Bear and Friends (film series)

The ***Bear and Friends*** film series consists of American-made comedy drama films, based on and a continuation of the television series of the same name. The films are distributed by YouTube Originals. The films feature the regular television voice cast: Gabriel Combs, Kadence Lovett, Niko Lovett, and Kamden Lovett.

Plans for a film based on the series began without the knowledge of the public in August 2020 when the cast filmed throughout the month for fun. In November, YouTube announced that the film was set for a December public release, while Combs created a countdown to celebrate the release of the film. Niko Lovett directed the film, titled *Bear and Friends: The Movie*, which was released publicly on YouTube on December 4, 2020, to mixed reactions from fans. It was originally planned to act as the series finale, but the series success led to the production of more films. *Unicorn: A Bear and Friends Story*, a spin-off film directed by Combs, followed on February 10, 2021. A third film, *Bear and Friends: A New Adventure*, was also directed by Combs and released on August 6, 2021.

In January 2023, a fourth film was announced to be in development, titled *The Bear and Friends Movie*, which was released on November 3, 2023. The film is directed by Combs alongside Kadence Lovett in her directorial debut. It establishes a new canon to the series, with *Unicorn: A Bear and Friends Story* remaining the only canon film alongside it.

## Films

 *Unicorn: A Bear and Friends Story* | February 10, 2021
 *The Bear and Friends Movie* | November 3, 2023

### *Bear and Friends: The Movie* (2020)

*Main article: Bear and Friends: The Movie*

In the first feature-film in the series, Bear, Dog, and Unicorn are hunted by Principal Steinbeck, who declares a war on them after being arrested following the events of"Unicorn Goes to School!". The film mainly features segments of adventures that the friends go on, with them all being brought together to serve as a loose plot for the film. The film also introduces the reveal that Steinbeck is the background cameo character Gerald from the series. Despite a mixed response from fans, the film was considered successful, receiving 394 views.

### *Unicorn: A Bear and Friends Story* (2021)

*Main article: Unicorn: A Bear and Friends Story*

The film serves as a spin-off of the series, focusing on the character Unicorn on her own adventure. The plot follows Unicorn as she reunites with her long-lost cousin Josh and sets out to rediscover her past and figure out who she is. She is also being hunted by her ex-boyfriend Mario, who seeks revenge for their break-up years ago. The film also introduces Unicorn's Mom, who is revealed to have survived when she was assumed dead. The film received a positive response from fans and was considered successful, receiving 439 views, making it the highest viewed film in the series.

### *Bear and Friends: A New Adventure* (2021)

*Main article: Bear and Friends: A New Adventure*

The plot follows Bear as he attempts to recover the memories of Dog and Unicorn after they are knocked out by Steinbeck in an attack. Once again, Steinbeck pledges a war against them following his arrest. The film was originally set to serve as the conclusion to the series, but the ending was deemed "unsatisfying" and "rushed" by fans of the series, so the cast is set to return in future projects. Despite a positive response from fans, the film was considered a failure, receiving 125 views in total, making it the lowest viewed film in the series.

### *The Bear and Friends Movie* (2023)

*Main article: The Bear and Friends Movie*

The film follows Bear and his friends as they are hunted by a mysterious bounty hunter named Steve. With the help of Bear's Dad, the friends must overcome their personal fears to win yet another war against Steinbeck. 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.

## Production

#### *Bear and Friends: The Movie*

In May 2020, the cast of Bear and Friends kept it secret that YouTube secretly announced the making of a feature film based on Bear and Friends, with the cast reprising their roles for the film. It was filmed secretly through August of 2020 and the film ended up being the longest Bear and Friends project ever made. In November 2020, YouTube made the decision to release the film on December 4, 2020 due to many fans being quarantined. Combs also created a countdown for the film to celebrate its release.

#### *Unicorn: A Bear and Friends Story*

The film was officially announced in early January 2021, with Combs announcing that the film would center around the origin story of Unicorn, setting up how she met Bear and Dog. Eventually, the script was changed and Unicorn’s backstory was shown through flashback sequences in the first five minutes of the film. It was announced that the film would center around Unicorn while Bear and Dog are on a vacation as Unicorn goes to see her family and putting an end to her dark past. Filming began on January 20, 2021, and ended on February 4, 2021, with a trailer scheduled for February 5, 2021. The trailer was originally scheduled to be released on February 1, but was delayed due to filming issues. He also announced that the film would be shorter than Bear and Friends: The Movie, but still over an hour. The trailer was officially released on February 4, 2021, to a generally positive response.

#### *Bear and Friends: A New Adventure*

The film was announced by Gabriel Combs shortly after the release of the first film. He said that due to the film’s success, he would be working on a sequel, but it wouldn’t come out until 2021. On March 28, 2021, it was announced that the film is rescheduled to be released in December 2021, with a teaser and a poster being released via the Bear and Friends Instagram account. The official title was also announced on the same day as the teaser and the poster released. Filming began on April 18, 2021, and took place at the BAF house, and ended in May.

#### *The Bear and Friends Movie*

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."

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. It was also announced that some new actors would be possibly be joining the film in cameo appearances, respectively.

Filming began on May 30, 2023. It will take place at the BAF House. It was also revealed in a teaser image that the film would feature new locations, including an abandoned stone building in La Platte. Filming wrapped on September 8.

## Reception

### Critical response

 *The Bear and Friends Movie* | 97% (4 views)

*Bear and Friends: The Movie* received a mixed response from fans, with praise for the performances, humor, and faithfulness to the series, but with criticism for its story and inconsistency. On a Like Vs. Dislike Scale, the film received a 49% score, based on 392 views, with an average of 4.55 out of 10. The site reads, “*Bear and Friends: The Movie* is enjoyable enough to entertain fans of the series, but for everyone else, it's an uneven mess with no entertaining story in sight.”

*Unicorn: A Bear and Friends Story* received a generally positive response, with praise for the plot, performances, casting, humor, and heart. On the Like vs. Dislike Score, the film received a 94% score, based on 433 viewers, with an average score of 9.1 out of 10. The YouTube Analytics read, "Loveable characters, a fun plot, and a great soundtrack make *Unicorn: A Bear and Friends Story* an improvement over its predecessor, and a great movie in its own right."

*Bear and Friends: A New Adventure* received a mixed-to-positive response, with fans praising the plot, casting, performances, humor, representation, and emotional weight, though the pacing and ending received criticism. On the Like vs. Dislike Score, the film received a 75% score, based on 124 views, with an average score of 6.91 out of 10. The YouTube Analytics read, "Improving on its predecessor in many ways, *Bear and Friends: A New Adventure* ends the series on a slightly uneven but mostly high note while maintaining the charm that makes the series so enjoyable."

*The Bear and Friends Movie* 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. On the Like vs. Dislike Score, the film received a 97% score, based on 4 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."

## Additional crew and production details

companies
company
 *Bear and Friends: The Movie* | iMovie
 *The Bear and Friends Movie* | 80 minutes

## Notes

* *Bear and Friends: The Movie* serves as Niko Lovett's directorial debut.
* *Unicorn: A Bear and Friends Story* serves as Combs' directorial debut.
* *The Bear and Friends Movie* serves as Kadence Lovett's directorial debut.