A love and appreciation for the 1980s is at the heart of the new film Brigsby Bear, a quirky tale of obsession from best friends Kyle Mooney and Dave McCary.

They’re best known for their work on SNL but have been producing original content for decades. Some of their shorts are offbeat and low-fi, recalling the work of The Lonely Island. That trio of comedians (Andy Samberg, Jorma Taccone and Akiva Schaeffer) also broke out on SNL so it’s only fitting that they are the main producers on Brigsby Bear, essentially passing the torch to the next generation.

Dave McCary handles directing duties on Brigsby Bear while Kyle Mooney stars as the shy and awkward lead, a character so isolated that his entire existence is literally inside a bunker protected by his domineering family. His favorite thing in the world is the obscure TV show Brigsby Bear, a wild mash-up of Teddy Ruxpin plus Winnie the Pooh and that’s what sets him off on a wild adventure to discover the outside world.

The film is rooted in ’80s nostalgia and even has Mark Hamill playing a supporting role for good measure. Debuting at this year’s Sundance film festival, Brigsby Bear has been making the festival rounds ever since before finally premiering theatrically. One of those promotional stops was in San Francisco where we got a chance to speak with the duo about the ‘80s and the wild steps it took to make this film. This is a transcription of that conversation.

Q: How’s your day going so far with all these back-to-back interviews?

Dave McCary: At this point I’m just so tired that I’ve been struggling to find new ways to try and answer some questions.

Q: You guys have been doing press since Sundance so I can only imagine how rough that must be.

McCary: Then you add Cannes where you have international press and Kyle and I are sitting with them. They seemed like rapid fire interviews because we had maybe 20 groups of journalists and they all came in right after the other and basically asked the same questions. By the 12th of 15th time you’re saying the same answer it starts to feel a little trippy.

Q: How do you guys keep things fresh so you don’t repeat yourselves giving the same answers over and over?

McCary: It’s our first time going through this process so as organically as possible we’re trying to go with our instincts.

Kyle Mooney: It’s nice when you do discover something new. There’s definitely nothing exciting about having every article saying the same thing.

Q: The Lonely Island crew are producers on this movie and they’re out of the Bay Area. How did that relationship come together and are you all doing press together while you’re here in San Francisco?

McCary: No, they all have families and lives in LA so it’s more difficult for them to be as malleable as we have been.

Mooney: They’re certainly available for anything we need. They’re on every e-mail chain and putting in their two cents.

McCary: It was great having them as mentors and knowing that our path is so similar to theirs so whenever we had questions or issues or general guidance they were there to help.

Q: A lot of this movie is rooted in ’80s nostalgia, are there any ideas or inspirations that didn’t make the final cut?

Mooney: Since we were working with a limited budget there was only so much of the Brigsby Bear TV show we could explore. If we could spin off this universe there’d be cartoons and holiday specials.

McCary: There probably would’ve been space travel and janky action scenes but with our limited time and budget that was hard to explore. But we were very conscious that a good chunk of our budget had to go to the animatronics and production design of the show. We drew from all these childhood references like Teddy Ruxpin and Welcome to Pooh Corner.

Mooney: Rainbow Brite, She-Ra. Nothing was off limits.

Q: Mark Hamill is a big part of the ’80s and he’s a big part of this movie. How was your working relationship with him on set?

McCary: He was so difficult to work with.

Mooney: He was not nice.

Q: You didn’t talk about Star Wars at all, right?

Mooney: (laughs) Exactly.

McCary: He was truly one of the most pleasant people on set and shared stories.

Mooney: It was slightly intimidating. I have a hard time believing there’s a question that Mark Hamill hasn’t been asked. He has such a meaningful place in all of our lives that it was a pleasure.

McCary: That made it more special because the movie has so much to do with fandom and obsession with your favorite childhood things.

Mooney: If you think about it some people really like Star Wars.

Q: All of the love and adoration you have for the ’80s is in this film but what are some of the things you detest from the ’80s?

Mooney: That’s a really good question but whenever I’m asked about things I detest I’m always worried I’m going to offend someone. I have to go with the ’84 Chicago Cubs for beating my San Diego Padres. I’ve got an appreciation for so many kitschy things so let’s see. I’ve never tasted New Coke so I can’t say if I hate that.

Q: Shifting gears a bit to your SNL days, some of the skits you’re most known for are very kitschy and different from the general vibe of the show. How hard of a sell was it to get those on the air?

Mooney: Those skits were so similar to what we were doing prior to being on SNL. Those characters existed on YouTube and we would always try to produce them. We had to just make them and present them to the show at dress rehearsal. If it gets a response it gets a chance to live.

McCary: It’s a credit to Lorne Michaels and a lot of the higher-ups there that when we do pitch those videos to them they have an appreciation for an alternative voice. There may not be a big audience for that but Lorne still likes to have a range within the show in the later half where we can try stuff.

Q: You guys are going from city to city and answering a lot of the same questions. Is there one question you wish would go away?

Mooney: Oh yeah, I could go through a list of questions. This morning I woke up and was reciting what I’d be saying for the rest of the day. One question I have a tough time answering is “where did the idea for this movie come from” because I could think of things that influenced the film but when the idea appeared in my brain it wasn’t based on a specific moment.

Brigsby Bear is now playing in limited release.