GOAT: A Well-Intentioned Animated Outing with an Overly-Familiar Narrative (Blu-ray)

The Film:

Keeping with the trend of anthropomorphizing animals in animation, a little flick called "GOAT" popped up earlier this year looking to capitalize on the popularity of such hits as the "Zootopia" and "The Bad Guys" films. You'd be forgiven for possibly not having heard of it, for it sort of came and went without making too much of a splash, receiving rather middling reviews from critics & audiences, and, despite what looks like a pretty impressive box office, coming up a little short in comparison to its rather large budget. One can start to guess that there could simply be a kind of fatigue setting in for these types of animated outings, though you also have to consider the possibility that it's merely another generic animal flick that we've already seen several times before, but does that mean it deserved to be dismissed so quickly?

The film primarily follows a young goat named Will Harris (Voice of Caleb McLaughlin), who dreams of being a professional "roarball" player like his idol, Jett Fillmore (Voice of Gabrielle Union), the star of the Vineland Thorns. With the Thorns doing very poorly in their current season, Jett tells the owner, Flo Everson (Voice of Jenifer Lewis), to do whatever it takes to find a sixth player for the team. When a video of Will facing off against star player Mane Attraction (Voice of Aaron Pierre) goes viral, it catches Flo's attention and leads her to offer Will a spot on the Thorns. This makes Jett furious, but they proceed with introducing him to the rest of the team: Olivia (Voice of Nicola Coughlan), Archie (Voice of David Harbour), Modo (Voice of Nick Kroll), and Lenny (Voice of Stephen Curry). Will is forced to sit on the sidelines for several games, but finally gets his chance after Jett is benched for a foul. He quickly proves that he has the skills to be a star player, but will it be enough to get the team back in shape?

"GOAT" is a well-intentioned film that features a good, positive message at its heart about not underestimating people, acceptance, and pursuing your dream, presented with bright, vibrant animation that's quite eye-catching. Further assisting in bringing it to life is the remarkable vocal cast that features such talents as Caleb McLaughlin (of "Strangers Things" fame), Gabrielle Union, Jennifer Hudson, Patton Oswalt, David Harbour, and NBA legend Stephen Curry. As far as its production value goes, it's more than fair to say that it looks fantastic, with well-rendered characters & environments that help immerse you in this unusual, sport-obsessed animal world.

However, while the characters are satisfactory enough to drive the story forward, what's really going to matter the most for a film like this is its narrative, which, sadly, reveals itself rather quickly to be a very standard take on the old "follow your dream" scenario. There's nothing particularly wrong with it, but it is one of those films where you know exactly what's going to happen every step of the way, making it feel more than a little rote as it goes along its familiar path. Sure, it may be a film for kids, but that doesn't mean that screenwriters Aaron Buchsbaum and Teddy Riley couldn't have put a little more effort into the story to try and give us something a little more unique & unexpected.

All that said, it's likely that young children will enjoy it enough simply due to its colorful animation and lively characters, though even they'll be able to check off each narrative trope as it heads towards its inevitable conclusion. Clearly the filmmakers set out to make something along the lines of the aforementioned anthropomorphized animal flicks, and while their basic sports plotline did have a small touch of originality to it, it ultimately ends up not being able to make up for its overall over-familiarity. It's hardly a bad effort, and what it has to offer will surely be enough for some, but in the end, it's not hard to see why it was dismissed & forgotten pretty quickly.

Video/Audio:

"GOAT" comes to Blu-ray in a 2.39:1, 1080p High Definition transfer of outstanding quality, featuring a bright & sharp picture throughout its entire 100-minute runtime that beautifully highlights its gorgeous animation. Likewise, the 5.1 DTS-HD MA track is fantastic, giving you all of the dialogue, sound effects, and music in excellent quality. Overall, Sony Pictures has done a wonderful job in both areas for the film's physical debut.

Special Features:

Game Recognizes Game (11 Minutes): A featurette that takes a look behind the scenes of the making of the film.

All-Star Lineup (11 Minutes): A featurette that explores the film's vocal cast.

Courts Come Alive (6 Minutes): A featurette that takes you through the various courts created for the film.

Animal Aesthetic (8 Minutes): A featurette that examines aspects of the film's animal world culture.

Easter Egg Replay (5 Minutes): The filmmakers discuss some Easter eggs that they hid in the film.

Deleted Scene (6 Minutes)

Lyric Videos (2 Videos, 6 Minutes)

Make Your Own Pick & Roll Roarball Pizza Bites with Ayesha Curry (7 Minutes)

Conclusion:

"GOAT" offers up a bright, vibrant animated outing that has a talented vocal cast and a good, positive message at its heart about acceptance & following your dream, but sadly falls short when it comes to its overly-familiar narrative, which doesn't feature much in the way of unique or original elements, ultimately leaving us with a good effort that young viewers may enjoy, but which will likely be forgotten by most others rather quickly.

Score: 3/5

Available on Blu-ray starting today.

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