What’s It About

This original action-comedy set in an all-animal world follows Will, a small goat with big dreams who gets a once-in-a-lifetime shot to join the pros and play roarball – a high-intensity, co-ed, full-contact sport dominated by the fastest, fiercest animals in the world. Will’s new teammates aren’t thrilled about having a little goat on their roster, but Will is determined to revolutionize the sport and prove once and for all that “smalls can ball!”

MOVIESinMO REVIEW

At this moment, Sony Pictures Animation is not displaying any signs of slowing down. Since the release of Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse in 2018, the whole scenario shifted. This movie not only slightly opened the door but literally kicked it wide open. It was a breakthrough for American animation in the way that it showed that the industry doesn’t need to keep doing the same thing as always. Rather than following the formula that worked in the past, they decided to make their own. The Mitchells vs. the Machines was a delightful mess of energy. Next, there were two strong Miles Morales films, with each one surpassing the previous. The last year saw a pretty crazy K, Pop Demon Hunters movie that no one expected. Jump to the beginning of 2026, and you get GOAT. It’s really not just another sports drama. It feels like a live wire, flaring with excitement and being somewhat wild. Tyree Dillihay is making his directorial debut, bringing in the expertise he gained from Bob’s Burgers, and he is being assisted by a script from Aaron Buchsbaum and Teddy Riley. Caleb McLaughlin, the actor who gained recognition through his role in Stranger Things, portrays Will Harris, a high school basketball player (actually a goat or the greatest of all time in this context) who is five feet seven inches tall and whose ambition is so great that he is already envisioning a future that others simply cannot see or refuse to see. Jett Fillmore, the league’s leading scorer, who is hiding deeper than superficial scars, is dubbed by Gabrielle Union. Stephen Curry not only acts as one of the driving forces behind the making of the film but also lends his voice to a character on screen. Moreover, he takes the audience along with him as he shares his profound knowledge of the game. GOAT is set in a mythical game named Roarball. With Roarball shaped similarly to basketball but utterly different, we see behemoth animals brutally competing on courts that regularly change, in an environment where rules can be bent anytime and for no reason. Right in the middle of a hot glass greenhouse, you can spot the Vineland Thorns who, while working in the open, still run drills below the hanging leaves. Over their heads, the Magma train runs on a lava field that is cracked like ice, and smoke is spiraling up to the sky that is filled with ash. Meanwhile, one team is trudging through knee-high snow under feeble suns that don’t warm much at all. These are the landscapes that control not only the players’ actions; the places themselves are the obstacles that have been built into the matches, thus turning what used to be a familiar ground into either a trap or a shelter. Will is a young man who runs around the streets doing a bit of everything here and there in order to make ends meet; he has a very small income, yet what he clings to most tightly are the dreams of which others have already told him that he would abandon. Out here, they give him the nickname “small”; that nickname has become as sticky as chewing gum on a sneaker, and it is basically redefining one’s image. At The Cage, the small concrete spot filled with cracks and with an atmosphere of being alive through betting and trash talking, he faces off against Mane Attraction, a show, off stallion who, with two MVPs under his belt, is currently on fire with Lava Coast Magma; deep in the voice, louder than swagger, he is portrayed by Aaron Pierre. The first player to reach three points is the winner. Will does not win, but he comes close, spins past Mane with such ease that the latter gets off balance and nearly falls flat on his face; his legs get entangled as if they were old headphones, and he is down on the ground. That moment? Everyone watching jerks their phone out and starts typing. Later, his friends, Hannah, who is the joyful one, and Daryl, who is the cheerful one, confront Sherry Cola and Eduardo Franco. They take the fall, stitch it in a slick way, and drop it onto the internet to spread at an extremely fast rate. He is lucky, just then, that Jett Fillmore, a black panther and probably the greatest athlete the world has ever seen, can’t pull the Thorns alone out of their losing streak. Flo Everson, the team’s owner, played by Jenifer Lewis, is a woman of sharp wit and boundless ambition. She seems to be inclined to see the situation from a profit perspective, rather than recognizing that it is a problem. In order to drum up more attention, Flo signs Will to a pro contract. This opportunity does open up new possibilities for Will, but it is still on unstable grounds. However, here is where the story just goes on for a bit, like being stuck in mud with your tires spinning. The central section mostly relies on the dramatic aspects that come across as artificial rather than natural, as if somebody was deliberately escalating the tension just to fill the time. Suddenly, Jett treats Will in a terrible manner, justifying it by his being smaller, and then acting as if she owned the place despite having zero titles. It remains unclear whether the plot is aiming for a LeBron-level icon or an Iverson-type fighter who has been left with no support. Without any rhyme or reason, she flips one way, then the other, saying one thing and doing another, especially when it comes to ignoring Will for no identifiable reason. A real athlete with considerable experience who is on a team that’s struggling would most probably focus on this new strength instead of dismissing it. While respect is legit and certainly expected, her character comes off as a bit of a cold fish. I have a hard time relating to her, and this feeling comes from nearly every single minute that passes. The other members of the cast, however, make up for it quite well. David Harbour lends his voice to Archie, a rhino and a single parent, fiercely protecting the rim with nothing but his raw power. Nicola Coughlan brings to life Olivia, an ostrich sprinting at full speed, yet being stylistically obsessed. Then there is Nick Kroll as Modo Olachenko, a komodo dragon with a Russian accent, who is a lot like the wild and crazy