zootopia

We’ve seen animated animals belt out tunes in the “Sing” movies. We’ve learned about “The Secret Life of Pets” (twice). And we’ve visited them in “Zootopia” (also on two occasions). Now we get to see them play basketball. “Goat,” produced by Golden State Warriors prodigy Stephen Curry, is yet another underdog story about following your dreams wrapped in a by-the-numbers sports movie. It feels utterly unoriginal on multiple fronts.

Taking the popular acronym GOAT (Greatest of All Time) to its most literal form, the first feature by TV animation veteran Tyree Dillihay — from a screenplay by Aaron Buchsbaum and Teddy Riley — follows an anthropomorphic young goat who aspires to become the GOAT.

A lifelong fan of roarball (this film’s version of basketball), Will, who is voiced by Caleb McLaughlin, dreams of playing for his hometown team, Vineland. His admiration for the sport is embodied by Jett Fillmore (Gabrielle Union), Vineland’s most accomplished player, who carries the entire team on her back — she wants all the glory of victory for herself.

The world of “Goat” is divided between “smalls” and “bigs” (unlike “Zootopia” where the separation is between predators and prey). Will considers himself a “medium” but in the eyes of professional roarball players, he’s tiny. Still, after going viral for bravely challenging Mane Attraction (Aaron Pierre), one of the sport’s major stars who is double his size, Will lands a chance to play in the big leagues.

To the credit of the writers, roarball is a rather inclusive sport. There are no gendered teams, nor any discrimination based on species. Will might be the first “small” to make it big, but that stems from the public’s prejudice, not from rules that ban animals like him from playing.

Desperate for instant relevancy (like plenty of animated features these days), “Goat” is steeped in vapid internet references, from crypto to online memes. Sports fans, however, will find specific allusions, like contentious press conferences and even the kiss cam. Rowdy and kinetic from start to finish, “Goat” does in fact reflect the fast-paced dynamism of basketball, but it soon reveals itself a sugar rush without much substance.

Once Will joins the team, a “never meet your heroes” lesson ensues, since Jett feels like he’s usurping her position. Animosity on her part creates tension until Will opens up about his personal reason for playing. The emotions are not complex here, but they are heartfelt, thanks to how McLaughlin and Union conjure up larger-than-life personalities via their voice performances.

Meanwhile, Will’s other teammates — a rhinoceros, a giraffe (played by Curry himself), an ostrich and a Komodo dragon — don’t feel distinct enough from the ensemble casts of other animated projects like “Sing.” Each member of the assortment has their quirks, some of which occasionally yield a chuckle: Archie (David Harbour), the rhino, has two comically violent kid daughters.

There’s no denying “Goat” has a vibrant aesthetic, but that alone can’t overwrite its defects. Back in 2018, Sony Pictures Animation dazzled the industry when “Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse” introduced an approach that mixed 3D CGI with traditional hand-drawn animation. This combination of techniques doesn’t make “Goat” particularly unique anymore.

What’s most impressive, visually, about “Goat” is the way the natural world blends with the urban settings. Vineland, Will’s neighborhood, is indeed covered in vines and yet the vegetation appears organically integrated into the infrastructure. Each game takes place in a different ecosystem. The finale, for example, unfolds amid cracked volcanic rocks and lava. There’s visible handcraft and care in creating these backdrops for the action.

A mixed bag of eye-catching imagery and formulaic writing, “Goat” disappoints because it follows every expected path toward a triumphant conclusion. Its premise could have offered up a kid-friendly reading on failure that doesn’t simplify a way out of adversity. If talking animals will continue to be used as surrogates for human experiences — especially for young viewers — some nuance would be appreciated.

Paul Thomas Anderson’s dazzling thriller “One Battle After Another” and Ryan Coogler’s resonant horror movie “Sinners” found as much love overseas as they did with Oscar voters, topping nominations at the British Film Academy Awards on Tuesday.

The two films flipped positions with the Brits, with “One Battle” leading with the way with 14 nominations, including five for its cast, and “Sinners” following with 13 nods. Chloé Zhao’s “Hamnet” and Josh Safdie’s “Marty Supreme” scored big too, each picking up 11 nominations.

In the acting races, BAFTA voters restored Actors Awards nominees Chase Infiniti (“One Battle After Another”), Jesse Plemons (“Bugonia”), Paul Mescal (“Hamnet”) and Odessa A’zion (“Marty Supreme”) to the fold, an easy task considering that the show has six slots per category, one more than the Oscars.

That surplus did not help “Wicked: For Good,” though. Shut out by motion picture academy voters, the musical sequel could only manage two nominations — costume design and hair and makeup — with BAFTA.

There’s no definitive count on the overlap of voters for the Oscars and the BAFTAs, but most publicists figure at least 1,000 of the 8,300 BAFTA film voters also belong to the motion picture academy. That overlap, along with the timing of its ceremony — this year it takes place Feb. 22, four days before final Oscar voting begins — makes the BAFTAs a precursor to watch with at least a passing interest.

