‘GOAT’ is the story of an underdog goat who dreams of being a star in the fast-paced world of roarball.
Stephen Curry is the voice of Lenny, a giraffe athlete.
The new trailer for ‘GOAT’ (in theaters Feb. 13) premieres exclusively at USA TODAY.
The Golden State Warriors point guard stars in the upcoming sports film “GOAT” (in theaters Feb. 13), which centers on an undersized but scrappy young goat named Will Harris (voiced by Caleb McLaughlin) who has big dreams of being a star in the fast-paced world of roarball. USA TODAY exclusively debuts the first full trailer for the animated movie, which also stars Gabrielle Union, David Harbour, Patton Oswalt, Jelly Roll and Jennifer Hudson.
‘GOAT’ comes from Sony Pictures Animation and the artists who made ‘KPop Demon Hunters’ and the ‘Spider-Verse’ movies, as well as Curry’s production company Unanimous Media.
Curry promises that “GOAT” will have family fun, comedy, themes that will ring true to the sports community and an underdog spirit. “It has something in there for every generation,” he tells USA TODAY. “We’re bringing something that hopefully is inspiring, something that brings family together, and something that’s uplifting to a lot of different people in the audience that can find their best selves through one of the characters.”
The new footage introduces audiences to the edgy and colorful full-contact sport of roarball, with “really cool, unique arenas that people haven’t seen before,” Curry teases. The trailer also digs a little into the movie’s plot. Will is a talented player who gets his dream shot when he’s signed by the winless Thorns, though this goat actually becoming a GOAT will be tough, considering how large and in charge his fellow animal competitors are.
Plus, we get to meet Will’s fellow Thorns: rhino Archie Everhardt (Harbour), ostrich Olivia Burke (Nicola Coughlan), Komodo dragon Modo Olachenko (Nick Kroll), giraffe Lenny Williamson (Curry) and black panther Jett Fillmore (Union), Will’s idol who’s not overly excited about her new teammate.
Will is “a small in a world of bigs,” Curry says, and his story arc of accomplishing a goal when people underestimate you or count you out is a universal one. “Everybody’s felt like an underdog or underrated at some point in their lives.’
When audiences see Will on screen, ‘there are a lot of dominating characters that he’s going up against,’ Curry adds. ‘It normalizes him. He’s relatable but also it’s believable that he can do what he’s going to do throughout the movie. But just the idea he has to find it for himself, there’s something endearing about that.”
As for his role in the movie, Curry calls Lenny “the change of pace in the locker room, if you will. He’s supposed to be one of the greatest because he is a giraffe. He’s tall but he’s kind of distracted at times. He’s the comic relief in the locker room, bringing a musical flair to the team. And over the course of the story, you realize how important this game and his teammates are to him.’
Curry does acknowledge, “If you knew me, you probably wouldn’t assume that Lenny’s character would vibe with me, except the joy part. I have fun with everything, so there’s a connection there, but super-serious when it comes to my work and how I approach it.” His teammate Buddy Hield is the Lenny right now on the Warriors, “but I’ve had different versions of Lenny throughout the years, for sure.”
The hoops icon has four children with wife Ayesha Curry, and two of his youngsters, daughter Ryan, 10, and son Canon, 7, might end up being the biggest “GOAT” fans.
“Both of them are super-high energy, super-charismatic personalities, and I feel like they’re going to immerse themselves into that world pretty immediately,” Curry says. “And they’re not shy to let people know how they feel. They’re going to be the ones in the theater that people might be telling them to quiet down because they’ll be talking and laughing and singing and dancing and all that. I can’t wait to watch it with them.’