The movie “GOAT” premiered in theaters in the United States on February 13, 2026, produced by Sony Pictures Animation. It surrounds a small but determined goat who dreams of playing as a professional roarball player. It was a fun movie for me to watch since I like watching shows with funny moments and exciting competition, however its predictable storyline made it very easy to guess.
At the start of the film, I felt intrigued and excited by the imaginative world of roarball and Will’s hopeful underdog dream, but by the end of the movie I felt let down because the plot stayed very predictable and rushed through key moments without enough real obstacles or emotional depth to make the victories feel meaningful. Another issue was the pacing of the film. Some scenes felt too long and didn’t really build to anything interesting, which made the experience seem longer.
Will Harris is a small goat with a dream of playing roarball, a fast-paced sport which is a hybrid of basketball, soccer and football and is majorly played by the fiercest and biggest animals. The movie made me feel Will’s courage and dream as he kept believing in himself even when everyone else doubted him. After a viral moment of playing roarball with a fierce competitor, he suddenly earns a chance to join the struggling Vineland Thorns team. He then has to prove himself to his skeptical teammates and help lead them toward success through teamwork and courage.
From the opening scene, the movie welcomes viewers into a unique world of talking animals. The movie is directed by Tyree Dillihay and Adam Rosette, and “GOAT” is both of their first animated films. Dillihay is best known for directing many episodes of the animated TV show Bob’s Burgers and other cartoons, and Rosette spent years as a story artist on animated movies like The Bad Guys, The Croods: A New Age, and The Wild Robot before moving into directing. Along with Caleb McLaughlin voicing the goat, Will Harris; Gabrielle Union as the panther, Jett Fillmore; Stephen Curry as the giraffe, Lenny Williamson; Nick Kroll as the Komodo dragon, Modo Olachenko; Nicola Coughlan as the ostrich, Olivia Burke; David Harbour as the rhinoceros, Archie Everhard; Jenifer Lewis as Florence “Flo” Everson; Patton Oswalt as Coach Dennis; Aaron Pierre as the Andalusian horse Mane Attraction (the main antagonist) and Jennifer Hudson as Louise Harris, Will’s late mother whose memory inspires him throughout his journey.
Another main component of the movie is Stephen Curry’s involvement, both behind the scenes as a producer and also as a voice actor. The “GOAT” movie has elements of Curry’s own journey of being underestimated and proving himself.
What I enjoyed most about the movie was how lively the animation felt. The animations and the energetic roarball games made the film feel exciting and easy to watch. I also really liked the energy all the characters had, especially Will’s determined personality. The only setback was that the ending felt very obvious and familiar and sometimes depended too much on clichés and that kept it from really surprising me. While it’s enjoyable overall, it didn’t reach the deeper emotional impact that it could have had. For that reason, I’d rate it 3.5 out of 5.
