Sony’s New Sports Movie Has an Incredible Animation Style and Card Collectors Are Going to Love It

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Following the massive success of last year’s hit, K-Pop Demon Hunter, Sony Pictures Animation is hoping to strike gold again with their new film, Goat. This inspiring sports story is set in a world of animal characters and centers on Will Harris, a small goat voiced by Caleb McLaughlin, who dreams of becoming a professional roarball (basketball) player – a sport usually played by much larger animals.

McLaughlin acts alongside a fantastic cast, featuring Gabrielle Union as Jett Fillmore, Nick Kroll as Olachenko, Stephen Curry as Lenny Williamson, Patton Oswalt as Dennis, and his Stranger Things colleague David Harbour as Archie Everhardt.

The upcoming film Goat, releasing worldwide on February 13, 2026, has many unique qualities, but a standout feature is how the filmmakers chose to portray its most important emotional scenes. They’ve created moments designed to be both memorable and deeply moving, especially for fans of sports cards.

Sony Pictures Animation’s ‘Goat’ Secret Is in Its Love for Basketball Trading Cards

Impact Cards With Trading Card DNA Make Emotional Moments Hit Harder.

During a recent visit to Sony Pictures Animation Studios in Los Angeles to preview the new movie Goat, TopMob discovered what sets this animated film apart.

Dylan Casano, who created the motion graphics and designs for the movie, shared how he helped create “impact cards” – a key visual element of the film. He described designing these cards as one of his primary responsibilities.

The filmmakers focused on key scenes – moments with strong emotional or visual impact – and intentionally styled them to look and feel like trading cards.

One of my key projects at ‘Goat’ was creating what we called ‘impact cards.’ Our co-director, Adam, came up with the idea to highlight powerful moments from the film—both physically and emotionally—and present them like trading cards. We wanted to capture a nostalgic, collectible feel, appealing to those of us who enjoyed collecting trading cards.

Casano explained that the details are subtle and fleeting, like quick glimpses. He also pointed out that each character has a unique design and feel, similar to how basketball cards highlight different aspects of the players.

These visuals have a distinct style, particularly if you’re familiar with collecting basketball cards. We wanted to capture that feeling within the colorful world of ‘Goat.’ So, we created scenes with quick, fleeting moments. What’s special is that each character has a unique design, almost like their own take on a basketball card, with different details highlighted.

Sports trading cards have a distinct look, and Casano was excited to borrow from that style for the visual design of Goat. The artist created what they called “a library” of the textures, shapes, and patterns found on basketball cards to use in their work.

As a huge cinema fan, I was fascinated to hear about how they approached the visual design. They started by really taking apart a basketball card – figuring out what made it look the way it did. They broke it down to its core elements, like the shiny foil, the lettering, and even the grid patterns. Then, they built up a whole collection of those textures, shapes, and patterns – all the little details you notice when you hold a card up to the light and see that cool, shimmering effect. What you see on screen is essentially their recreation of all those real-world basketball card elements.

I was really fascinated when Casano revealed Grizz’s impact card – the one featuring Jelly Roll! It has this amazing, regal look with a gold foil stamp, but it’s also designed to look beat up, like the edges are worn and wrinkled. It’s a clever way of showing how Grizz starts out as just a typical playground bully – all bravado and no substance, really.

For the character Grizz, we decided on a design featuring a gold foil stamp. It looks like he’s actually tearing through the card’s surface, revealing the gold underneath. We also made the card look worn and wrinkled, as if it hadn’t been cared for well. This fits the character because, at this point in the story, he’s just a typical schoolyard bully, so the card wouldn’t be valuable.

Olivia Burker’s card (designed with Nicola Coughlan in mind) highlighted a crucial scene from the movie. It celebrated her achievement by prominently displaying her name and surrounding it with emojis, messages, and symbols of live streams – all representing her intense focus on social media.

In the film, we highlight Olivia Burke’s key scene and honor her by prominently displaying her name on screen, surrounded by a burst of emojis, messages, and live stream indicators. This visually represents her strong connection to social media.

Naturally, the film’s main character, Will Harris, played by Caleb McLaughlin, has his own collectible cards. The first is his ‘rookie card,’ which shows him as he is at the beginning of the story. Casano highlighted the small details, like the ‘rookie card’ logo and the low stats printed in the corner.

As I understand it, they’re planning to visually show Will changing as a person through the film itself. His ‘impact card’ – that’s the visual representation of his influence on the story – will actually evolve as he grows and develops. It’s a really cool way to emphasize his character arc, showing his journey right before our eyes.

Now we have Will Harris’s first card – it’s his rookie card, fitting since he’s just starting his professional roarball career at this point in the footage. You can even see a special rookie card logo in the bottom right corner for serious collectors. Up in the top right, you’ll find his stats, which are understandably low because he’s a new player.

Ultimately, Dylan Casano said their goal was to transform key plot points into truly memorable scenes.

Our goal was to transform key story moments into unforgettable experiences – like witnessing a legendary highlight being created right before your eyes. We aimed for that, we achieved it, and this is just one example of the detail and care we’re putting into everything we do with ‘Goat’.

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2026-02-11 01:07