GOAT (dirs. Tyree Dillihay & Adam Rosette)

By: Adam Freed

The standard for animated films is about as high today as it has ever been.  One needs to look no further than the 21st century grudge match that has played out between Disney Pixar, Dreamworks and Sony for this very compelling evidence.  Contemporary genre classics like Inside Out (2015), The Wild Robot (2024) and Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse (2018) represent the modern apex in creating stunning visual worlds and saturating them with emotionally evocative dynamic characters and stories. With options of this quality readily available, it makes stomaching anything below this admittedly astronomical standard, an underwhelming experience.  There was a time when a film like GOAT, an energetic and imaginative basketball story set in an athletic animal kingdom akin to a harder edged Zootopia, may have melted the minds of theatrical audiences.  Sony Pictures Animation (K-Pop Demon Hunters) drives the visuals in co-directors Tyree Dillihay (Bob’s Burgers) and Adam Rosette’s (Harvey Girls Forever!) film, which is both beautiful and visually inspired.  But one cannot escape the feeling that despite its familiar motivational theme, that even the smallest athletes can aspire to greatness, feels a touch uninspired.  

For the adult chauffeurs who usher their young movie-lovers to theaters to partake in the animated sports adventure, there will doubtless be something strangely familiar to the narrative behind GOAT. Young goat Will Harris has a particular set of skills on the basketball court, he handles the ball like a magician, and can shoot the lights out from beyond the three point arc, but because goats are not the largest of animals, is overlooked in the land of competitive basketball.  This of course is the true story of NBA legend Stephen Curry, who not only produces the film but also voices Harris’ eventual teammate Lenny, ironically a massive giraffe.  From the way that Will wears the tuft of hair atop his head, to the way he lets his mouthpiece dangle from his elongated smile, there is no mistaking Curry’s very intentional likeness.  This intentional one for one recreation will undoubtedly work on parents, but will likely mean very little to the elementary aged target audience of the film.  

Despite its relative predictability and distractingly overt Mercedes-Benz product placement, GOAT has plenty to offer thematically to young audiences by way of impressing the values of being a good teammate, holding tight to a steadfast determination, and ultimately playing a game to honor those who offer an unwavering system of support.  An impressive array of recognizable vocal performances from Gabrielle Union (Bring it On), Caleb McGlaughlin (Stranger Things), Nick Kroll (Sing), David Harbour (Thunderbolts*) and Aaron Pierre (Rebel Ridge) supplement, without overshadowing the film’s crisp animation and breakneck pace.  The quality of animated films has reached such an impossible standard of quality that it feels almost unjust to classify GOAT as a lesser tier film, but its story comes nowhere near to reaching the emotional resonance and intellectual provocation that audiences have come to expect amongst the genre’s elite.  Families with younger basketball-loving children are very likely to enjoy GOAT a great deal, even if it fails to break any new ground. 

Target Score 6/10 - The Stephen Curry inspired story of an undersized goat with big time hoop dreams is far from original, but offers enough by way of inspired animation and vocal performances to make it worth a family trip to the theater.