Everyone, today, we review the latest animated film from Columbia Pictures, and Sony Pictures Animation. It is the one, and only Goat, which stars Caleb McLaughlin, Gabrielle Union, and other stars. So here we go!
Plot: In a world of anthropomorphic animals, a young American Pygmy goat named Will Harris (Luke Cimity as young Will, and Caleb McLaughlin as teenage Will) dreams of becoming a basketball player like his idol, an all-star player, and a black panther, named Jett Fillmore. Will gets his chance when a female warthog named Flo (Jenifer Lewis) comes into a diner that he works at, and he agrees to let her sign him onto a professional basketball team called the Thorns, a team that consists of Jett Fillmore, an ostrich named Olivia Burke (Nicola Coughlan), an Indian rhinoceros named Archie Everhardt (David Harbour), a Komodo Dragon named Modo Olachenko (Nick Kroll), and a giraffe named Lenny Williamson (Stephen Curry), with a proboscis monkey named Dennis Cooper (Patton Oswalt) as the team’s coach. Now, with hard work, and determination, Will Will, and the team be able to beat any, and/or every basketball team that they match in, including a team that consists of a strong horse named Mane (Aaron Pierre), who is MVP in basketball, who is Will’s rival, and has a team of bigger, and likely stronger animal players?
So, with a newer animated film that has the comic book animation style that both Spiderverse movies had, did this film prove that the company that this animated film was made by can make more good films with this animation style than just any Spiderverse movie that had either come out in the past, or may come out in the future? Well, I’m delighted to tell you all that yes, Goat did in fact prove that. I mean on the surface, this film may appear to look like another typical underdog story. However, Goat ends up being more than that in this case. First of all, Goat has a really creative premise with animals, a cool looking world overall, and more.
What’s more is that the animation is really cool. Again, like with the Spiderverse movies, the animation has a comic book style type, and the animation is really great. From the way that the characters move, to any action scenes that involves the characters playing basketball on the court, you name it, Goat does well with expressing emotion even through animation.
Next, there are the characters. With the amount of characters that there are in this film, I was a little nervous as to whether or not they would do well with developing them well, especially the supporting ones. To one’s surprise, though it’s really characters like Will, and Jett, that seem to get the most development, the other characters successfully also stand out as well. Seeing as the others can come off as stereotypes from any trailers of this movie that were shown prior to this film’s release, it just shows as to why people should be careful about judging a movie by it’s trailer, especially wrongfully so. From characters like the comedic Komodo Dragon, Modo, to the anxious ostrich Olivia, and to even the black panther Jett, who can come off as aggressive, but deep down as a softer side to her character, each of these characters have unique personality traits, and, as a result, end up standing out to one degree, or another. What’s even more is how Will ends up having such a great support system surrounding him, be it ones like his late mom, Louise Harris (who is played by Jennifer Hudson), his coworkers at his diner, you name it. Honestly, it’s for reasons such as these that helps make this film all the more enjoyable.
In addition to all of this, the world building is also really great, from having an icy basketball court, another court that has lava underneath the ground, and other really creative basketball courts to go along with this film. In some ways, some of the animation might make scenes like these look like those coming out of a video game, but with better graphics. Could that be partly because of the animation style that this movie has? Yeah, more than likely.
Now, there’s the storyline. Yes, as mentioned earlier, Goat, especially from trailers that marketed this film, may come off as your typical underdog movie. However, in the end, this movie ends up being much more unique in that regard. On top of great animation, and really likable characters, Goat also does well with crafting a film with really fun storytelling. Yes, this film is technically a kid’s/family, due to there being talking animals, this movie being animated, you name it. However, though that may be the case, this film, in some ways, also can feel like its target audience might as well be geared more for teens, and adults as well. Truth be told, had it not been for the premise having talking animals, rather than humans, this film probably could have been a live-action film, and had a more full-on adult feel period. There are also times when the movie seems to take some rather interesting turns that could come off as either twists, or possibly even predictable, maybe a little bit of both. Oh, and did I forget to mention that the script is really great, full of lines that are heartwarming, hilarious, and have other kinds of great lines that help make this film all the more fun to see? What’s even more is that this film hardly drags much, if at all. Finally, it was also great to have great messages about not giving up, persevering to the end, being selfless, instead of selfish, and even an underlying message about not being afraid to face your giants in life, and other messages like those. Honestly, Goat could potentially serve as a great allegorical film especially for messages such as those that are incorporated into this film.
And that’s my review for the new animated film, Goat. With all that I said does this film have a chance of being nominated, and/or winning an Oscar for Best Animated Feature? Well, that’s too early, since, along with sequels like Super Mario Galaxy, and Toy Story 5, we also have original animated films like Disney/Pixar’s Hoppers, and Walt Disney Animation Studios’ Hexed being released later this year, and the former just coming out today, and already having mostly really great reviews. However, all I can say is that here’s hoping that Goat can at least be nominated for the Best Animated Feature Award at either the Golden Globes, Oscars, you name it. Goat is a unique animated film that any demographics are bound to enjoy for one reason, or another. Though it can come off as stereotypical from trailers shown, people will more than likely come out enjoying Goat more than they expected in the end. For reasons such as these, definitely make a point to see Goat. Not only will you be glad to see this in theaters, particularly due to the fact that this movie definitely was made for the movie theater experience, but you’ll probably have a satisfying feeling after you walk out of the theater once the movie’s over. So, go see this movie, as it’s definitely big screen worthy.
Final Rating: 10/10
Matthew’s Animated & Live-Action Movie Reviews 