So this movie is about a goat, who wants to be the GOAT. Not just any old goat, but THE GOAT. I mean, he is a goat, but…
While that pun could go on for hours, and still be hilarious, it might not be totally helpful! (Ms16 rolled her eyes at me after the 2nd time I said that.) GOAT has become the phrase of the moment, an acronym meaning “greatest of all time”, and a movie where a goat wants to be the GOAT is just pun-derful.
As Mr14 and Ms10 were off to the Fringe with their mum, Ms16 and I went to see GOAT together. Everyone was keen on seeing this one, as the kids are keen basketball players and sports fans.
You don’t have to be a basketball player or fan to enjoy this film, though. I have been to the basketball with the kids and they still have to explain the rules to me, and I really enjoyed this film. I really liked the fact that not only was it a fun movie, but it was fun way to spend time with Ms16 and to talk about how it was/ wasn’t like real basketball, favourite characters, and whether there were any characters similar in our basketball league.
Will, voiced by Caleb McLaughlin from Stranger Things, is a goat whose mother passes away while he’s a teenager. We see him growing up with his mum looking out for him and then as a teenager, working at a fast-food diner and hanging out with his friends watching Roarball. Roarball is the biggest sport, and the local team the Vineland Thorns has the original GOAT, Jett (a black panther voiced by Gabrielle Union). All Will wants is a chance to play roarball, but of course, he’s a small goat, not a great big panther or massive stallion like Mane Attraction, the newer and brilliant player for the opposition, the Lava Coast Magma. Mane Attraction has the hair, the swagger and the following, and is determined to show up Jett.
In a strange twist of fate, Will is noticed by the team and gets drafted, to Jett’s disgust. Sure, there are players who are the “smalls” but a goat? Way too small!
Will is just excited to be there, and his care for others and excitement rubs off on the others, except for Jett. Will knows he can strategise, knows they can work as a team and has ideas, but will anyone listen to or play with a small goat?
Apart from great animation, fun characters and animals that look like the players they should be, this film also has some serious star power behind it. It is from the artists that made KPop Demon Hunters, Spider-Man: Across the Spiderverse, and the producer is Stephen Curry. It also stars Stephen Curry, Gabrielle Union, Aaron Pierre, Nicola Coughlan, Patton Oswalt, Jelly Roll and a host of others.
Ms16 and I both enjoyed it and highly recommend it. She noted that you might see similarities to Space Jam, in that it’s a basketball film (even though it’s called roarball) and there’s a new player helping out a down and out team, but that’s about where the similarities end.
GOAT is rated PG due to mild crude humour, animated violence and coarse language. Neither Ms16 or I would have said there was anything particularly scary or offensive about this movie, though. Sure, Mane Attraction does get in Will’s face and threaten to him, and there is violence with characters being bounced around, but it is cartoon violence. There is a section at the end with the final match that could be a little scary for young children, as there’s flames and characters dodging fire, but I would not expect that this is the stuff to cause nightmares, as it’s more about entertainment and the story.
Older children will enjoy the story and basketball characters, younger children will enjoy the animation, and adults will snort laughing at it all.
Reviewed by Michelle Baylis
Distributor: Sony Pictures
GOAT is out now in cinemas.
No kidding, it’s great!
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