While I was considering what movie to watch last week, I realized it had been a little bit since my last children’s movie review.
So, I managed to catch “Goat” on the big screen last week and found enough well-timed jokes to keep me entertained.
Well, that and the animalistic and sometimes dangerous shift to “Roarball” – basketball’s evolutionary cousin – held true enough to the original human sport.
Don’t get me wrong, it was an oddball marriage of sports film plus an animated menagerie of quirky animal characters – but it worked!
At the very least, there were enough conversational tidbits that kept children entertained alongside the sprinkling of adults in the theater with me.
Goat is an American animated sports comedy film about an anthropomorphic goat who aspires to become the greatest of all time at a basketball-like sport known as roarball.
Produced by Columbia Pictures and Sony Pictures Animation, it was directed by Tyree Dillihay and written by Aaron Buchsbaum and Teddy Riley.
Caleb McLaughlin stars as the title character, alongside Gabrielle Union, Aaron Pierre, Nicola Coughlan, David Harbour, Nick Kroll, Jenifer Lewis, Patton Oswalt, Jelly Roll, Jennifer Hudson, Sherry Cola, Eduardo Franco, Andrew Santino, Bobby Lee, and basketball player Stephen Curry (who also produced) in his film debut.
The movie is 100 minutes long and rated PG for some rude humor and brief mild language.
In a world of anthropomorphic animals, young goat Will Harris (McLaughlin) aspires to be like his idol, Black Panther Jett Fillmore (Union) - a roarball player for the Vineland Thorns.
Ten years later, the Thorns have not won all season, with Jett asking team owner warthog Florence “Flo” Everson (Lewis) to do whatever she can to complete and make the team by finding a sixth player.
Meanwhile, Will, now working at a diner and practicing roarball, is struggling to pay off his apartment rent.
After earning money from selling his prized sneakers, Will faces off against Andalusian horse - Mane Attraction (Pierre) - the lead player for the Lava Coast Magma, by betting his rent money.
Though he has an early lead and breaks Mane’s ankle, Will loses and his apartment is repossessed, causing him to crash with his friend, capybara Daryl (Franco).
The next morning, a video of Will breaking Mane’s ankles goes viral.
When he arrives at work, Will is signed onto the Thorns team by Flo.
When Jett finds out, she is enraged and mocks Will during an interview.
Will is introduced by proboscis monkey coach Dennis Cooper (Oswalt) to the team: Indian rhinoceros Archie Everhardt (Harbour), giraffe Lenny Williamson (Curry), Komodo dragon Modo Olachenko (Kroll), and ostrich Olivia Burke (Coughlan).
Will is benched for a few initial games, but when Jett earns a technical foul, she is forced to sit out.
Will is subbed in and scores a winning point, gaining the Thorns their first win of the season and the respect of his other teammates.
While filming a promotional video, Jett is angered and leaves the shoot, but Will comforts her, and takes her to the diner.
There, Jett sees that the city supports her, and Will reminds Jett of his mother’s ambitions for him to play roarball prior to her death.
Even though Jett starts to give Will and the rest of her team more of a chance, things don’t get any easier for the Thorns.
Overall, the flick has a mix of cute and cringe moments with a happy ending and plenty of character growth – so, why not check it out yourself on the big screen?
