'Goat' Review: Sony Rebounds to Theaters After 'KPop Demon Hunters'

2 weeks ago 12

Will looks determined as he holds a basketball during a game.

Published Feb 13, 2026, 12:14 PM EST

Nate Richard is a Resource Editor for Collider, a film and television critic, and a part-time amateur filmmaker. He graduated from Ball State University in December 2020 with a Bachelor's degree in Telecommunications.

Nate has been with Collider since August 2021 and became a Resource Editor in March 2022. With Collider, Nate has interviewed some of the biggest names in Hollywood including Robert De Niro, Michael Fassbender, Steven Yeun, and J.K. Simmons.

Nate has also covered several film festivals, both in-person and digitally, including the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF), the Heartland International Film Festival (HIFF), and South by Southwest (SXSW).

He's also an avid runner and is very proud of his dogs Hazel, Rex, and Turbo. He currently resides in Indianapolis, Indiana.

Sony Pictures Animation has come a long way since the days of The Emoji Movie and The Smurfs. It's not like their earlier output was bad; there were some gems here and there (I still contend Surf's Up is an extremely clever riff on sports docs). The animation studio fully reinvented itself in 2018 with the release of the Oscar-winning Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse, a film that caused permanent and creative effects through the animation industry. Soon, every major film studio was trying its hand at the unique and intentionally choppy blend of 2D and 3D animation, with flicks like Puss in Boots: The Last Wish and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem.

The animation studio is just coming off arguably their biggest movie ever, KPop Demon Hunters, which took the world by storm last summer, and it's a shoo-in to win two Academy Awards next month. However, that film didn't actually release in theaters; instead, it went straight to Netflix. That makes their latest offering, the basketball coming-of-age comedy Goat, their first theatrical release in nearly three years. Hailing from NBA all-star Stephen Curry, who produced the film and voices a key character, and director Tyree Dilihay in his feature debut, Goat continues Sony Pictures Animation's winning streak with its stunning animation, hilarious sense of humor, and big heart.

What Is 'Goat' About?Set in an all-animal society, not unlike the ones featured inZootopiaand Sing, Goat follows, you guessed it, a young goat by the name of Will Harris (Caleb McLaughlin). His late mother (Jennifer Hudson) introduced him to the sport of Roarball as a child, and since then, he's dreamed of becoming a player. Unfortunately for him, Roarball is a game that is played exclusively by bigger animals, meaning a little goat like him will just be laughed off the court.

Like many of the citizens in his home city of Vineland, Will worships the Roarball team, the Thorns. The team has fallen on hard times, and their star player, the black panther Jett Fillmore (Gabrielle Union), has become a bit long in the tooth to be playing on the court. After a clip of him going toe-to-toe with the league's arrogant MVP, Mane Attraction (Aaron Pierre), goes viral, Will is recruited by the Thorns' owner, Flo (Jenifer Lewis), to become part of the team.

While Will is supported by his two best friends, Hannah (Sherry Cola) and Daryl (Eduardo Franco), a lot of the public questions his skill, including his new teammates. Will finds himself being belittled by Jett, while his other teammates, Archie Everhardt (David Harbour), Olivia Burke (Nicola Coughlan), Lenny Williamson (Curry), and Modo Olachenko (Nick Kroll), don't have much faith in him. The rest of the film plays out like your classic underdog sports story, as we see Will slowly begin to gain faith from the other Thorn players.

'Goat's Animation Is a Slam Dunk

Much like the Spider-Verse movies, Goat's vibrant and colorful animation style is the first thing that will immediately jump out to you. The distinct design of Vineland and its inhabitants makes the flick have a different vibe than something like Zootopia. Each arena has its own personality, including a game played in a cave with falling spikes and the big showdown, which is played in a volcanic court filled with magma. The animation team does all it can to make sure the parents in the audience will be just as drawn to the screen as the younger target audience.

The world-building in Goat is one of its best assets, and it also has a surprisingly accurate depiction of sports fandom. It's established early on that the Vineland Thorns aren't the team they used to be, but the city, including Will and his buds, still adore them. We don't see the city rejecting their team or not showing up to games, even if they aren't the best; they are still beloved. The film also offers up a few fun puns and Easter eggs, like NBA 2K becoming "Roar 2K," or the Roarball being perforated to ensure the sharp-clawed players like Jett don't puncture them.

While Roarball is obviously a stand-in for basketball, Goat still makes the sport its own thing. For starters, the teams are co-ed, with both male and female players duking it out on the court together. It's not making a statement, nor does it stop and explain the reasoning. It's just how the sport in this world works, and it's refreshing.

There are still several glaring uses of product placement that take you out of the world. Brands like Mercedes-Benz, Under Armour, PlayStation, and DoorDash are plastered into the film, which takes you out. It's the only time the film doesn't take advantage of its creativity, instead it's like a tie-in commercial you'd see while watching Nickelodeon. It is a Sony movie after all, and the studio is known for loving to use product placement, but even the Spider-Verse movies found more clever ways to advertise without it being so obvious.

'Goat' Teaches a Good Lesson, But in a Story That's Familiar

Will's basketball team posing for a photo.

Goat is a film all about perseverance, teamwork, and why you should never underestimate yourself. While yes, we've seen plenty of movies aimed at kids that teach this same thing, it's still a good lesson to have. It's also par for the course with any underdog sports story. That doesn't stop Goat from being almost too predictable at times. Obviously, this is a film aimed at younger audiences, but we've seen so many kids' movies, especially recently, that still have some sort of suspense despite being predictable.

Goat takes almost too much time to actually get to see Will playing on the court alongside the Thorns. So much of the movie is structured around our horned hero being benched, while Jett continues to be frustrated. It causes the pacing to slow down at the more uninteresting aspects, while other areas, where we finally see the Thorns begin to improve upon themselves, feel way too rushed.

Like most big-budget animated movies, Goat utilizes a star-studded cast of recognizable stars as its furry athletes. Caleb McLaughlin gives a sincere voice performance as Will, making him feel immediately sympathetic and easy to root for. Gabrielle Union also shines as the voice of Jett, never being shy to show the character's fierce streak. David Harbour, Nick Kroll, and Patton Oswalt also bring plenty of laughs as their characters.

There's been plenty of family movies through the years centered around basketball, from Space Jam to Like Mike. Young fans of the sport will surely eat Goat up, but parents will also find enough to enjoy. It's got the heart, humor, and wonderful animation to keep you entertained this holiday weekend.

Goat is now playing in theaters.

Release Date February 13, 2026

Runtime 93 minutes

Director Tyree Dillihay

Writers Aaron Buchsbaum, Teddy Riley, Nicolas Curcio

Producers Rodney Rothman, Stephen Curry, Michelle Raimo Kouyate, Erick Peyton, Adam Rosenberg

Gabrielle Union

Jett Fillmore (voice)

Pros & Cons

The animation style is beautiful, and makes the movie have a different vibe from something like Zootopia and Sing.
The world-building in Goat is clever and exciting, both on and off the Roarball court.
Caleb McLaughlin and Gabrielle Union give winning voice performances.