"GOAT" Isn’t the Greatest (But it’s Fun for What it is)

Hollywood tends to release a few underdog movies every year, and those movies tend to succeed because the formula works. Sometimes they work even when the main protagonist isn’t the most interesting person to follow. In Sony Animation's “GOAT,” we follow a goat named Will Harris, a teenager who has had lifelong dreams of playing in the sport Roarball (think basketball if there were Mario Bros. inspired courts). His deceased mother had faith in him, but the world scoffs at his ambitions because, in a world of animals, he is known as a “medium,” and Roarball is played by “larges.” Through a bit of fate, Will has a chance to not only play professional Roarball, but also to play with his inspiration Jett Fillmore, a black panther he idolized as a kid.

Alright, there; glad we got all that out of the way. As you can see, “GOAT” isn’t reinventing anything. It is about as formulaic as they come. And, as I alluded to earlier, our protagonist is not the most interesting of protagonists I’ve seen. He’s likable and has a good head on his shoulder, but you know the only thing that can shake his confidence is if his childhood idol turns out to not be as inspirational as he was led to believe. It's pretty easy for a cynic to go down the checklist of everything that happens and sigh in frustration because of how familiar it all comes off at the end of the day. What works for “GOAT” is not only how much fun the movie is, but that the world we visit is lively and interesting.

I don’t know if it was smart planning or good timing that this is being released after Disney just had massive success with “Zootopia 2,” but it's clear that the world can not get enough of animal-inspired universes. While there are no allegories to racism (though I suppose class divide is touched upon a bit), there are lots of visual gags about how animals would run worlds (as well as jokes about why a gerbil landlord needs his rent on time because of the many mouths he has to feed). Combine it with excellent animation and a use of 3D that is fun, and it is easy to get sucked into the film, even when the conflict is predictable. “GOAT” checks all the boxes of what makes an underdog story work, and work it ultimately does.

P.S. While in my 'Out of Theater Reaction' I gave the movie 3 & 1/2 stars, upon reflection while writing this review I found myself less interested in revisiting the film, so let's round it down to 3 stars. As a one and done, its fine, but it has no real staying power.