We Bare Bears: The Movie

"We Bare Bears: The Movie" serves as the series finale to the animated TV show that has built up a cult following. Sweet and silly, it's certainly worth a stream on HBO Max.

Full length movies based on animated TV series are usually somewhat of a letdown. Often, they feel like just long episodes of the TV show and don't warrant a trip to the movie theater unless you're dying to get your kids out of the house.

TV series like "Rugrats," "Hey Arnold," "Doug," "Teen Titans," "Spongebob Squarepants," "My Little Pony," "The Powerpuff Girls," "The Simpsons" and more have all debuted in movies theaters and none of them were particularly special. "South Park" might be one of the few to actually break new ground with a feature length debut.

"We Bare Bears" has had a nice four-season run on Cartoon Network, telling the endearing and zany tales of three bear roommates in the San Francisco Bay area: a panda, a grizzly bear and a polar bear. It's filled with jokes that children wouldn't get about food trucks, hipster culture, viral videos and obscure movie references. It's built up a cult following among adults who enjoy cartoons but it's never inappropriate for young children. There's nothing vulgar or obscene hinted at in this sweet natured TV series that actually shows up under kids' choices in the Netflix categories.

Creator Daniel Chong has directed a 70-minute feature to serve as the series finale of the beloved show, which was released as a rental option during the pandemic and is now free to stream on HBO Max. The plan is to launch is spinoff series about the three bears as young children, which we've seen in the series before during flashback episodes.

The feature-length movie doesn't fall under "must watch" territory and owning a DVD/Blu-Ray copy would only be needed for huge fans of the show, but given that there are so many terrible kids movies that bore parents to tears while entertaining only the littlest children, this is a welcome respite from the "Trolls: World Tour"s of the world.

While you don't have to have seen the series to enjoy this movie, there a few minor references to recurring characters from the show, such as Nom Nom, the arrogant koala who is Internet famous and voiced by Patton Oswalt, and Charlie, the Bigfoot-like creature voiced by Jason Lee.

The plot of this movie is pretty simple. The entire town has grown weary of the three bears' antics and an overzealous wildlife officer (voiced by Mark Evan Jackson, who you might know as Shawn from "The Good Place" or Kevin on "Brooklyn Nine-Nine") decides to lock them up in a bear sanctuary. The three escape and go on a high speed road trip as they try to find refuge in Canada. Hijinks ensue along the way, including a hilarious detour as the stumble upon a viral video animal rave, featuring such luminaries as pizza rat, Doge the Shiba Inu, Grumpy Cat and Lil' Bub.

The three bears are voiced by comedians Eric Edelstein, Bobby Moynihan and Demetri Martin. For those that haven't seen the show, you'll enjoy the distinct personalities of each one and likely will want to watch the series after checking out this movie.

I have to knock a few points off because a few jokes don't land, such as the road trip song they sing. And yes there are episodes that a lot funnier than this movie.

But the movie really distills the themes of the TV series. It's about friendship and acceptance and being there for people.

I probably laughed more at this silly cartoon than many comedies aimed at adults. If you already subscribe to HBO Max, it's worth a watch.