With the N.B.A. Finals underway, June is the perfect time for children to watch this new animated comedy about Will (Caleb McLaughlin), a goat with a passion for “roarball.” The sport is like basketball at hyperspeed, and all the players are animals. Will has been a roarball fanatic since he was a kid, and his favorite team is the hometown Vineland Thorns. Even though everyone says he’s too small, he doesn’t let that stop him.
When a video of Will shooting baskets with a professional player — a stallion named Mane Attraction (Aaron Pierre) — goes viral, the Thorns owner, Flo (Jenifer Lewis), gives him a chance to breathe some energy into her flailing team. Still, the star player and Will’s idol, Jett Fillmore (Gabrielle Union), is dismissive of the small newbie. There’s also a giraffe on the team voiced by the N.B.A. legend Stephen Curry, a producer on the film.
It’s a classic underdog story with wildly distinctive visuals and a voice cast that also includes Patton Oswalt, Nick Kroll, Nicola Coughlan, Jennifer Hudson and David Harbour. Tyree Dillihay (“Bob’s Burgers”) and Adam Rosette (story artist on “The Wild Robot”) directed. The screenplay was written by Aaron Buchsbaum and Teddy Riley, who created the animated series “Fairfax.”