plots to wipe out animals from the planet following the death of his parents. Afraid, Bear and his friends escape and return to the house.

That night, Steinbeck breaks into the house. He battles Bear, but overpowers him, and Bear and his friends escape the house and go into hiding. They return to the Dandelion Field, where they agree to take refuge for the next few days. Bear then sees this as an opportunity to ask Sam out and walks with her to collect food, but she rejects him. Steinbeck, meanwhile, makes a mess out of their house and sends Steve after them in a desperate act of revenge. Dog fails an attempt to ask Unicorn to marry him, prompting Bear to help him by having him sing a song. Steve arrives and manipulates Unicorn, knocking her out and causing her powers to malfunction. Josh arrives and levitates Steve into the air, throwing him far away.

Steve returns to a disappointed Steinbeck and reveals his failure, prompting Steinbeck to try and capture them himself. Josh awakens Unicorn and promises to train her to help her recover her powers while Bear makes amends with Bear's Dad, who reveals that he is dying of cancer and only has a week left to live. The next day, Josh finishes training Unicorn as Bear reveals to Dog that Sam rejected him and shows his heavy insecurities, as he secretly worries that once Dog and Unicorn get married they'll want him out of the house. Bear attempts to sing a song to help, but this fails as his insecurities are too big.

The next day, Steinbeck arrives and finds them. Bear and his friends run to the park where they go into hiding, with Steinbeck heavily in pursuit. Bear stays behind to fight off Steinbeck while Unicorn teleports everyone else away, leading to Bear's capture. Bear's Dad and Dog attempt to sneak into the house and rescue him, but Steinbeck arrives and captures them as well. As the three have an emotional goodbye, Bear reveals his insecurities to his Dad, who reveals that he suffered the same thing from a young age and tells him that he's not alone. With a new set of confidence, Bear breaks out of his restraints as Unicorn arrives and rescues Bear's Dad and Dog. Unicorn and Josh set off to battle Steve while Bear stays behind to fight off Steinbeck alone.

Unicorn and Josh are initially overpowered, but eventually Unicorn uses her powers to levitate Steve and throw him over a cliff, killing him. Bear battles Steinbeck, who overpowers him and nearly kills him as Bear's Dad arrives with the rest of the group. The group unites and defeats Steinbeck, sending him back to prison and returning their lives to normal. Josh returns to Australia to see relatives, Unicorn's Dad reunites with Unicorn's Mom, and Sam and Fred leave. Dog finally asks Unicorn to marry him and she accepts. Bear spends the remaining week of Bear's Dad's life bonding with him before he succumbs to his illness and dies.

6 months later, Bear has been distant from his friends following Bear's Dad's death. Dog and Unicorn invite him to the wedding, and he decides that it's time to re-enter society and arrives at the wedding as the Best Man and officiator. Dog and Unicorn officially become husband and wife. Bear's insecurities finally go away when Dog and Unicorn tell him that he's welcome to stay with them for the rest of their lives as they get back to kissing.

## Voice cast

* Gabriel Combs as:
	+ Bear
	+ Dog
	+ Principal Steinbeck
	+ Bear's Dad
	+ Unicorn’s Dad
	+ Josh
* Kadence Lovett as Unicorn
* Niko Lovett as:
	+ Steve
	+ Fred the Flamingo
	+ Himself
* Kamden Lovett as:
	+ Sam
	+ Jillary

Additionally, Lennon Richardson and Dylan Bond are set to appear in the film in undisclosed cameo roles, respectively.

## Production

#### Development

Since the release of *Bear and Friends: A New Adventure*, plans were made for future installments in the *Bear and Friends* franchise, but eventually all plans were scrapped due to a frustrating "lack of ideas".

On January 1, 2023, it was announced that a new film under the title *The Bear and Friends Movie* was in the works, serving as a soft reboot that starts a new canon for the series, ignoring the events of the previous films. The only canon film would be *Unicorn: A Bear and Friends Story*. On June 21, 2023, Combs stated during a livestream that "we have quite a plan for it. We were initially gonna do Season 5 before it, but we haven't really had any ideas, but for the movie we had a really good one, so we wanna go for that. The movie's gonna be, like, a return to the show, so if people like it, we're gonna continue the show moving forward off of that. If they don't, we're just gonna ignore every *Bear and Friends* movie. Every single one. Except... the Unicorn movie. That one's staying. That one's good."

