“GOAT” 4K UHD Review

 

A small goat with big dreams gets a once-in-a-lifetime shot to join the pros and play roarball, a high-intensity, co-ed, full-contact sport dominated by the fastest, fiercest animals in the world. (from IMDb)

Film Review

When you think of the big animation houses, the names of Pixar, Disney and DreamWorks usually are the ones that come to mind first. But the one that often gets overlooked is Sony Animation. They’ve had a couple winners over the years, but the standout ones have especially been the Spider-Verse films (although we’re STILL waiting for part 3, fellas… which is especially unkind given we were left on an awful cliffhanger from the second one). 2026 brings us a new unique offering, simply titled GOAT. Its meaning doubles as an acronym for “Greatest of All Time,” as well as the main character being an actual goat. The story revolves around a diminutive goat named Will who aspires to become an all-star basketball player — which is unheard of for his kind.

“Dream Big” is ultimately the theme of the film. Will has been training his whole life to be the best at the game, but it’s wildly unusual for a goat to play professional basketball. The most popular stars are pumas, horses, giraffes, rhinos and lizards… not little goats. But despite a tough life – one where he’s spent much of it all alone – Will hasn’t given up. He’s a determined little fellow with the right amount of confidence mixed with a big heart. He’s confident without being too arrogant, and that’s what you want in a hero.

The story plays a lot with the concept of animals as the main characters. They all conduct themselves like humans, basically, but occasionally slip into instinctive animal traits. For example, Jett, the puma will conduct herself with confidence and swagger, but then suddenly lick herself like a cat, or react to a spray bottle. Will, being a goat, will very suddenly let his eyes part to the sides, bleat, or chew on a metal can. The film always surprise us with these kinds of moments – and they land each time.

A trend in today’s computer animated feature is to stray from the more classic smooth, photoreal animation style and go for something more artsy and unique. Spider-Verse went for a slightly frenetic, more comic-book approach, while Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem was choppy and painterly in design. GOAT may land somewhere in between, but is much more like the latter. The camera also angles for dramatic poses and postures that give an almost 3D look without the 3D presentation. Honestly, the movie probably would look pretty sweet in 3D (it was released in 3D in theaters), and it’s that fact that makes it especially unfortunate that movie fans can’t watch 3D movies at home anymore these days.

GOAT is a fun, sports-action-packed animated film with heart and swagger. You don’t have to be a basketball fan to enjoy it – although I imagine it’d help – because I certainly enjoyed it despite the fact. The voice performances were all solid, too. I got a kick out of hearing Will voiced by Stranger Things‘ Caleb McLaughlin alongside fellow Stranger David Harbour who voiced the rhino teammate, Archie. (Clearly the casting director has a sense of humor.) Gabrielle Union is great as the aging b-ball star, Jett Fillmore, and the cast is surrounded by quite a few other notable performances.

The content is definitely fitting for the PG rating (over the sometimes more family-focused G rating typical for animated films). There is some sports violence, but most of it fits within the action on the court. But as such, Will is very forcefully shoved by Mane into the structure holding up the basket and he takes a moment to recover from it. A main character is injured during the final game and is advised not to keep playing. They then risk further injury to help out their team, and it’s shown in a dramatic fashion in which you can “feel” their pain in the crunch sound we hear. There isn’t any significant profanity in the movie, but variations on “suck” are used three times, and “sheep” is used as a substitute profanity. Lastly, there’s a female animal character that makes a reference to a male player having “picture perfect pecs,” but later makes a comment about having a date to get to, and when she’s questioned who it is, she sarcastically jokes “your mom.” A few moments tend to hint at her possibly being interested in the same sex, but it isn’t directly spelled out. Later, during the final game, a female fan in the audience yells out to Mondo, “Marry me!” and then a male fan shouts, “No, marry me!” This same joke then happens again shortly after. As for the film’s tone, it’s definitely a little edgier, and some visuals may scare younger children – like a large menacing horse player, or a comedic moment where the team coach Dennis gets almost disturbingly (menacingly) enthusiastic in a borderline creepy way. Oh, there’s also this weird bit where Jett and Will are running to the subway and leap through the gate. Jett thinks they stole the ride and she remarks that she “feels so alive” because they broke the law. Will then tells her to relax because he paid for both of their rides. (It’s just a weird moment for an animated movie to seemingly endorse breaking the law as “feeling so alive.”)

Overall, GOAT is a good animated sports film that fans of the game – and any of the cast – ought to enjoy. The animation, while a bit of an acquired taste – is still pretty fantastic, and the rich landscapes and visuals make it especially interesting to watch. Where Mutant Mayhem‘s painterly approach felt a hair too unique for its own good, the stylized approach works really well for GOAT. It’s a fun and funny little animated basketball movie.

– John DiBiase (reviewed: 3/29/26)

 GOAT is now available via digital retailers in 4K, and will release on disc May 5, 2026. The 4K presentation is excellent — it’s a beautiful looking movie that begs for the ultra HD presentation. Here’s a breakdown of what to expect from the digital and disc extras.

 

Parental Guide: Content Summary

 Sex/Nudity: A female animal says a male player has “picture perfect pecs”; We see Grizz’s butt crack sticking up out the top of his shorts; A female animal makes a joke about dating a guy’s mom when he asks who she’s going on a date with; Jett licks her leg like a cat does; A basketball “Kiss Cam” shows bunnies kissing and their kids acting grossed out. Then we see a joke about giraffes’ necks twisted together and the commentator says they’re “necking.” Then we see two parrots, and one throws up into the other’s mouth as an act of kissing; During the final game, a female fan in the audience yells out to Mondo, “Marry me!” and then a male character shouts, “No, marry me!” This same joke then happens again shortly after; The announcer refers to Mondo as a “thirst trap.”
 Vulgarity/Language: 2 “suck,” 1 “sucking,” 1 “Sheep” used as a profanity, 1 incomplete “What the–“; Not really vulgar, but there’s a joke about the bird rear opening called the “cloaca” that serves as a substitute for the more obvious reference to “*ss,” so they say “cloaca” 3 times.
 Alcohol/Drugs:
 Blood/Gore: None.
 Violence: Will’s horns accidentally go through his ceiling and almost hit the hamsters on the floor on the other side; The game scenes feature some basketball violence with body checks and such; Mane throws his necklace chains at an animal, hitting him in the face; Mane kicks Will during a play and Will hits the wall under the basket hard; A deer headbutts Will as a greeting; We see Mane in a video meme of him, falling and being thrown down a bowling alley and other silly violent things; Jett angrily slashes her chair with her claws; Flo squirts Jett with water to get her to back off from wanting to hurt Will; A mascot appears to swallow a fan, but it might just be one of the mascot performers as part of its schtick; A stalactite falls from the ceiling and cuts the head off the mascot and we see 2 goats operators pop out from inside it; Will and Jett run through the streets and Jett trips on her way to the subway; Dennis slaps himself in the face repeatedly to get himself to focus and then acts oddly demented a bit – although it’s meant to be surprising and played for laughs; Dennis shoots a super soaker at Jett and then a hose; A character hurts their leg badly during a game. We then see their leg bandaged up and they’re warned that they could seriously injure themselve is they play any further; The player plays later and we hear a crunch from their leg when they land on the court floor; Some baby rhinos chase after Flo; We see replays of action scenes from earlier in the film all throughout the credits.