7/10
A new basketball movie with an abnormal collection of animated animals is bringing laughs and warming hearts—and no, they didn’t make another Space Jam. GOAT takes the classic tale of an underdog—or in this case, undergoat—athlete proving their worth and adds real-world complexity and depth.
GOAT follows Will Harris (Caleb McLaughlin), a goat who dreams of changing the game of roarball—it’s basically basketball—by supplementing his undersized frame with an excellent shooting range, in order to win the Vineland Thorns their first championship in decades. Sound familiar? That’s not a coincidence. Stephen Curry, a co-producer and voice actor on GOAT, said the movie was partially based on his experiences. “The movie is inspired by that underdog mentality that I’ve had my entire life,” Stephen said in an interview with People.
After Will goes viral for crossing up the lead player for the Lava Coast Magma, Mane Attraction (Aaron Pierre), the Thorns recruit him to his hometown team, making him the only “small” to ever play roarball. There, he meets the struggling team: Jett Fillmore (Gabrielle Union), a black panther and legendary roarball player struggling the maintain her legacy as her team continues to lose, Olivia Burke (Nicola Coughlan), a rookie ostrich who gets so panicked by negative comments she just sticks her head in the sand, Archie Everhardt (David Harbor), a rhino who’s a single father balancing playing roarball with raising his two young daughters, Lenny Williamson (Stephen Curry), a giraffe falling out of love for roarball while he pursues his passion for rapping, and Modo Olachenko (Nick Kroll), a komodo dragon that really just makes everyone feel a little uncomfortable.
At first, the team struggles to gel, but eventually, they begin to work together, starting a winning streak that takes them to the roarball playoffs.
No one in GOAT really had a standout voice acting performance. McLaughlin grew to fame from his time on the popular Netflix series Stranger Things, and his performance in GOAT is consistent with that—not bad, but nothing to write home about. Stephen’s role requires him to be almost nothing more than his typical nonchalant self, so there are no complaints to be made about the NBA player’s voice acting skills.
The film’s highlight is clearly Gabrielle Union’s portrayal of Jett. Union’s character is complex and real, struggling to let go of control and trust her team amid pressure from the public to retire. She develops throughout the story in a way that feels authentic and human, and Union’s performance is consistent throughout both emotional and lighthearted scenes. Jett is a character that requires range. Union delivers.
While GOAT has some emotional depth and dives into deeper themes of self-acceptance and trust, the overall plot doesn’t particularly stand out. It’s a typical uplifting kids’ movie, encouraging viewers to “dream big” and believe in themselves. What really makes the movie stand out is the high-energy animation style. Put together by Sony Pictures Animation, the same studio responsible for the Spider-Verse movies and KPop Demon Hunters, the film features expressive characters and dynamic action scenes.
GOAT is made to be inspirational and uplifting, but in doing so also goes into the complexities of the real world. There’s a character for everyone—from a kid looking to follow their dreams to a single dad trying to balance work and fatherhood. The movie explores real-life relationships and challenges, going beyond just Will’s story with roarball as the characters that surround him all have their own complex journeys.
Although GOAT’s writing has depth and emotional value, it drags itself down throughout the movie with cringy one-liners. After signing the contract that grants Will his lifelong dream of being a Thorn’s player, he turns to celebrate with his friends, saying, “Where there’s a Will, there’s a way.” Lines like these, likely aimed to keep the film lighthearted and fun, take away from some of the more natural humor sprinkled throughout the movie and make scenes feel cheesy.
One fun game to play during the movie is to see how many star cameos you can count. Apart from the main cast, GOAT features voiceovers from Ayesha Curry, Bobby Lee, Jelly Roll, Dwyane Wade, Angel Reese, A’ja Wilson, Andre Iguodala, and more.
GOAT is the perfect feel-good family movie where kids can laugh at silly humor, and adults can appreciate a slightly more meaningful animated movie. While it’s definitely not winning any awards for screenplay originality, the range of characters with different experiences gives everyone something to relate to.
