What GOAT is and who’s behind it
GOAT is Sony Pictures Animation’s latest family feature, a stylized, animal-populated sports comedy produced by NBA star Stephen Curry. Directed by Tyree Dillihay (Bob’s Burgers), the film follows Will Harris, a small goat with big basketball dreams voiced by Caleb McLaughlin. When Will earns a chance to join the pro “roarball” league — a full-contact, co-ed sport dominated by fearsome animals — he must overcome skepticism from teammates and his childhood idol, Jett Fillmore (voiced by Gabrielle Union). Jennifer Hudson voices Will’s supportive mother. The ensemble also includes Aaron Pierre, Patton Oswalt, Nick Kroll, David Harbour, and Nicola Coughlan.
GOAT leans into Sony Animation’s recent creative run that includes Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse and KPop Demon Hunters, combining visual inventiveness with genre playfulness.
Recording an animated underdog: McLaughlin’s first voice role
For Caleb McLaughlin, GOAT marked his first major voiceover leading role. He described the experience as both liberating and unexpectedly disorienting. Rather than recording scenes with the rest of the cast, McLaughlin often worked alone in the booth, reading lines and reacting to direction without hearing his co-stars. That separation — common on animated productions — required him to imagine emotional beats and timing without the immediate give-and-take of a shared performance.
“That was very surprising for me,” McLaughlin said, noting he only saw snippets of animation intermittently and had to trust the directors and editors to shape his takes into the finished film.
Gabrielle Union, who plays Jett Fillmore, highlighted a different pleasure of the process: collaborating with the director on basketball-specific details. Union said she brought cultural references and ad-libs rooted in WNBA/NBA lore to the recordings — moments the creative team embraced — which helped her slip naturally into the character’s athlete mindset.
Sony’s creative approach: freedom within a studio signature
Both actors praised Sony Animation’s distinct identity. McLaughlin pointed out that while GOAT feels unmistakably Sony, the studio allows each project to develop its own visual voice. Union echoed that sentiment, noting Sony’s willingness to let filmmakers lean into cultural specificity and community-centered storytelling rather than enforcing a single studio template.
That latitude, Union argued, is why many animators and directors are drawn to Sony — the studio supports a range of genres and stylistic choices while maintaining high production standards.
Promotional hijinks: goat yoga and the oddest asks
During a wide-ranging conversation about promoting films and shows, McLaughlin revealed he suggested a goat-themed promotional idea — goat yoga — as a stunt for GOAT. Union laughed about the notion, saying she hadn’t been asked to “interact with farm animals in that way” before.
McLaughlin framed the pitch as his idea, while Union called it one of the more unusual promo concepts she’s encountered. The pair traded lighthearted banter about odd promotional moments across their careers; McLaughlin also referenced memorable, embarrassing publicity stunts from his Stranger Things days, including an on-set moment he described as getting kicked in the groin during a different project’s promotion.
Bringing authenticity to an animated sport
Union emphasized the importance of grounding GOAT’s world in real sports culture. Her ability to drop inside references and basketball jargon — a line from the interview nods to Allen Iverson’s famous “practice” rant — added texture to her performance and helped the filmmakers capture the tone of competitive sports within an animated, animal-driven universe.
McLaughlin and Union credited director Tyree Dillihay with encouraging those contributions, allowing the actors to bring personal knowledge and personality into their roles rather than strictly following a narrow blueprint.
Viewer takeaway and release information
GOAT plays as a classic underdog story dressed in inventive animation and packed with athletic swagger and heart. It aims to appeal to families and sports fans alike, using the animal-world conceit to explore themes of belonging, determination, and community.
- Release date: February 13, 2026
- Runtime: 93 minutes
- Director: Tyree Dillihay
- Producers include Stephen Curry alongside Rodney Rothman and others
- Writers: Aaron Buchsbaum, Teddy Riley, Nicolas Curcio
Why GOAT matters for Sony Animation
GOAT continues Sony Animation’s streak of visually bold, genre-spanning films. With a voice cast that blends rising stars and established names, a producer who brings authentic sports credibility, and creatives willing to fuse cultural detail with family-oriented storytelling, GOAT exemplifies the studio’s strategy: distinctive worlds, diverse tonal palettes, and a collaborative approach that invites performers to shape characters beyond the script.
Goat is in theaters now.