GOAT

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The film features many familiar faces—the physically imposing, favored "Horsemane King" is undoubtedly LeBron James; the "Rhino" who screens for Curry and is ejected in the Finals is Draymond Green; the "Black Panther" who loves one-on-one play but never wins a championship is probably Kevin Durant; and the number one draft pick who remained relatively unknown is likely Andrew Wiggins. As for the short, three-point-savvy, always underestimated, mouthguard-biting GOAT who says goodnight to his opponent after a game-winning shot, who else could it be but Stephen Curry himself?

As an animated film, this movie is worth about a 7 out of 10. The visuals and music are good, but the story, like all sports films, is formulaic. However, if you're a Warriors fan, you'll know: this seemingly ordinary, formulaic story actually happened in real life. An underdog, small player did indeed win a championship, and not 1, not 2, not 3… he changed basketball and became a legend. This seemingly ordinary story will remind you of every Warriors game you've watched over the past decade, every basket, every injury, every defeat, and every victory. By the end of the movie, I was like Wang Meng's commentary during the 2022 NBA Finals—"Where is Curry? Curry is already in tears!"

Basketball fans were ecstatic. There were plenty of Easter eggs, such as the protagonist Will arriving at the arena at 4:59 AM, a clear homage to Kobe's famous quote, "Have you ever seen Los Angeles at 4 AM?", and his "Nighg, night," a signature celebration gesture from Stephen Curry. The Thorns' owner is depicted as a warthog with a high bun, gold earrings, and shoulder-length blonde hair, reminiscent of Lakers owner Jeanie Buss. These Easter eggs were quite obvious; I noticed two details in the film. One appeared during the finals, where Jet the Panther played despite an injury, and the other was a presenter with a suit and blonde hair. These correspond to real events and figures in NBA history. When Jet was injured, she was initially unable to stand and had to be helped off the court. However, in the final stages of the game, with no one else available, she risked her career to return to the court and, despite the pain, completed the game and made crucial passes, helping her team to a comeback victory. In the 1980 NBA Finals, the Los Angeles Lakers faced the Philadelphia 76ers. The series was tied 2-2, with Game 5 being the crucial pivotal game. Lakers star Kareem Abdul-Jabbar severely sprained his left ankle in the third quarter, briefly unable to walk. However, he returned to the court in the fourth quarter, scoring 14 points in that quarter and finishing with 40 points and 15 rebounds, leading the Lakers to a 108-103 victory and a 3-2 series lead. The scene in the movie where Jeter plays with an injury, in terms of the location of the injury, the timing of her return, and her impact on the game's outcome, closely mirrors Abdul-Jabbar's performance in Game 5 of the 1980 Finals. The homage is obvious. Another point of reference is the commentator; one of the two frequently appearing commentators, a small man with short blond hair and wearing a brightly colored suit, is clearly modeled after the famous NBA sideline reporter Craig Seger. Craig Sager worked as an NBA sideline reporter for TNT from 1982 until his death in 2016, a career spanning 34 years. Known for his bold, colorful suits, he was nicknamed "Mr. Colorful Suit" by fans. His professional yet approachable interviewing style earned him the respect of players and coaches alike. In 2014, Sager was diagnosed with acute myeloid leukemia. He underwent multiple rounds of chemotherapy and a stem cell transplant, but continued working. During the 2016 NBA Finals, he conducted his final on-site interview from a wheelchair. Sager passed away on December 15th of the same year at the age of 65. After his death, the NBA, teams, players, and coaches paid tribute to him by wearing colorful suits. In 2017, Sager was posthumously awarded the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame's Kurt Gaudi Media Award. The blond, floral-suited host in the film, with his hairstyle, clothing style, and role as a sideline reporter, closely resembles Craig Sager. This character is a direct tribute to his long-term contributions and unwavering spirit in the NBA media field. The film's producer, Stephen Curry, shares a similar background with the film's theme. Standing at 1.91 meters tall, he's considered small for the NBA. During his rookie season, his slender build and frequent ankle injuries led to doubts about his ability to withstand the high-intensity competition. However, through long-term training, he honed a historic three-point shooting ability, revolutionizing modern basketball and leading the Golden State Warriors to multiple championships. Despite his outstanding individual achievements, Curry consistently emphasizes teamwork on the court, rarely relying on individual play. This is reflected in the film's story; while the protagonist, Willie, possesses exceptional skills, what truly leads the Thorns to victory is the team's journey from individualistic play to mutual trust. The film doesn't portray a lone hero but repeatedly conveys the message that basketball is a team sport, and true success stems from team cohesion and collaboration.

