In an alternate earth where anthropomorphic animals thrive, a skilled, athletic goat aspires to take the sports world by storm, allowing other smaller-statured athletes to prove themselves. I often enjoy a good underdog story, but the problem is that there have been so many others that have preceded it, with varying degrees of success. This family-oriented animated feature carries the weight of delivering a fresh approach and presenting it in exciting ways. Given the nature of the sport featured in the movie, the filmmakers do a great job of creating exciting, inventive game sequences, but fail to do anything different with the story material. They also struggle with the humor. So, while I was impressed by the animation’s aesthetics, I feel that Goat fails to make this affair fully entertaining.
Caleb McLaughlin voices the lead character, Will Harris, a goat who loves the sport of Roarball, a version of basketball played on various courts in vastly different, often treacherous environments. All the players in Roarball have been large, strong, and physically imposing animals who have dominated the game, while it seems there are no places for smaller, quicker animals. Inspired by his hero, Jett Fillmore (Gabrielle Union), Will earns instant fame when his one-on-one match with Roarball star, Mane Attraction (Aaron Pierre), becomes a viral video. The attention gets him recruited by the Thorns, led by his idol, Jett.
Directed by Tyree Dillihay and written by Aaron Buchsbaum, Teddy Riley, Nicolas Curcio, and Peter Chiarelli, Goat has plenty of visual and auditory stimulation to keep young audiences entranced and entertained. Adults may find the humor too obnoxious, over-the-top, and often too silly for its own good. The story is standard underdog fare, so no major surprises there.
To the movie’s benefit, it has a great voicecast. As Will, Caleb McLaughlin brings a lot of sweet, earnest youthful energy to his character. I also like Gabrielle Union as veteran superstar Jett Fillmore. The movie also features great work by Aaron Pierre, Nicola Coughlan, David Harbour, Nick Kroll, Stephen Curry (who is also a producer), Patton Oswalt, and several others.
The movie is fun enough for parents and other adults to watch passively, and young kids will probably enjoy it. Goat is not a must-see in the theater, and will be better enjoyed by everyone at home.