Displaying items by tag: Kathy Najimy

GOAT

US, 2025, 100 minutes, Colour.

Caleb McLaughlin, Gabrielle Union, Stephen Curry, Aaron Pierrer, Nicola Coughlin, David Harbour, Nick Kroll, Jennifer Lewis, Patton Oswalt, Jennifer Hudson, Wayne Knight.

Directed by Tyree Dilihay, Adam Rosette.

GOAT – that American accolade, Greatest of all Time. So, what better for the animation fans, and have a literal goat as the hero of the film, an enthusiastic young kid, a fan of basketball, admiring the star player, Jett, and encouraged by his mother to follow his dreams.

GOAT has been very popular in the United States, very American in its presentation of sport, competition, fans and the crowds. And, the sport in question is basketball, eventually playing of games but also the highly challenging and dangerous Roarball (something like a basketball version of cage fighting).

Caleb McLaughlin is the voice of Will Harris, our GOAT hero, eager, ingenuous, learning the realities of the hard life. Gabrielle Union is the voice of Jett, the champion, falling on hard times, getting older. And there are all the fans, especially when they gather at the local diner, a motley group of eccentric characters and their enthusiasm. And there is a regional loyalty to teams, especially when they have not won a competition for years – and an aggressive attitude towards the competitors.

This all comes to a head with the owner of the team, wily Mrs Anderson, Jennifer Lewis, doing financial deals, building up a team of eccentrics, including Jett and Will yet planning all the time for further deals and for Jett and her failure, as well as that of the team.

So, a great range of eccentric characters, visually, and voices. A lesson to be learned from animation films and voices – there is very little distinction between African-American voices and white voices, except some recognition of rhythms and accents. So, here there is racist equality, black and white actors voicing the characters without discrimination. And the same with the two directors.

There is something of a rough and readiness about the animation style, somebody making a reference to street graffiti, paint, brushstrokes, vivid colours, creating something of a tough urban atmosphere. And that applies here to the characters, the visual backgrounds, and especially in the basketball games and their rapid and effective editing.

And, by the end, the underdog team being beaten by the champions and rivals, Will, our hero, overhearing the plans of Mrs Anderson, talking to Jett who is determined to make a last stand for her reputation, disregarding all the teammates. But, as expected and hoped for, she comes to her senses, the team plays, the result is very close, and Will has the opportunity to be the GOAT that his mother encouraged him to be.

Perhaps a warning, anyone intending to see GOAT and who is not enthralled by basketball might be advised to check it out and think again!

HOPPERS

US, 2026, 104 minutes, Colour.

Voices of: Piper Curda, Bobby Moynihan, Jon Hamm, Kathy Najimy, Dave Franco, Eduardo Franco, Isiah Whitlock Jr, Meryl Streep.

Directed by Daniel Chong.

Hoppers is a Pixar entertainment. Audience expectations are usually high with the announcement from Pixar, memories of such films as Toy Story, Brave, Inside Out… And Hoppers open to strong box office, audience enjoyment and critical praise.

As with many Pixar films, there are serious themes. The tone is set with the introduction of Mabel at school, upset at student pranks leaving a turtle on its back, her stealing all the animals to free them but caught, sent home, her mother leaving her with her kindly grandmother who sits with her on a rock by a lake, contemplating, smiling, gradually hearing the myriad sounds of animals, birds, insects. So, we begin with a conservation frame of mind.

Then, Mabel is 18, supposed to be studying at college, but stridently campaigning for animals and, especially, against the Mayor, Jerry, who is planning to destroy the animal habitat that she loves and build a Beltway. So, we are invited to have an anti-business-development frame of mind.

But, Hoppers is much more complex than this confrontation. The nice Dr Sam at college is developing all kinds of technology – and, Mabel is able to transfer her mind and voice to a mechanical recreation of a Beaver. (Well, we are in an age of AI development!).

We spend a lot of time with this mechanical Mabel with the animals, especially beaver King George, a leader, and gradually meeting a whole range of animals, who have been banished, driven away by Jerry’s sound waves in the trees, but with Mabel, eliminating the repellent sound, they are able to come back. We are on side.

And, of course, we are against Jerry, absolutely smug, blowing up the habitat, clashing with Mabel. But, the animals fight back against Jerry. Even a large shark leaps out of the water onto his car to get rid of him!

The voice talent in the film is quite extensive. Piper Curda voices Mabel, Bobby Moynihan King George. But, in the supporting voices, we have Jon Hamm as Jerry, Kathy Najimi as Dr Sam, Dave Franco as the Insect King and, of all voices, Meryl Streep as the Insect Queen.

And, will it be a happy ending! Of course, but not before having to sort out Mabel’s deception of the animals, reconciliation, the hounding of Jerry and his conversion, and the message, important for audiences but, especially, younger audiences with social concern, progress is made not by confrontation but by dialogue and collaboration. Progress can win – but nature must also win.

1. The tradition of Pixar entertainment? Comic themes, serious themes?
2. The title, expectations, animals in nature, beavers, technological experiments?
3. The style of animation, the characters, delineation, backgrounds? Special effects? Editing and pace? The musical score, the final song?
4. The introduction to Mabel, at school, sympathy for the turtle, the reaction of the children, against her, her stealing the animals, caught, her mother, sending her to her grandmother, the kindly grandmother, sitting on the rock, the silence and contemplating, hearing all the animal sounds?
5. The initial issue of nature, attention to nature, preservation?
6. Mabel grown-up, campaigner, Jerry, Mayor, the building of the Beltway, destroying the animal habitat? Mabel and protests, strident, eager, going door to door, no help, the kindly old man, but his finally giving her the grocery list?
7. Dr Sam, her role at college, Mabel’s studies, suffering from campaigning? The discussions with Dr Sam? Her experiments?
8. Mabel, her intervening, using the experiments, her brain, creating the Beaver, her chatter, encountering George, king, the bonding, their working together, the saving of the animals, the countering of the Beltway?
9. The range of animals, their personalities, the voice talent, Insect Queen, Titus, the members of the council? And Diane, the shark?
10. The strategies, Jerry, the confrontations, his having the sounds in the trees to scatter the animals? Mabel taking them down, Reconstruction? The attempts against Jerry, the shark? Jerry and his personality, determination, his workers? The initial blowing up of the barrier? The later attack, the fire, the destruction, moving towards the city?
11. The animal politics, the death of the Insect Queen, the butterfly, Titus, his taking over?
12. Mabel, the truth, the disillusionment, working with Dr Sam, the experiments with Jerry, confrontation, the animals, communication, the face? The blend of the serious and the comic episodes?
13. The buildup confrontations, Titus, Jerry and his change of heart, Dr Sam and her work, the strategies, using the technology, communication with the animals?
14. The final resolution, the fire, extinguishing, Jerry and his change of heart, moving the Beltway, the restoration of the habitat? And Mabel and her final communication with George, the phone and facial recognition and voice?
15. The blend of the serious concern for nature, progress and the need for dialogue rather than confrontation?