GOAT Review – Loud, fast basketball animations do it for kids | film

gLatest of all time? No, maybe not even the greatest half term. This loud, chaotic, and unlikeable animated comedy feels verging on artificial intelligence, algorithmically generated and instantly familiar from Zootropolis, Sing, and other films featuring talking animals. It’s a shame, because he takes inspiration from real life: basketball star Stephen Curry, who was repeatedly told early in his career that he was too skinny and too small to be a pro. Carrey is a producer here, and has a performing role. But despite this connection, the Goat lacks the heart and soul, the sense of sincere feelings.

What it does have is some very nice audio, which adds a degree of magic to the film. Will Harris (voiced by Caleb McLaughlin) is a goat who grew up dreaming of playing professional “Roar Ball,” a fiercer, faster version of basketball. But the Will is “small” and the Roar players are all “big” – powerful beasts like unicorns and horses. Will’s hero and star of his favorite team, the Thorns, is a tiger named Jett (Gabriel Union), a champion on the verge of retirement but determined to win the league. When Will gets the chance to join the Thorns, he is taunted and belittled but undeterred.

There are some decent jokes, but they get lost in all the noise. Watching goats is like standing next to a helicopter as it takes off. The roar of ball games is deafening, played at lightning speed, on courts that transform from a jungle setting to an arctic ice experience. The underdog plot is as old as time, and for a movie aimed at kids under eight, there are a lot of scenes with cell phones, and the characters are constantly checking their social accounts. The only thing that remains after leaving the cinema is a headache.