GOAT

• Directed by Tyree Dillihay
• February 6, 2026 (Los Angeles) / February 13, 2026 (US)
• Based on Funky Dunks by Chris Tougas

Voice Cast

• Will Harris-Caleb McLaughlin
• Young Will Harris-Luke Cimity
• Jett Fillmore-Gabrielle Union
• Mane Attraction-Aaron Pierre
• Olivia Burke-Nicola Coughlan
• Archie Everhardt-David Harbour
• Modo Olachenko-Nick Kroll
• Lenny Williamson-Stephen Curry
• Florence “Flo” Everson-Jenifer Lewis
• Dennis Cooper-Patton Oswalt
• Grizz-Jelly Roll
• Louise Harris-Jennifer Hudson
• Hannah-Sherry Cola
• Daryl-Eduardo Franco
• Chuck-Andrew Santino
• Rusty-Bobby Lee
• Carol-Ayesha Curry
• Frank-Wayne Knight
• Gerald-Adam Pally
• Rosette-Dwyane Wade
• Daskas-Kevin Love
• Propp-Angel Reese
• Kouyate-A’ja Wilson
• Iggy-Andre Iguodala
• Sneaky-Joe La Puma
• Theo-Rayaan Khan
• Adi and Ari (Archie’s twin daughters)-VanVan

A young goat aspires to become the greatest of all time at a basketball-like sport called roarball with his hometown team.

A pun as a title? Sure. I’ll go with it. That is GOAT for ya. Not that I mind. What I do mind is much of the humor is animal derived with little pulled from the portrayal of the character. THAT gets more than a touch old if not downright lazy. Fine for a short cartoon. Bad for a movie. Jett gets sprayed with water, Olivia repeatedly hides her head into the ground, and so forth.

The rare and welcome respite from that is Archie and his twin daughters that all too rarely offer up haggard parental jokes or moments that are humorously dark. It is like there were very distinct styles of humor inserted by the writers over a consistent type.

Modo could have been a comedy MVP since everyone talks about how weird he is but with other characters needing time or perhaps a lack of skill by Aaron Buchsbaum and Teddy Riley, he just becomes awkward. I appreciate the effort put into the kids but an opportunity was missed.

The world these characters live in feels a lot like the world of Zootopia. Vineland, which is the home of the Thorns, is a greenhouse. Other environments we see are also very specific though the animals seem less anchored to specific areas than they do in the Disney classic.

It goes without saying that GOAT is a very thinly veiled basketball movie where the characters play roarball which is a very dangerous version of basketball with poorly defined rules. That might be getting too deep but fizzbin is a better-defined fictional game than roarball. I just need some consistency.

Will Harris is young goat roarball fanatic with dreams of playing but cannot because goats are too small. Given the variety of the arenas and how often baskets are high up even for tall players it looks like Will has a pipe dream. Zero characters have faith in his dream that leads him to be so in debt he loses his home after getting humiliated in a street tournament by a pro. In a scenario that feels like it a spin on the biographical film Invincible, an edited video goes viral where it is seen by the owner of Will’s favorite team the Thorns and he is signed.

The main story is winning over star player Jett who is a ball hog and broken spirit. She is a star despite the long losing streak of the team buoyed largely by hometown pride. She does everything she can to keep Will off the team. The coach Dennis is there for appearances only with her actually running the show. Will spends an inordinate amount of time trying to win over Jett who is blatantly using her authority to keep him from playing. Sometimes you can see it as Will sticking to his dreams while he can at others look too stupid to get the hint.

I cannot see a moment where Will really steps up to the challenge. Rather he gets a lucky break and wins over the team causing Jett to become jealous but allowing their prospects to improve. Some of this does allude to racism while others have a message of being a team player. As done it feels a bit trite.

What annoys me most about GOAT is the heavy use of modern slang. You need to take into consideration the adults that may have to watch along with the intended audience. There were times I had no idea what a character was talking about. I wish I could quote some of it but for me the sentences were nonsense. Because I am not young and nor a basketball fan this was a little inaccessible to me. The slang barrier is real and if basketball is not your thing the play you see is more of an action sequence than a competition you can follow the ebbs and flows of. It saves itself a smidge with a smattering of good jokes and well-choreographed sequences but that is not enough to make it a movie worth revisiting for an adult.

I can see GOAT appealing to sports/basketball fans and kids but it lacks humor or a good story so I say watched only if your children make you.