Dennis Rodman from the old days. Besides that, Curry takes on Lenny, a giraffe who has been traveling between teams for years and is now trying his hand at rapping. This bunch of misfits, trying to make it into the playoffs for the first time, is following a pretty standard plot; nevertheless, their raw charisma makes their struggle seem almost genuine. GOAT differentiates itself from most other sports movies by sneakily putting in the deeper themes rather than forcing the audience. One of the greatest athletes in the film is a female. A defender is shown to be interested in both girls and boys in a matter, of, fact way, which has been carefully handled for younger viewers. Dillihay does not want to focus on such details; they are just there, quietly, naturally, as if they were part of the setting. See how being simply good makes a person entitled to a place, without any conditions. Places for playing should welcome anyone who is willing to join, no matter what their appearance or identity may be. This concept is particularly relevant in today’s world, where LGBTQ+ and BIPOC players are so often the targets, simply because they have the courage to show up. At the heart of the story is the relationship between Will and Jett, which grows stronger with each encounter. Every line that McLaughlin speaks contains so much emotion that hope stays even at those moments when the brain dictates it is time to give up. It is the Union that has to shoulder the heaviest burden. Her weary and vulnerable character is personified through the many losses she has had to endure; she is so lonely that she even carries this feeling like a second skin, which also haunts her with the fear of failing once more. Jett comes around slowly, initially being self-centered, and then being shaped into a person who is willing to make a sacrifice, just like Will, who also gradually finds his own path. At a roadside diner where everything has become quiet, voices rise with tales, binding promises to Vineland itself, and revealing a value which does not primarily lie in trophies but rather in loyalty and friendship. Pictures fly forward without requesting permission; the motion hits hard when the players collide, the borders are jagged lines with a sudden freeze, frames come straight from Puss in Boots, making every game feel raw, loud, and alive. Suddenly, the background areas are blurred into painterly smears while the sharp details are an anchor to the motion in the foreground. This little touch of handmade magic takes each scene beyond the two-dimensional image. The bodies glide through the space with buoyed rhythms and a slight emphasis on physical force. Let’s see how a charging rhino differs from Will, who is shooting his jumper. The sounds of the work reflect the life of the hoop down to its core quality, the soles screeching, the fans yelling, the dribble echoing, and the whistles going perfectly with the play tempo. Basketball is still a big part of the film here and there, and the fans notice that immediately. One instance is when Michael Jordan went all out during the epic game of 1997 despite the fact that he was sick. Then, the scene goes to Paul Pierce, who helps lead the team with his big shot, although right after that, he is being wheeled off, and we see the disappointment in the crowd. The melancholy of the story of Seattle losing a team is also being portrayed. Of course, the history is important, and yet the story manages to move on anyway. Near the end, there is a fierce battle of Will and the Thorns versus Manes’ team, where, most certainly, the unity as a team wins over individual ego, even if skill suggests otherwise. Of course, the ending here reveals itself quite soon. The title may be chasing after greatness, but the plot stays exceptionally close to the well-worn paths, such as an unrecognized group, someone who is past their prime and battling years, and a bunch of underdogs who are just making it through by sheer grit. On the other hand, Dillihay, as well as the script team, knows the right moment for tension when to pull it, and when to let up. The same old familiar pieces are there, but they are mixed up with some little twists that give them shape. It’s true that parts become quite evident, and quite soon. At first, people’s attention wanders towards the online strife and financial struggles, which are probably the least fitting themes for those moments meant for younger audiences. Some jokes and laughing noises based on the characters being animals do not really help in those places that would actually benefit from more depth. Imagine a scenario where a thousand games have been played, all pretty much following the same pattern, and the outcomes are so predictable that they are known well before the referee blows the whistle. However, in some way, GOAT has an understanding of why it is that year after year, we still hold on to our seats, and our eyes remain glued to the screen. It is not only about rules, or records, and most of all, it is rhythm that attracts us: the conflict of will, the sweat which, in a way, ties together dream and duty, the competition that can be shaped by love and hate. ” Will is the guy who pushes through the walls that people around him have put up; he is someone who gets judged based on the gaps that he has, instead of the gifts that he possesses. Similar to Jett, who did the same thing, only quietly, and thus, she made her presence felt without actually giving anyone permission to do that. There also happens to be some kind of magic when a film is able to remember how to have fun. GOAT is not a remake of sports films in animation; nevertheless, it subtly conveys to us the fact that they still have the potential to be powerful and influential. The best-looking feature of the movie is its array of colors. The film is pulsating with the energy of the scenes, and the emotion is the anchor of the plot. The film shares its belief that only hard work and persistence will get a person to the point where he or she belongs, without exception. The youngest ones are attracted by the dazzling visuals and the fast, moving, challenging activities on the screen. Meanwhile, the people with more experience will be able to see the craftsmanship, the framing, the little messages about fairness that have been woven in so subtly that they are just a part of the scenery. Someone who was alone and disregarded has come up not because fate wants him to, but because he chose to show up over and over again. Here, belonging is not a gift, but a thing that is made.

OUR RATING – A HYPED UP 8