GOAT review

GOAT: 

A STYLISH AND SLICK GAME ON THE COURT! 

By Nico Beland

Movie Review: *** out of 4

COLUMBIA PICTURES AND SONY PICTURES ANIMATION

Will Harris and his team of anthropomorphic animals are going to change the game in GOAT

 

            An aspiring roarball player goat is determined to become the “Greatest of All Time” at the sport in GOAT, the new animated feature from Sony Pictures Animation, Tyree Dillihay in his directorial debut, and produced by NBA player Stephen Curry. I’ve been very impressed with Sony’s animation catalog and how they really stepped up their game and began producing more experimental projects after 2018’s Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse. 

Sure, not every one of them was a big hit, but the studio has since come a long way since their Emoji Movie, Smurfs, and Open Season days. Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse and its sequel, Across the Spider-Verse were cinematic game-changers in film animation, The Mitchells VS the Machines was a laugh-a-minute and charming road trip that also had a robot apocalypse, and last year’s KPop Demon Hunters on Netflix was a full-blown phenomenon…so, they decided to follow all that up with an animated movie about a goat playing basketball…yay? 

I was not enthusiastic about the movie when it was first announced as I initially thought the concept was a huge step back from what Sony had been putting out recently. But then, the trailer came out and it actually looked pretty good with Sony essentially using that Spider-Verse, Mitchells, and KPop art and animation style on the basketball court. 

Well, I have to say this was a pretty enjoyable game on the court, I don’t think GOAT is nearly as good as the Spider-Verse films, Mitchells VS the Machines, or KPop Demon Hunters, but I was entertained throughout during my viewing even if the plot isn’t exactly original. It’s the classic “There ain’t no rule saying a *Blank* can’t play *Insert Sport Here*!” setup that we’ve seen a million times before especially during the 90s and 2000s with Air Bud, Ed, MVP: Most Valuable Primate, etc., but as long as the film gives a new creative spin on the formula I’m all for it, this certainly does that. 

The film is set in a world of anthropomorphic talking animals and follows Will Harris (voiced by Caleb McLaughlin-Stranger Things, The Book of Clarence, The Deliverance), a goat who aspires to be a professional player in a basketball-like sport known as roarball ever since he was a kid. However, there is one problem holding Will back from pursuing his dream “Smalls Can’t Ball” so, when he signs on to play for the Vineland Thorns team, he’ll need to prove to everyone that anyone no matter how big or small can follow their dreams thus changing the game forever. 

The film also features the voices of Gabrielle Union (10 Things I Hate About You, Bad Boys II, Strange World) as Will’s idol and black panther Jett Fillmore, Aaron Pierre (Krypton, Old, Mufasa: The Lion King) as Will’s rival and horse Mane Attraction, Nicola Coughlan (Bridgerton, Barbie, Seize Them!) as ostrich Olivia Burke, David Harbour (Stranger Things, Marvel Cinematic Universe, Violent Night) as rhinoceros Archie Everhardt, Nick Kroll (Kroll Show, Sausage Party, Sing 1 and 2) as Komodo dragon Modo Olachenko, Curry himself as giraffe Lenny Williamson, Jenifer Lewis (Sister Act 1 and 2, The Preacher’s Wife, Cars trilogy) as warthog and Thorns owner Florence “Flo” Everson (I just now realized she voiced 2 Flos in animated films), Patton Oswalt (Reno 911, Ratatouille, Freaks of Nature) as proboscis monkey and Thorns’ coach Dennis Cooper, Jelly Roll as grizzly bear Grizz, Sherry Cola (Turning Red, Good Fortune, The SpongeBob Movie: Search for SquarePants) as aardwolf and Will’s friend Hannah, Eduardo Franco (Stranger Things, Booksmart, Hoppers) as capybara and Will’s other friend Daryl, Jennifer Hudson (The Secret Life of Bees, Sing, Respect) as Will’s mother Louise Harris, Ayesha Curry (Hannah Montana, Good Luck Charlie, Charming) as llama and diner owner Carol, and Wayne Knight (Seinfeld, Space Jam, Toy Story 2) as gerbil and Will’s landlord Frank. 

Overall, GOAT may not change the game in terms of storytelling compared to the Spider-Verse movies or any of Sony Animation’s other recent projects, but it’s such a dazzling and kinetic game of basketball that makes it worth seeing on the big screen that effectively balances its chaotic energy with a ton of heart. I’m not kidding about the film’s energy being chaotic, the animation is incredibly fast-paced and stylized with that Spider-Verse-inspired style, but there are times where it even gives those films a run for their money in terms of animated madness. 

The animation and designs especially during the games are so crazy and imaginative with constant speed and angles that I was both in awe and overwhelmed, it’s like a really hyper motion comic version of a basketball-focused graphic novel with very few moments to breathe. The film gets very creative with the kinds of courts the characters play on such as an icy arctic court and one that’s volcanic with earthquakes happening, I loved seeing all these different kinds of basketball courts and how they worked, they’re a feast for the eyes. 

The characters are pretty stock and fit the genre architypes, but they do carry the film well enough and bring heart and emotional weight to the story particularly the goat and the panther. It’s the typical underdog (or goat in this film’s case) and veteran player who was once the best and is now jealous of the new player rivalry turned friendship, but the voice actors really sell it and make their characters endearing so you want to root for them. 

The humor is pretty hit-or-miss with some jokes not quite landing, but some are so bizarre and come out of nowhere that they made me laugh hard whether it’s a verbal joke, visual gag, or a very subtle laugh in the background. It isn’t Mitchells VS the Machines quality where I was constantly laughing, but I laughed a fair amount during this film. 

As mentioned early on, the plot is very formulaic and derivative of other sports movies, we’ve heard this kind of story several times before in other films both good and bad, but GOAT’s execution of it and the fact I had never seen this story told in such a crazy and chaotic way made it work for me. If it was any other movie, I’d call it lazy, but I think the film is aware and trying to make a flashy and kinetic throwback to those kinds of sports movies and it does it very well. 

Yeah, I enjoyed my time with GOAT and is an example of the kind of stuff I want to see from Sony Pictures Animation, the experimental, thinking out of the box, and the animators and filmmakers in their zone even if the end product is only “Good”. Honestly, I might just skip Hotel Transylvania 5 and wait for Sony’s next bonkers and/or groundbreaking animated film because if this, Spider-Verse, Mitchells, and KPop are anything to go by, creative visions and filmmakers going all in on their craft are the keys to a glorious win.