Look, I'm not going to sugarcoat this: Space Buddies is rough. It's the fifth entry in a franchise that was already running on fumes, and somehow they thought 'let's send them to space' was the creative shot in the arm it needed. It wasn't.
The ratings tell the story: 4.3 on IMDb, 52% audience score on Rotten Tomatoes, 2.5 out of 5 on Letterboxd. These are 'we watched it with our toddler and even they got bored' numbers. The production quality is bargain-basement even by 2009 direct-to-video standards, and the 'space' setting is so poorly executed it makes you wonder if anyone involved had ever seen a picture of the moon.
Is it safe? Absolutely. Will it harm your child? Not unless you count 84 minutes of their childhood they'll never get back. If you have a very young child (4-6) who is absolutely obsessed with puppies and you need something playing while you fold laundry, fine. But don't expect them to ask to watch it again, and definitely don't expect to stay in the room yourself.
There are so many better options on Disney Plus. Like, hundreds of them.