It was later announced that Niko Lovett would step down from directing the film, and that Gabriel Combs would return to direct the film, following his directorial efforts with *Bear and Friends: The Movie* and *Unicorn: A Bear and Friends Story*. It was announced soon after that Combs would direct the film alongside Kadence Lovett, making her directorial debut while also starring in the film.

#### Casting

The same day the film was announced, Gabriel Combs, Kadence Lovett, Niko Lovett, and Kamden Lovett were confirmed to be reprising their roles from the series. On October 5, 2023, it was announced that Lennon Richardson and Dylan Bond would join the film in undisclosed cameo roles.

#### Filming

Filming began on May 30, 2023. It took place at the BAF House, along with varying outdoor locations near it. The film will also feature a new location, which was filmed at an abandoned building in La Platte, Nebraska. Filming wrapped on September 7, making it the longest filming period for a *Bear and Friends* film.

## Marketing

On August 26, 2023, a teaser trailer was released for the film, confirming the introduction and appearance of Bear's Dad in the film. A poster was released alongside the teaser, depicting Bear, Dog, and Unicorn in the dandelion field from the series. On September 7, filming wrapped and a new image was shown, revealing the initial runtime of the film to be an hour, 20 minutes, and 47 seconds. On September 9, a new poster (as seen above) was released for the film, while on September 10, a new trailer was released for the film, confirming the plot for the film.

On September 16, a new video was posted, recapping the events of previous films and episodes leading up to the events of the film. On October 1, a clip of the film was released, showing Principal Steinbeck breaking into the BAF House and kidnapping Bear. New posters were also released for the film, parodying films such as *The Shining* (1980), *Titanic* (1997), *The Terminator* (1984), *Star Wars Episode IV - A New Hope* (1977), and an unknown fifth film. A second clip was released on October 5, revealing that the film takes place during the summer of 2023.

On October 7, it was announced that the final runtime of the film would be an hour, 20 minutes, and 50 seconds, making it the longest *Bear and Friends* film to date by 10 seconds, beating *Bear and Friends: The Movie*. A third clip was revealed on October 9, showcasing the scene where Bear's Dad is introduced as he warns Bear about an incoming war, presumably the one involving Principal Steinbeck and Steve.

A fourth and final clip was released on October 13, 2023, showcasing Dog's arc in the film, which is set to follow him struggling to ask Unicorn to marry him. It was also announced on October 18 that a third and final trailer would be released on October 23. On October 23, the final trailer was released, featuring a cinematic remix of the song "Way Less Sad" by AJR and being the only copyrighted trailer for the film. A series of countdown shorts for the film began on October 24 and is set to continue until the film's release.

## Music

*Main article: The Bear and Friends Movie (soundtrack)*

On September 4, 2023, it was announced that *The Bear and Friends Movie* would feature 2 original songs and would be the first film in the franchise to receive its own soundtrack. It was released on October 27, 2023.

## Reception

On the Like vs. Dislike Score, the film received a 97% score, based on 28 viewers, with an average score of 9.753 out of 10. The YouTube Analytics read, "A hilarious and emotional return to form for the franchise, *The Bear and Friends Movie* sets a fresh new direction for the franchise while delivering on everything fans could ask for."

## Release

The film was officially released on YouTube on November 3, 2023.

On July 11, 2023, the cast and crew of the film posted an update, which stated that they were hoping to release the film in "either September or October" at the earliest. However, Combs stated that it's "highly unlikely" that it will meet the September or October release. On September 2, 2023, a new release window was announced for the film, stating that it could possibly release between December 2023 and April 2024. The release date was officially announced on September 6, one day before filming ended.

## Future

Combs stated that the film would serve as a "reinvention" of sorts for the franchise. He also stated that, should the film be successful, it would be followed by a fifth season of the series, though the possibility of a sequel has not been discussed.

## References

* Announcement
* Combs' livestream
* Set photo
* Teaser trailer
* Release Date Announcement