Story

Will Harris (voice of Caleb McLaughlin) has been a huge fan of roarball since he was a kid. He idolises Jett Fillmore (Gabrielle Union), a panther who plays for the Vineland Thorns.

Will lost his mum when he was young but he always remembers her telling him to ‘dream big’. As a grown goat, Will works in a diner but struggles to pay his rent. He’s eventually evicted from his apartment and has to sell his prized basketball sneakers to survive. One day while Will is practising shooting goals, a large Andalusian horse called Mane Attraction (Aaron Pierre) challenges Will to a game. Will loses the match, but a video of him playing against Mane goes viral, drawing the attention of the Thorns’ manager Flo (Jenifer Lewis).

Will is signed up to the Thorns, much to the annoyance of Jett, who sees him as too small to be playing in the high league. Will is left on the bench for the first couple of matches, but when Jett is taken off the court, Will goes in to play. He proves himself capable against the big guys, and the Thorns win the match.

The Thorns continue to the final round. But to win the coveted roarball trophy, the Claw, they must face Mane Attraction and his team, the Lava Coast Magma.

Themes

Basketball; animated action; celebrity sport stars; loss of a parent

Violence

GOAT has some violence. For example:

• There is a lot of on-court violence, with players pushing and shoving. There are also injuries, including broken ankles.
• The players are all very large and threatening. They throw intimidating insults.
• Will gets crushed between a water buffalo and an elephant.
• Liquid explodes on a character’s face.
• A large, brutish, grizzly bear threatens Will and orders him off the court.
• A viral video of the play-off between Will and Mane shows Mane being flushed down a toilet and tossed into a rubbish bin.
• Flo and Jett have a huge argument about Will. Jett grows big and threatens Flo, who sprays her with water.
• The finals games are played in arenas that are filled with danger. One is an ice cave played on a frozen ocean that cracks under pressure. Another is a swamp with stalagmites and stalactites that drop from the ceiling onto the playing field, chopping a mascot in half, although the animals inside are unharmed. Another game is played in a volcanic arena surrounded by fire, which drops from the ceiling onto Mane, singeing his hair.
• Jett knocks Will through ice, and he falls into water.

Sexual references

GOAT has some sexual references. For example:

• A kiss-cam shows several couples kissing, including 2 rabbits, 2 giraffes and 2 parrots.
• Will’s landlord’s house is full of baby gerbils. His wife says, ‘I’m pregnant again’.

Alcohol, drugs and other substances

GOAT shows some use of substances. For example:

• Flo drinks a cocktail.
• A bar has a ‘happy hour’.

Nudity and sexual activity

GOAT has some nudity. For example:

• A couple of times players show the top of their bottoms.

Product placement

The following products are displayed or used in GOAT: Doordash, Mercedes-Benz, PlayStation 5, UNO cards, and Under Armour sneakers and clothing.

Coarse language

GOAT has some coarse language, including ‘butt’, ‘hogwash’, ‘Get off my cloaca’ and ‘Smalls don’t ball’.

Ideas to discuss with your children

GOAT is an animated sports action comedy movie based on American basketball and with themes of not being afraid to ‘dream big’.

The movie has a lot of good messages, but some of the animal characters are very large, threatening and scary. The fast-moving and rough play on the court also make it unsuitable for young children. It’s best suited to viewers aged over 8 years.

These are the main messages from GOAT:

• Follow your dreams.
• Even small people can make a difference.

Values in GOAT that you could reinforce with your children include teamwork, courage, self-belief, determination and resilience.

GOAT could also give you the chance to talk with your children about real-life issues like the following:

• The obsession with social media – one of the characters is constantly on their phone.
• The cult of celebrity worship – it’s good for young people to have heroes, but it’s also important for them to know that heroes are human and can make mistakes.