The Wasteland Reviewer

GOAT (2026) Written Review

How hard would you work to realize your one true dream and purpose in life? GOAT is quite the tale about this very thing. The young goat protagonist, Will Harris, had one dream since he was a young boy…become a professional ROAR basketball player. This was a dream he had with his mother, a passionate fan herself. This young man lives a tough life as he loses his small apartment, he works at his local diner, and sneaks in reps at the local court. But his whole life changes when he has a viral moment and joins the team he loved since childhood. But this is a film…so there needs to be drama. There is certainly plenty to arise in this stylish, animal-filled world of GOAT. 

How does director Tyree Dillihay bring the world of GOAT to life? One of the first things to attract your attention will be the animation work of the film. In the same style as Spider-Verse, Sony Animation certainly has its own approach to bring animated worlds to life. The colors are so vibrant, and the design of the characters are quite engaging and unique as well. The world building is quite impressive as well with each community being deeply rooted in the terrain of the biome. There are vines and trees everywhere in Vineland and even on the ROAR courts. The way each court has its home field terrain is a cool layer as well. But it is not just the animation that defines the tone and atmosphere. The film feels quite authentic about basketball culture with the music and cultural elements reflected in the film. The pacing is brisk and will keep you and the kids engaged from start to finish. The film has some decent humor, but it is the heart and emotion of the film that truly keeps this experience afloat. 

Does the writing match the inspired work elsewhere in the film? Not quite. The most glaring drawback of GOAT is that it places it safe with all the common tropes and cliches of underdog sports movies. You will have seen all these main narrative beats before. Even the “twists” of the story are so heavily telegraphed that they will not surprise you at all. They also leverage montage and single scenes to wrap up most of the significant beats in the story which can feel frustrating. But there is so much heart and soul that you can get past it for your enjoyment. Some of the standout elements are clever and fun animal references in the humor of the film. Much of the dialogue is quite blunt but there are some inspired moments sprinkled in there. The most powerful element of the writing in the film is the theme about community. The way this film captures the power of support of a community elevates it and the emotional beats of the film. 

How does the voice cast do? Caleb McLaughlin (Will) and Gabrielle Union (his hero and jaded star, Jett Fillmore) don’t have the most unique voices, but they bring plenty of empathy to their performances which makes the film work as well as it does. Stephen Curry even pops up (he produced and influenced the film greatly) despite not bringing a lot to the table character wise. Aaron Pierre is a hoot as the aggressive jerk antagonist of the film (a horse named Mane Attraction). There are some fine moments from Nicola Coughlan, David Harbour, Patton Oswalt, and Jenifer Lewis, who are all involved with the team. Nick Kroll is the biggest standout as the unhinged and wild player, Modo Olachenko. There are some fun comic relief pairings like Sherry Cola and Eduardo Franco (Will’s friends) and Andrew Santino and Bobby Lee (the announcers). Jennifer Hudson is only in the film briefly as Will’s mom, but her impact is certainly felt. But a big shoutout to Savannnah Van Van McConneaughey who voices the two little rhino daughters who are some of the biggest standouts in the film. 

Are you ready for some GOAT? The film certainly leans into plenty of underdog sports movie cliches. This might not be the most original story. But the world-building and animation are quite impressive. The voice cast put their heart and soul into this story which certainly has plenty of heart to go around. The action of the basketball scenes is quite exciting as well. This is a charming new film that the whole family can enjoy!