In terms of taste, the group has a soft spot for British and European filmmakers and really loves the work of Edward Berger, diverging from the Oscars recently by giving best picture to two of his movies, “All Quiet on the Western Front” over “Everything Everywhere All at Once” in 2023 and, last year, “Conclave” instead of “Anora.”

If there’s a place where “Hamnet,” Zhao’s tender portrait of love and loss centered on the family of William Shakespeare, could pull off a best picture upset, it would be with this group.

Best film

“Hamnet”
“Marty Supreme”
“One Battle After Another”
“Sentimental Value”
“Sinners”

Leading actress

Jessie Buckley, “Hamnet”
Rose Byrne, “If I Had Legs I’d Kick You”
Kate Hudson, “Song Sung Blue”
Chase Infiniti, “One Battle After Another”
Renate Reinsve, “Sentimental Value”
Emma Stone, “Bugonia”

Leading actor

Robert Aramayo, “I Swear”
Timothée Chalamet, “Marty Supreme”
Leonardo DiCaprio, “One Battle After Another”
Ethan Hawke, “Blue Moon”
Michael B Jordan, “Sinners”
Jesse Plemons, “Bugonia”

Supporting actress

Odessa A’zion, “Marty Supreme”
Inga Ibsdotter Lilleaas, “Sentimental Value”
Wunmi Mosaku, “Sinners”
Carey Mulligan, “The Ballad of Wallis Island”
Teyana Taylor, “One Battle After Another”
Emily Watson, “Hamnet”

Supporting actor

Benicio Del Toro, “One Battle After Another”
Jacob Elordi, “Frankenstein”
Paul Mescal, “Hamnet”
Peter Mullan, “I Swear”
Sean Penn, “One Battle After Another”
Stellan Skarsgård, “Sentimental Value”

Director

Ryan Coogler, “Sinners”
Yorgos Lanthimos, “Bugonia”
Josh Safdie, “Marty Supreme”
Paul Thomas Anderson, “One Battle After Another”
Joachim Trier, “Sentimental Value”
Chloé Zhao, “Hamnet”

Film not in the English language

“It Was Just An Accident”
“The Secret Agent”
“Sentimental Value”
“Sirât”
“The Voice of Hind Rajab”

Documentary

“2000 Meters to Andriivka”
“Apocalypse in the Tropics”
“Cover-Up”
“Mr. Nobody Against Putin”
“The Perfect Neighbor”

Animated film

“Elio”
“Little Amélie or the Character of Rain”
“Zootopia 2”

Children’s and family film

“Arco”
“Boong”
“Lilo & Stitch”
“Zootopia 2”

Original screenplay

“I Swear”
“Marty Supreme”
“The Secret Agent”
“Sentimental Value”
“Sinners”

Adapted screenplay

“The Ballad of Wallis Island”
“Bugonia”
“Hamnet”
“One Battle After Another”
“Pillion”

Original score

“Bugonia”
“Frankenstein”
“Hamnet”
“One Battle After Another”
“Sinners”

Casting

“I Swear”
“Marty Supreme”
“One Battle After Another”
“Sentimental Value”
“Sinners”

Cinematography

“Frankenstein”
“Marty Supreme”
“One Battle After Another”
“Sinners”
“Train Dreams”

Costume design

“Frankenstein”
“Hamnet”
“Marty Supreme”
“Sinners”
“Wicked: For Good”

Editing

“F1”
“A House of Dynamite”
“Marty Supreme”
“One Battle After Another”
“Sinners”

Production design

“Frankenstein”
“Hamnet”
“Marty Supreme”
“One Battle After Another”
“Sinners”

Make-up and hair

“Frankenstein”
“Hamnet”
“Marty Supreme”
“Sinners”
“Wicked: For Good”

Sound

“F1”
“Frankenstein”
“One Battle After Another”
“Sinners”
“Warfare”

Special visual effects

“Avatar: Fire and Ash”
“F1”
“Frankenstein”
“How to Train Your Dragon”
“The Lost Bus”

Outstanding British film

“28 Years Later”

“The Ballad of Wallis Island”

“Bridget Jones: Mad about the Boy”

“Die My Love”

“H Is for Hawk”

“Hamnet”

“I Swear”

“Mr. Burton”

“Pillion”

“Steve”

Outstanding debut by a British writer, director or producer

“The Ceremony”

“My Father’s Shadow”

“Pillion”

“A Want in Her”

“Wasteman”

British short film

“Magid / Zafar”
“Nostalgie”
“Terence”
“This Is Endometriosis”
“Welcome Home Freckles”

British short animation

“Cardboard”
“Solstice”
“Two Black Boys in Paradise”

EE Bafta rising star award (voted for by the public)

Robert Aramayo

Miles Caton

Chase Infiniti

Archie Madekwe

Posy Sterling