For anyone a generation or two removed from children’s entertainment, there’s a lot to be jarred by, or to hand-wring about, when it comes to the style and energy of most kids’ movies these days. In that arena, the M.O. seems to be, above all else, relentless spastic motion. But a precious few have managed to use modern pacing as a tool kit for a more thoughtful visual sensibility: the “Spiderverse” films, “KPop Demon Hunters” and more recently “Goat” (all of which, notably, are animated by Sony Pictures Imageworks).
Directed by Tyree Dillihay, the film is essentially what you get if you took a souped-up “Space Jam” and plopped it into the anthropomorphized society of “Zootopia.” A young Will (Caleb McLaughlin), a small goat with dreams to play in the basketball big leagues, is unexpectedly signed to a professional team to play alongside his idol, Jett Fillmore (Gabrielle Union). Jett is aggressively opposed to the rookie, until she reluctantly sees what he can bring to a flailing team that includes a giraffe player voiced by Stephen Curry (who is also a producer on the film).
It’s a story with few surprises and mostly rudimentary emotional concepts, but is enlivened by artwork with colorful texture and a dynamic animation style. Every basketball game becomes a kind of roller coaster action set piece here; it’s hyperspeed done well, until eventually it tips into sensory overload. Then again, stay on any amusement ride long enough, and you’re bound to get a little nauseated.
Goat Rated PG. Running time: 1 hour 40 minutes. In theaters.
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