Goat (dir. Tyree Dillihay)

by Jack Martin | Feb 11, 2026

Certificate: PG

Running Time: 100 mins

UK Distributor: Sony Pictures

UK Release Date: 13 February 2026

WHO’S IN GOAT?

Caleb McLaughlin, Gabrielle Union, Stephen Curry, Nicola Coughlan, Nick Kroll, David Harbour, Jenifer Lewis, Aaron Pierre, Patton Oswalt, Sherry Cola, Jennifer Hudson, Wayne Knight, Andrew Santino, Bobby Lee, Eduardo Franco, Jelly Roll, Ayesha Curry

WHO’S BEHIND THE CAMERA?

Tyree Dillihay (director), Aaron Buchsbaum and Teddy Riley (writers), Stephen Curry, Erick Peyton, Michelle Raimo Kouyate, Adam Rosenberg and Rodney Rothman (producers), John Clark (cinematographer), Clare Knight (editor)

WHAT’S IT ABOUT?

A small goat (McLaughlin) fulfils his dream of becoming a sports hero…

WHAT ARE MY THOUGHTS ON GOAT?

Even before the likes of K-Pop Demon Hunters and the Spider-Verse movies, Sony Pictures Animation has been quietly building its own reputation as an underdog competitor to Pixar and DreamWorks, among other animation giants. It has seen a number of critically solid and commercially successful movies made under its umbrella, from Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs to Arthur Christmas to the Oscar-nominated Surf’s Up and The Mitchells vs. The Machines, and while not all of their movies have been winners (lest we forget, they were also behind The Emoji Movie) they have at least established themselves as a studio with a diverse enough in-house identity to compete with its rivals.

The same mindset has obviously gone into their latest film Goat, which not only possesses a similar coat of stylish low FPS animation to Spider-Verse and K-Pop Demon Hunters, but also prides itself on the unique world that it has created as well as its colourful inhabitants and even its in-universe sports. However, while the movie is unquestionably dazzling from a visual perspective, and in some case from an imaginative standpoint, Goat is an oddly exhausting experience that doesn’t quite have the juice that many other Sony Pictures Animation movies have flowing through their veins.

Set in a world fully dominated by anthropomorphic animals, the star of Goat is – what else? – a goat named Will Harris (Caleb McLaughlin), who works as a food delivery driver but deep down has an undying passion for the game of “roarball” which, for those curious, is essentially basketball in all but name. He’s especially fond of the Thorns, his local team that’s captained by panther Jett Fillmore (Gabrielle Union), even though she and her squad – also consisting of rhino Archie (David Harbour), ostrich Olivia (Nicola Coughlan), Komodo dragon Modo (Nick Kroll) and giraffe Lenny (basketball superstar Stephen Curry, also a producer on the film) – have not had a winning game all season. However, a chance face-off against Mane Attraction (Aaron Pierre), a horse that’s fast becoming the biggest name in roarball, lands him the attention of the Thorns’ warthog owner Flo (Jenifer Lewis) who promptly signs him onto the team where, despite his miniature stature compared to his new teammates, he helps guide them all to victory through his dedication and skillset.

As you will probably have already guessed, Goat sticks closely to the familiar sports movie formula, particularly the one where an underdog player entirely unsuited to the sport that surprises everyone by achieving the impossible. Y’know, films like Rudy, The Mighty Ducks, Happy Gilmore and so many more. As with those films, there’s nothing wrong with Goat sticking to such a well-worn narrative template, so long as the execution is solid enough to support itself. But in this case, the manner in which this familiar story and its recognisable tropes are presented happens to possess the power to leave most over a certain age feeling out of breath just from watching them. There is a relentless energy to the film as scenes, gags (both verbal and visual) and plot points zoom past at breakneck speed, with director Tyree Dillihay committing perhaps a bit too hard to an overly hyperactive nature that’s almost like watching doodles come to life by a child with ADHD who’s forgotten to take their daily medication.

It’s surprisingly very difficult to connect with the film as a result, because the speedy pace leaves almost no time for the viewer to stop and take a breath whilst absorbing many of these sophisticated animal environments, and it causes certain character arcs and sometimes entire characters to be all but left behind. Case in point, the very goat of the title doesn’t really have much of a personal arc, as he’s mainly just there to fill the stock hero role who doesn’t undergo any real character growth, and what little we learn about him is mostly just stuff you’ve seen in other protagonist roles of this nature. He’s more than outshone by the far more interesting characters that literally tower over him, with Union’s Jett undergoing the biggest arc in the movie as she deals with the harsh reality that her professional career is all but over due to the natural aging process, and the amount of attention placed on her feels like there was a whole different movie in development before the powers that be decided to focus more on the younger goat character – which, given this panther’s arc, feels a little ironic.

At the very least, Goat is fascinating to look at. The animation style is perhaps a bit rougher, even uglier, than the much smoother likes of K-Pop Demon Hunters but is certainly eye-catching nonetheless, especially during the roarball sequences themselves which are so intricately framed and executed that they make Space Jam look like home video footage of your school’s local basketball match. You can tell that the animators are bringing a lot of energy to their work (again, perhaps too much) and their blatant enthusiasm in making this film a purely visual experience does make it admirable from a crafting point of view.

But strong visuals aren’t enough to support a familiar story that doesn’t even seem to be told in the most digestible way, with the hyperactive nature of Goat likely to appeal far more to younger viewers than adults who may otherwise find themselves feeling like they too have been endlessly jumping about all over the court.

SO, TO SUM UP…

Goat is a visually engaging animated sports movie that otherwise struggles to keep itself steady with its overly familiar story, exhaustingly hyperactive and fast-paced energy, and rather stock lead character. In other words, it is not the GOAT.