It's a fantastic year ahead for family movies and things have tipped off to a great start with Sony Animation's high-energy tale about Will, a small goat with big dreams, who gets a once-in-a-lifetime shot to join the pros and play roarball - a high intensity full contact sport dominated by the biggest, fastest and fiercest animals. He's ridiculed by his teammates, but Will, with the loving support of his community, sets out to prove that 'small can ball!'
I thought the movie was called GOAT, simply because the lead character is a goat. But (and I wish they'd pick up academic facts as quickly as they absorb slang from YouTube) my young sons informed me that GOAT is an acronym for Greatest of All Time, and used to describe someone highly accomplished (usually in the field of sport).
This isn't a movie that tears up the rulebook. The storyline jumps through the hoops and is pretty formulaic. It's somewhat reminiscent of themes in Pixar Cars movies, with a lead character who needs to learn to play as part of a team, and who as a star performer in the later stages of their career, must face up to the fact that the time has maybe come to throw in the towel.
But the action-comedy, set in an all-animal world, bounces along at a good pace, and it was a slam-dunk with my two young sons, Odhran, 10, and Reuben, 7, who particularly enjoyed the character of Modo, the anarchist Komodo dragon. I was taken by the naughty little twin rhinos, who had daddy rhino run ragged.
Featuring animation from the team behind KPop Demon Hunters and Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse, GOAT has a graphic novel feel to it and is visually very pleasing.
And it's like a Stranger Things reunion, with three cast members from the Netflix show voicing different characters. Caleb McLaughlin (Lucas from Stranger Things) takes on the lead role as Will, David Harbour (Jim Hopper) voices Archie the rhino, and Eduardo Franco (Jonathan's long-haired friend Argyle) plays Daryl, a capybara. Separately, but worth mentioning, Nicola Coughlan is also among the stars voicing this movie, as she plays Olivia - an ostrich obsessed with how she is perceived on social media.
While the movie lacks real depth of emotion, it does deliver a strong message. 'That film shows that if you've confidence in yourself, you can do things,' Reuben told me afterwards.
GOAT is definitely worth taking a shot on and is sure to keep the kids entertained on a rainy afternoon or evening this February half term. If you get the chance to see it in 3D, I imagine it really lends itself to that format. For cheap February half-term cinema, remember that Vue offers £3.99 tickets on Mondays and 'Mighty Mornings' for family films, and Cineworld offers a family ticket, where adults pay kids' prices, and a 2-for-1 on Tuesdays and Wednesdays via Meerkat Movies. GOAT hits cinemas this Friday 13th February.