Small goat, big game

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MYRNA BROWN, HOST: Coming next on The World and Everything in It: a new animated sports film for the family arrives in theaters this weekend.

LINDSAY MAST, HOST: The movie’s called GOAT, and it’s inspired by superstar Stephen Curry’s journey to the NBA where he revolutionized the sport of basketball.

Here’s Arts and Culture editor Collin Garbarino to let us know whether GOAT is a slam dunk.

WILL: I’m a small in a world of bigs.

COLLIN GARBARINO: In a world where anthropomorphized animals rule, Will Harris, voiced by Caleb McLaughlin, is a small teenage goat who dreams of playing the animal world’s most popular sport: roarball. 

It’s essentially basketball played on a volatile court. The problem is roarball is dominated by massive animals like rhinos, bears, and horses. No one but Will believes he’s big enough to play.

ROARBALL PLAYERS: Smalls can’t ball.

WILL: Wanna bet?

Gabrielle Union voices Jett Fillmore, a black panther who’s the star of the Vineland Thorns.

WILL: Whoo! Let’s go!

ANNOUNCER: Introducing Vineland’s very own hometown hero… Five-time all-star, Jett Filmore.

Most consider Jett the G.O.A.T., aka “greatest of all time.” But despite all her success, she’s never won a championship. She’s getting long in the tooth, and she desperately wants to bag that last accolade before her career ends.

Then the team owner engages in a publicity stunt adding little Will to the roster.

WILL: I never lost the dream to play professional roarball where the fiercest animals compete in the most dangerous stadiums.

Jett is not amused.

After making it to the big leagues, Will still must overcome plenty of prejudice about his size before winning the respect of his teammates. At least his friends believe in him.

DARYL: What do you mean, “If you’re going to be on the team next week”?

HANNAH: You’re on the actual Thorns.

DARYL: Ain’t nobody kicking our boy off the team.

HANNAH: Nope.

The story of this little goat mirrors NBA star Steph Curry’s, because little Will, like Curry who’s only 6-foot-2, changes the game with his uncanny ability to hit insanely deep shots. Curry also serves as a producer for the film, and he voices one of Will’s teammates. 

Given this pedigree, it would be easy to dismiss GOAT as a vanity project for an aging basketball legend. But the truth is, GOAT actually delivers.

WILL: Yeah, baby! We chillin’ in the penthouse. [singing] We chillin’ in the penthouse, we chillin’ in the penthouse, we chillin’ in the penthouse.

This movie from Sony Pictures Animation is rated PG for “some rude humor and brief mild language.” But I felt like the crudities were much fewer than what you might expect. However, a couple of the characters are quite, let’s say, rambunctious.

RHINO DAUGHTER: Make him bleed!

For fans of classic sports movies, GOAT hits all the familiar beats. The little guy gets his big shot. The team he ends up on is full of misfits. The leader begins as an antagonist, but comes around after seeing how the new kid can bring everyone together. 

It’s a story we’ve all seen over and over, yet GOAT pulls it off with such flair and emotion that everything feels fresh.

Will is likable in his optimism. Jett is likable in her self-doubt. Their other teammates are likable in their own strange ways. Some of the haters need silencing, but the movie isn’t primarily about defeating enemies, it’s more about working hard, creating new possibilities, and having fun with friends.

While the story itself might not revolutionize the kids sports movie genre, the quality of the animation might. Sony has given us some visually innovative films in the last couple of years and the studio keeps its streak alive with this one. They rendered the film’s scenery and backgrounds in an impressionistic animation style that I found captivating. It really expressed the organic lived-in feeling of the animal world. 

On top of that, the action sequences have plenty of energy and sparkle. The beauty of this visual storytelling is making me more excited to see Sony’s third Spider-verse movie next year.

WILL: My mom told me that if anyone could change the game, it was me, and I want her to be right.

So all in all, GOAT is a great addition to the genre. 

In fact, I hate to say it to all the millennials who grew up loving Space Jam, but GOAT might be the greatest animated basketball movie of all time.

I’m Collin Garbarino.

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