“GOAT” is the latest film from Sony Pictures, and it released in January of this year. It is Tyree Dillihay’s directorial debut for movies, though he previously worked as a director on TV shows, primarily Bob’s Burgers. Steph Curry is also a producer in the movie and voices a side character which is pretty fun. Overall, “GOAT” is a fun sports movie that does everything it needs to do without too much more. It’s a pretty paint-by-numbers movie and doesn’t do too much to reinvent the wheel besides its beautiful animation.
I was looking forward to this movie due to Sony’s recent success with animated movies like the “Spiderverse” films and their recent “K-Pop Demon Hunters.” The hype surrounding “K-Pop Demon Hunters” may have overshadowed this movie for me, causing me to expect something on that level, but “GOAT” just wasn’t quite there. It’s not a dis to say it doesn’t reach the heights of previous Sony animated movies, since their best are some of the best of the decade. However, I was hoping for something a little more substantial.
“GOAT” follows the story of the titular goat, Will, who is voiced by Caleb McLaughlin of Stranger Things fame. It follows his rise in the world of sports as he is signed onto a desperate team as a last-ditch effort to try to win their first game of the season. They are playing a very basketball-like sport called “roarball.” He’s teamed up with his childhood idol, and you watch as he grapples with interacting with the person he adored and who they’ve become now. It’s a pretty fun story that is carried out by the relationship between Will and his childhood idol.
The most standout part of the movie, by far, is the animation. Sony Pictures continues to pump out some of the prettiest movies I have ever seen. The dynamic action is easy to follow, even if it’s a bit seizure-inducing at times, and it really elevates the intensity of the sport. It’s crazy how Sony can constantly alter their style to perfectly fit whatever theme they are trying to push in each movie. The small changes made in order to optimize the animation for “roarball” were truly awesome to watch.
Besides that, Caleb McLaughlin does a surprisingly great job voice acting as the titular goat. I really enjoyed all the performances in the movie, even though none really stand out to me besides Caleb. It is funny to hear Steph Curry in a voice acting role though, as you can clearly tell this isn’t what he usually does. However, the movie relies on the relationship between Caleb and Gabrielle Union’s characters. Gabrielle Union plays his childhood idol, Jett, and I think it mostly works. They play off of each other really well and are the heart of the story.
I just think this movie does not quite have the nuance and relatability that previous Sony Pictures movies have had for me. This isn’t necessarily a bad thing, because I’m sure that kids will enjoy the movie. It just doesn’t quite hit the highs of “Spiderverse” and “K-Pop Demon Hunters.” Maybe that’s my biggest issue with the film: I am unable to divorce it from its contemporaries making it hard to judge on its own. I went into this movie with my own preconceived notions that negatively impacted my viewing experience as I built the movie to be more than it would be in my head. That’s something I always struggle with. It’s hard to go into a movie blind, but I think if I did it for this one, I would have enjoyed it more.
Overall, “GOAT” is a fun movie if not much else. The voice acting is serviceable to pretty good as nothing really took me out of the movie. But it is an aesthetically beautiful movie: the animation is truly something to behold. I saw it in 3D which really elevated the experience for me. I’m excited to see what Sony Pictures puts out next, because even if this wasn’t my favorite movie, it’s still a good one.
Three stars.
