Unicorn: A Bear and Friends Story

Unicorn: A Bear and Friends Story is an American comedy adventure film and a spin-off to 2020’s Bear and Friends: The Movie. It is produced by YouTube Originals and distributed by Gabriel Combs Movies. It stars the voices of Kadence Lovett and Gabriel Combs reprising their roles from the series. The film focuses on the origin story of Unicorn and, with the help of Josh, finding her family.

The film was originally scheduled to be released on YouTube on February 14, 2021, but it was moved up to February 10, 2021. Viewers gave the film generally positive reviews, with praise for the plot, performances, casting, humor, and heart, with some calling it the “best Bear and Friends movie”.

Plot
The film opens with Unicorn’s Mom and Unicorn’s Dad having a newborn. They both agree on the name “Unicorn”due to themselves being named Unicorn’s Mom and Unicorn’s Dad. They then leave the Hospital and arrive at an abandoned house to give Unicorn shelter. It is revealed during the opening credits of the film that Unicorn’s Mom died 2 years later, leaving Unicorn alone with her dad, and eventually moving out and meeting Bear and Dog, leading to the events of the series.

In the Present, Unicorn wakes up on a Cereal Box. She finds a note that Dog wrote, which tells her that Bear and Dig left for a “Bro’s Week Out” Camping Trip. Unicorn tries to find ways to have fun, but each one of them fail. Elsewhere, Master Goat - a villainous goat who holds a grudge against Unicorn - plots against her. Mario, Unicorn’s ex-boyfriend, invites her for the vacation of a lifetime to see her family after years. She reluctantly accepts the offer. On the Plane, Mario ends up coming to the same plane. The two eventually start fighting and Unicorn causes a Plane Crash.

Later, Unicorn returns home and eats food in a depressed state. She then hears a loud sound and goes downstairs to investigate. She discovers a blue Unicorn, who is revealed to know her, and she knocks him out. He wakes up tied to a chair and explains that he is her long lost cousin Josh, who had to stop seeing her after her Mom died. Unicorn gets emotional over the story and Josh invites her on a trip down memory lane to remember their past and become friends again. Master Goat gets emotional over a video about a cat and a dog who don’t get adopted. He then researches how to track a Unicorn.

Unicorn and Josh have a huge trip down Memory Lane. They start by eating their favorite candy, Lifesavers, and continue by watching the snow, go to the Park, and experience their old cramped treehouse. Eventually, they fully remember their childhoods and form a bond again. Master Goat then sends Mario to capture Unicorn and Josh. Unicorn and Josh play a game of Chutes and Ladders and prepare to watch a movie, which scares Unicorn and makes Josh cringe due to its cheesiness. They hear the doorbell ring. Mario arrives and knocks out Josh, kidnapping him and Unicorn at the same time. They find themselves in a lair as Mario is revealed to be Josh’s old friend who plots to steal Unicorn’s powers for research. Suddenly, Unicorn and Josh are freed by two unknown beings.

As they wake up, the beings turn out to be Unicorn’s parents, who save them to finally tell Unicorn the truth, as Unicorn’s Mom survived and had to go on a journey to discover who she really was, and in some ways abandoned Unicorn during childhood. Unicorn gets emotional over it, leading to the reveal that Josh was in on the lie. Unicorn and Josh part ways after a falling out outside of the room. Suddenly, Master Goat and Mario arrive at the scene and capture Unicorn’s parents while Josh watches Bear and Friends: The Movie, leading Josh to realize that Unicorn didn’t deserve to be lied to. He discovers Unicorn’s parents capture as well.

While Unicorn unboxes her new phone, Josh tells Unicorn about the capture and the two make up for their fight to save them. Josh scopes out the place and falls in love with Peanut Butter. They sneak in and try to save Unicorn’s parents, sounding off the alarm in the process. Their mission nearly succeeds until Mario catches and captures all of them. Mario then stabs Unicorn with a power-absorbing fork, gaining Mario the powers. Mario uses Unicorn’s powers to send her to the beginning of time, before Bear and Friends was created. There, she meets the Creator, and realizes that she doesn’t need her powers to be useful. He then sends her back to the Present to fight Mario.

Mario captures Josh, Unicorn’s Dad, and Unicorn’s Mom. He ties them to a chair in a Plane and prepares to fly it into an active volcano to kill them. As all hope seems lost, Unicorn arrives and frees her family from their capture. She goes to fight Mario alone and sends Josh to fight Master Goat by himself. During their battle, Unicorn accidentally causes another Plane Crash, sending her and Mario onto the roof of Unicorn’s house. The rest of Unicorn’s family safely lands inside the house. As Mario prepares to kill Unicorn, she reveals that she cheated on him with Dog. Mario realizes that he should have been facing his demons and apologizes. Josh reveals that he called the Police and Mario gets arrested, but Josh apologizes.

3 Months Later, Mario is freed from Prison, losing the charge of his crimes. He also forcefully kisses the Police Officer. After that, Mario arrives at Unicorn’s house bruised. He makes up with Unicorn for the whole “incident” and they become friends. After a huge party with her friends, Josh returns to Australia, Unicorn’s Parents decide to start a home together, and Mario goes to the Washing Machine to fix his marks. In the End, Unicorn is left home alone again until Dog finally arrives home from the Camping Trip.

In a mid-credit scene, Fred the Flamingo breaks the fourth wall to the audience.

Voice Cast

 * Kadence Lovett as Unicorn, an anthropomorphic Unicorn who sets out on a vacation to see her family. She is also left home alone when Bear and Dog go on a camping trip.
 * Gabriel Combs as Josh, an anthropomorphic Australian Unicorn who is Unicorn’s cousin and lives outside, as he has no house.
 * Gabriel Combs as Master Goat, an evil anthropomorphic Goat who plots to capture Unicorn and extract her powers to use them for world domination.
 * Gabriel Combs as Mario, a Nintendo hero and Unicorn’s ex-boyfriend.
 * Kadence Lovett as Unicorn’s Mom, the mother of Unicorn who left for an adventure and a dark past.
 * Gabriel Combs as Unicorn’s Dad, the father of Unicorn who returns to tell Unicorn about her Mom.

Additionally, Gabriel Combs has cameo appearances as Bear and Dog in voice cameos, while Niko Lovett appears as Fred the Flamingo in a mid-credit scene of the film.

Production
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.

Reception
The film received generally positive reviews, with praise for the plot, performances, casting, humor, and heart, with some calling it the “best Bear and Friends movie”. On the Like vs. Dislike Score, the film received a 94% score, based on 200 viewers. 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."

Release
The film is scheduled to be released on YouTube on February 14, 2021.