GOAT - Blu-ray Review

[Michael Scott]

GOAT



Movie:
Video:
Audio:
Extras:
Final Score:

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Movie
There used to be a time where animated films were utterly special. When there once a year or so event was something for the ages. I remember Pixar getting off the ground with Toy Story. When a Disney film being released was something that the family looked forward to for months. When Dreamworks Pictures stopped making middling animated films and skyrocketed themselves into the Disney/Pixar realm with films like How to Train Your Dragon. And when Sony and Fox vied for 3rd place with crowd pleasing films such as the Ice Age and Monster House. But now animated films are a dime a dozen, and most of them not rising to the star level of the above mentioned films. And you know what? That’s all aright. Not every movie needs to be Snow White or Toy Story 2. A good middle of the road movie is still a good movie, even if its not legendary, and I sometimes feel like we’ve lost sight of that (speaking for myself that is). And GOAT is just that. A middle of the road sports film with enough heart to be fun, great animation, and enough well worn sports tropes to be a little predictable. But at the end of the day, GOAT is a fun movie that kids and adults both can sit back and enjoy on family movie night.

Brought to us by Steph Curry (duh, his signature is all over this film), GOAT is a classic underdog tale of a nobody looking to go to the top and dream big. In this world that nobody is Will Harris (Caleb McLaughlin) who dreams to one day get drafted into his local Basketball….errrr….Roarball team some day. It’s all he’s ever dreamed of, idolizing local “GOAT” Jett Filmore (Gabrielle Union) and wishing to be someone like her some day. But those dreams don’t happen to regular people, or do they? In a twist of fate the Vineland Thorns need a 6th player to complete their team, and their sleazy owner decides to draft young Will to be that 6th player for a publicity stunt.

Excited beyond belief, Will does his best to support the team on the bench, but begs to be let in to play every chance he gets. And it’s not till Jett herself (an aging superstar on the way out) gets herself kicked out of a game that Will has his moment to shine. And shine he does, peeling back the layers of prejudice held against him for his size by his teammates, the fans, and everyone around him in one glorious moment. But this isn’t the end of our story dear viewer. Jett, Will, and the rest of the team have an even bigger goal in mind. “The Claw”, e.g. the championship game, is in their sites and NOBODY will stop them. Except maybe the opposing team, their own infighting, AND some egos that get a bit big.

GOAT is a bit cliché, and it plays to those tropes with gusto. The film is over stuffed and crammed to the gills with tell tale obstacles for Will and Jett to overcome, and a seasoned film fan is going to see them coming a mile and a half away (maybe 2-3 miles away). The typical under dog story of the little engine that could. Some good old fashioned “old all star having to come to grips that they’re not 25 anymore”, and an over arrogant monster squad of an opponent who walks all over them till the final game. But who cares, this is silly fun and everyone involved is having a blast. Gabrielle Union and Will Harris are the heart and soul of the leads, but the exotic mixture of supporting cast do well to fill in all of the cracks and crevices in the movie. Jelly Roll gets a fun little role as the bully Grizz, and Nick Kroll almost steals the side character roster as the Komodo Dragon “Modo”. The movie isn’t an Oscar winner or something you’ll pass down to your kids, but it’s a perfectly fun sports movie with enough heart to be heart warming, and enough action to be fast paced and exciting.



Rating:

Rated PG for some rude humor and brief mild language




Video:

According to a few posts online and another forum, GOAT was strangely animated in 2K instead of 4K, and then transferred to Blu-ray in a native 1080p encode (still scratching my head on why it wasn’t animated in 4K), and maintains the look of Spider-man: Into the Spiderverse, and K-Pop Demon Hunters. You know, that strangely “2.5D” look that blends 3D animation with 2D backgrounds, and a sort of low frame rate jerky motion to everything. I guess it’s the new rave now, and while I’m sure it will be overused in the next few years, it still looks cool right now. The animation quality is pure digital perfection, with rich primary colors (including the purple on Jett, the green of Vineland, and the bright orange and black of the Magma’s home court arena). Black levels are deep and inky, fine details resplendent, and I could find ZERO artifacting to mine eyes. Simply put, this is gorgeous.








Audio:

And the audio track is no slouch either. In typical Sony fashion the Dolby Atmos track is left for the 4K UHD disc, while the Blu-ray gets a slightly folded down 5.1 DTS-HD MA track. And said track is quite the doozy. Rich and full of spice, it gets the ball going (pun intended) with some aggressive court matches that bring the surrounds, LFE and mains into one massive sense of immersion. The more dialog driven sequences are still pretty spicy though, with plenty of fans cheering in the background, or ambient effects, like a dribbling ball, punctuating the quiet. My one and ONLY complains is that the I felt the LFE was a bit more subdued than I was expecting for this type of movie. Don’t get me wrong, there’s still plenty of low end, but it wasn’t wall shaking like I was hoping for.










Extras:

• Easter Egg Replay
• Animal Aesthetic: The Style of GOAT
• Make Your Own Pick & Roll Pizza Bites with Ayesha Curry
• Deleted Scene with Filmmaker Intro
• Game Recognizes Game: Making GOAT
• All-Star Line Up: Meet the Cast & Characters
• Courts Come Alive
• "Mention Me" by CORTIS Lyric Video
• "I'm Good" by Jelly Roll Lyric Video

Final Score: ​

Say what you want about the movie, the animation style, and the well worn sports tropes. GOAT was more entertaining than I expected going into the watching BECAUSE of said well worn tropes. They’re tropes for a reason, and in many ways it’s fun to just relax and watch a cute movie rather than sit there comparing it to other animated films, or taking notes looking to critique it. And GOAT succeeds there in many ways. The video quality is top notch, with great audio and moderate extras. Maybe not an instant buy, but certainly worth enjoying with the family if you’re a fan of animated films. Fun Watch will be my final recommendation.


Technical Specifications:

Starring: Caleb McLaughlin, Gabrielle Union, Stephen Curry, Aaron Pierre, Nicola Coughlan, David Harbour, Nick Kroll
Directed by: Tyree Dilihay, Adam Rosette
Written by: Aaron Buchsbaum, Teddy Riley, Nicolas Curcio
Aspect Ratio: 2.39:1 AVC
Audio: English: DTS-HD MA 5.1, French DTS-HD MA 5.1, Spanish DD 5.1, English DVS
Subtitles: English SDH, English, Spanish, French
Studio: Sony Pictures
Rated: PG
Runtime: 100 Minutes
Blu-ray Release Date: March 21st, 2026

Recommendation: Fun Watch