GOAT film review: Have a ball with the A-team

Even if sports are not quite your thing, there is enough in GOAT to keep one engaged. Will Harris (Caleb McLaughlin) is a teenager with big dreams of becoming a professional roarball player.

That he is a goat and roarball is a high-intensity contact, sport where only the biggest animals survive, does not stop him from dreaming big, like his mother, Louise (Jennifer Hudson) always told him.

Will works in a diner while practicing hard, hoping to become as good a player as his idol, the black panther, Jett (Gabrielle Union), the star player of Will’s home team, the Vineland Thorns.

Though life is tough for Will, with his landlord, Frank (Wayne Knight) insisting on rent to care for his ever-expanding family, he does not want to give up on his dreams as he tells his “Bro-dent” friends, the aardwolf Hannah (Sherry Cola) and capybara Daryl (Eduardo Franco).

In an attempt to pay his rent, Will sells his prize sneakers to the vulture Sneaky (Joe La Puma), but then loses the money to an arrogant horse, Mane Attraction (Aaron Pierre).

It has been 10 years since the Thorns have won a Claw, the championship trophy. After yet another defeat and missing a sixth player, Jett tells Flo (Jenifer Lewis), a warthog and owner of the team, to do whatever it takes to get the Thorns on track to the trophy.

When Will’s game with Mane Attraction goes viral, Flo decides to sign Will on to the Vineland Thorns. Will cannot believe his dream has come true when he meets the other members of the Thorns, including the ostrich Olivia (Nicola Coughlan); Archie (David Harbour), the doting rhinoceros single dad to twins Adi and Ari (VanVan); the weird Komodo dragon Modo (Nick Kroll); and Lenny (Stephen Curry), the giraffe with secret rapper ambitions.

The coach, Dennis Cooper (Patton Oswalt), ruefully tells Will he is not a coach as much as a glorified clipboard stand.

After being kept on the bench for the longest time, Will gets a chance to play when Jett is forced out after a foul. Will shoots the winning goal and the team warms up to him. Will realises that Jett prefers to be the one winning for the team. As the Thorns get closer to winning the championship, important lessons on teamwork and when to let go are learned.

The animation is superb, the voice work spot-on, and the games are thrillingly staged. Vineland is a lovely jungle-like urban sprawl, and the different stadia of ice and fire are brilliantly realised.

The animals are not completely anthropomorphised and continue to display some animal behaviour. Olivia sticks her head in the sand, and Rusty (Bobby Lee), the bat commentator, takes umbrage when his fellow commentator, the ox, Chuck (Andrew Santino), almost describes someone as being blind as a bat.

With its fast-paced action, lovely pops of colour, rousing music, smart jokes, and simple yet sturdy life lessons, GOAT is a jolly buffet that keeps on giving.

GOAT is currently running in theatres

Published – February 20, 2026 06:12 pm IST