Marking the feature film debut from director Tyree Dillihay (who helmed many episodes of Bob’s Burgers over the years) and co-director Adam Rosette, GOAT is the animated coming-of-age story of a young, small goat named Will (Stranger Things’ Caleb McLaughlin) who has dreamed of playing professional Roarball—a co-ed, full-contact, basketball-like sport dominated by the fastest, fiercest, and largest creatures in the animal kingdom. Being one of the best shots in the world, Will gets his chance to play on the same team as his childhood hero, a black leopard named Jett Fillmore (Gabrielle Union), the face of the Vineland Thorns and none too thrilled to have this tiny goat underfoot. There is a running belief in the league that “small” can’t ball, but Will’s big dreams and consistent skill threaten to revolutionize the sport.
Coached by Dennis (Patton Oswalt), other players on Will’s team include a komodo dragon named Modo (Nick Kroll), a giraffe named Lenny (real-life basketball player/executive producer Stephen Curry), an ostrich named Olivia (Nicola Coughlan) and a rhino named Archie (David Harbour). Will’s rival is a horse named Mane Attraction (Aaron Pierce), the current MVP of the league. Other familiar voices that pop up are Jennifer Lewis as the Thorns' conniving owner, Sherry Cola as one of Will’s friends, Andrew Santino and Bobby Lee as sports announcers, Jennifer Hudson as Will’s mom, Jelly Roll, Wayne Knight, and a host of NBA and WNBA players, including Angel Reese, A’ja Wilson, Dwayne Wade, Kevin Love, and the list goes on.
The marketing on GOAT says that it's from the same studio that brought us the animated Spider-Man movies and KPop Demon Hunters, but don’t let that steer you toward or away from this film. The animation is high-intensity, chaotic, inventive, and may give you motion sickness at times. But at its core, the film is about dreaming big and then finding the courage and stamina to go after those dreams. The comedy elements are fairly weak, even with a handful of talented comedians doing voice work (they don’t write the jokes, the just give them the best spin they can). What I found most interesting in terms of the story wasn’t the sports elements, but the relationship between Will and the elder Jett, who is concerned that her best days are behind her but is determined to have one last great season before going out to pasture.
The visuals pop off the screen (maybe enough to induce low-grade headaches) and the music may rattle your seats with the right sound system, so there’s no real danger of falling asleep during GOAT. But I’m not sure anyone but young kids and sports junkies will get anything out of this fairly standard talking-animals movie.
The film is now playing in theaters.
If you enjoyed this post, please consider supporting Third Coast Review’s arts and culture coverage by making a donation. Choose the amount that works best for you, and know it goes directly to support our writers and contributors.
