RIOTUS

So Sony Pictures Animation has been at the forefront of pushing the US animated film aesthetic outside of the Disney/Pixar chokehold since 2018 with Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse. With the two Miles Morales Spider-Man films, The Mitchells vs. The Machines, and last year’s standout KPop Demon Hunters, I feel people are on the lookout for what Sony has up next. Not too far into 2026, we have Goat, a movie that on first glance might feel like a rip-off of Disney’s Zootopia, but I can tell you this, it is not that at all, and to me it is one of the best Basketball movies I’ve ever seen. That might sound like hyperbole, but this film, being executive produced by Steph Curry, who also has a voice role in the film, lends it the bona fides.

So, if you can tell from the title, this movie is about being the G.O.A.T., an acronym that means Greatest Of All Time. First coined in regards to Muhammad Ali in regards to his place in Boxing it was then used very much in the Hip Hop and Basketball space and for Basketball mostly in regards to Michael Jordan, and the many conversations about those after him who can measure up to be close and in someway ignoring those before him who have equaled or even exceeded some of his feats. Goat takes place in an anthropomorphic animal world where the most popular game is called Roarball, a version of Basketball that is very physical and involves environmental obstacles that impact play.

Caleb McLaughlin voices Will Harris, a teenage goat who lives in Vineland and dreams of playing for his local Roarball league team, the Thorns, and becoming the GOAT of the league. One thing is stopping him, though he’s a smaller animal and all the animals in the world that play Roarball are big – elephants, bears, Rhinos, big cats, horses, and the like. Struggling to make ends meat he ends up challenging Mane Attraction (Aaron Pierre), the two-time MVP and star player of the back-to-back Roarball champion team, the Lava Coast Magma, in a street ball game to three and breaking his ankles even while losing the game due to size. The Vineland Thorns owner  Flo Everson (Jenifer Lewis) decides to bring some needed attention to her team by offering him a contract to play for them and giving him a chance to play with his idol league’s highest scorer of all time, past MVP, and star player of the team Jett Fillmore (Gabrielle Union) who asked for help but is not happy with getting such a small and inexperienced player. Can the Thorns come together and finally win a championship?

Animation-wise, the movie has a very rich and dense look with a ton of volume and depth. This isn’t the clean urban metropolis we see in Zootopia; this world has different cities where the animals feel more like the animals we see, while also having human traits. The filmmakers, led by director Tyree Dillihay, do something I haven’t seen really in a CG animated film, and that is using the bokeh of shots to make those areas that are out of focus be more in the impressionist painting style. At the same time, the in-focus parts are much more tightly rendered. It adds something very new in viewing one of these films. It’s more experimentation and innovations that are now synonymous with Sony Pictures Animation. The characters move so fluidly and with such weight as well. The little touches on the athletic animations are so smart, and the characters’ expressions are so good. You learn so much from them and the gestures of the models in scenes.

Another thing I like about this movie is that it works on levels, one a very good underdog sports movie that is good for the whole family. The other level is if you actually follow Professional Basketball. This film is full of easter eggs for the last 20 years of the NBA, and I feel the WNBA as well. Will is pretty easy to spot influenced by Steph Curry, but on top of that, Will’s story fits perfectly as a story about how the game changed from centered around size and the paint to one of positionless Basketball, ball movement, and the three-point shot. Will, having to overcome being such a small guy in the league, this doesn’t feel like Mugsy Bogues, Spud Webb, or even Nate Robinson needing to dunk on taller players and having a great vertical plus great handles.

Will has to be smarter, get in place, and make his shots. The film does a great job at showing court vision by using how a goat sees the world. I also love how Jett Fillmore in many ways represents Michael Jordan, Kobe Bryant, and LeBron James, or at least our public perceptions of them all merged together. Jett is a black cat – Jordan’s main nickname, and she completely takes over when she feels they need to win with it, feeling like those years where Kobe was between championships and didn’t always seem like the best teammate. Along with the longevity and the question of whether she can win while being the best player, fits some of those LeBron narratives so well.

The characters are dealing with the owner’s decisions to make more money and increase ticket sales, the different interactions between players on different teams, social media, NBA 2K, and first-round draft picks having trouble with their confidence. I could go on, but man, if you know Ball, then you’re going to be surprised at just how good this movie makes a good story and fits in actual examinations of professional Basketball. Goat is for me one of the best Basketball movies I’ve seen, especially about the professional game. While there are some great high school movies and streetball, professional Basketball is rarely done well, with it being the focus, and to see it in a movie about cartoon animals is a surprise. Goat continues Sony Pictures Animation’s run at making excellent animated features, and people will very much enjoy this one.