The best thing about *GOAT* is its design of animal characters with a wild, untamed spirit, rather than being entirely anthropomorphic. I remember watching NBA broadcasts a long time ago, and when the game got really exciting, the athletes were almost like half-orcs, possessing a kind of frenzied energy that seemed to transcend human limits, capable of driving the audience to roar with abandon. So, when the panther is on all fours, baring its fangs, it really resembles the state of athletes fighting passionately on the court. It's a bit like a battle of gods, where the true nature hidden beneath the human form is revealed, solely focused on victory. However, from a plot perspective, *GOAT* is too simplistic, too much like a children's film. The protagonist, the little goat, lacks even the dramatic conflict expected in a typical story; he simply integrates smoothly into the team and gains everyone's trust. Basketball is a team sport, and a newcomer joining an experienced team needs at least a period of adjustment. The seamless teamwork between veterans, where they can pass the ball perfectly even with their eyes closed, is something honed through countless games and training sessions. Suddenly, a small guy appeared, and when he first entered the arena, no one knew where to find him. How could anyone suddenly trust him? From the perspective of character development—whether it's three-dimensional and fully realized—the protagonist is more like Black Panther than Goat. Black Panther's character arc is much richer. *As the team's absolute mainstay, Black Panther's team crumbled after losing the championship. To recover from the losses he caused, Black Panther, disregarding the feelings of his teammates, desperately fought for points. He initially had a good relationship with Boss Pig, but Boss Pig, wanting to sell the team, brought in Goat to create public opinion and inflate his value, ultimately betraying everyone and selling the team. With Goat's help, Black Panther rediscovered himself and learned to cooperate with his teammates. Finally, through their teamwork, they won the championship. A very good storyline. It showcases the character's personality and growth. Goat's storyline, on the other hand, is too simplistic. It's almost like Goat wants something and gets it. There are difficulties, but each one is solved too easily, resulting in a lack of character development for Goat. Watching the storyline with a little goat as the main character gives it a simple, carefree, and joyful feel, typical of children's films. Since the main character of "Miracle Dream Team" is indeed a little goat, it's only suitable for children.

I recently watched the newly released animated film "Miracle Dream Team," and my overall impression was rather poor. The biggest flaw of this movie is its "strong sense of formula," with the reliance on gimmicks practically overflowing the screen.

To be more specific, the entire narrative lacks any real logic, relying primarily on the protagonist's halo and the characters' foolish actions to drive the plot.

For example, the community where the protagonist, nicknamed "Little Goat," lives is a community that idolizes basketball, and the protagonist is someone with superb basketball skills. However, at the beginning of the story, the protagonist is deliberately made to suffer prejudice and bullying because of his short stature. But the next moment, the protagonist is arranged to score two goals in a one-on-one match against the league champion, "Horse Mane King," showcasing his genius basketball skills. This plot makes it seem like the characters' understanding of basketball is ridiculous, and it also seems like the protagonist's basketball skills are just a tool to be manipulated.

For example, the members of the basketball team that the protagonist later joined all possessed considerable skill, some of whom had even been number one draft picks and champions. However, they were willing to remain in this team that hadn't won a championship in a long time, and none of them, including the coach, even considered transferring.

The team's owner was incredibly bizarre; he refused to recruit strong teammates for an extended period to save money, completely disregarding the concept that popularity equals wealth. Even more bizarrely, the subsequent owners were even more foolish, spouting nonsense about disbanding the main characters after the season ended, utterly ignoring the fact that the team's reputation was solely due to the main characters...

All of the above is utterly nonsensical and bizarre. There's hardly a single character with normal intelligence. It's as if they're just randomly given a pretext to create a predicament and advance the plot. Take, for example, Black Panther's "spoiling the game again" in the semi-finals—even if Black Panther's behavior is annoying, the result was victory and advancing to the finals. His teammates also learned after the game that the team was being sold and would be disbanded. With one last chance to win the championship, why act childishly? Why play the game of falling apart? Couldn't they have been more understanding of Black Panther's offense and then sat down and had a proper talk with him?

Yes, this is a very childish and simplistic animated film, or more accurately, the plot is so poorly crafted that it's practically child's play. The whole movie consists of nothing but fighting, crying, and even the respect for the abilities and fighting spirit of professional athletes is lacking.

It was alright. To be honest, it has little to do with real basketball. Birds can fly, and large animals are taller than the basketball hoop; the protagonist would die if he got hit even once. If you want to explain it strictly: flying animals represent athletes with high jumping ability, and tall, strong animals represent tall basketball players—it's just an exaggeration. My biggest surprise was that there were two girls on the five-man basketball team; thinking about it, it makes sense—women are indeed stronger in the animal kingdom. The protagonist's storyline is a very clichéd "short guys can play basketball" trope; his skill points didn't increase much, it was all about willpower! The main character's storyline was so-so, but the supporting characters' storylines were much better. The ensemble cast was well done; at least I remembered the characteristics of the other characters. It's very suitable for bringing kids who like basketball; it's really exciting. The biggest selling point of the movie is Curry, but unfortunately, I watched the Mandarin version, hahaha. Of course, I'm not familiar with Curry, so I couldn't recognize his voice.