High Quality Content by WIKIPEDIA articles! The Air Bud film series (also known as Air Buddies or Disney Buddies) is an American film franchise based on a sports-playing golden retriever named Buddy, portrayed by Air Buddy. The franchise began in 1997 with the theatrical release of Air Bud, followed by the theatrical release of Air Bud: Golden Receiver in 1998. The rest of the films in the series were released in direct-to-DVD form. The Air Buddies or Disney Buddies spin-off series began in 2006 with the release of Air Buddies and it focuses on the adventures of Air Buddy`s talking golden retriever puppies.