Sony's 'Goat' Brings Basketball Card Nostalgia to Animation

The new Sony Pictures Animation feature draws inspiration from retro basketball cards with holographic embellishments.

Published on Feb. 14, 2026

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Sony Pictures Animation's latest animated film 'Goat' features a bold visual style inspired by retro basketball cards, with holographic effects and a more realistic, live-action-inspired look compared to the studio's previous animated features. The film's production designer Jang Lee and motion graphics designer Dylan Casano discuss how they drew inspiration from Italian filmmaker Sergio Leone and NBA player Dennis Rodman to create the distinctive aesthetic, including 'impact card' moments that replicate the look and feel of 1990s basketball cards.

Why it matters

Sony Pictures Animation is known for its adventurous and unconventional visual styles, and 'Goat' continues that tradition by blending influences from live-action films, classic African American sculptures, and nostalgic basketball card designs. The result is a unique animated world that aims to immerse the audience in the high-energy world of 'Roar-ball,' the film's fictional basketball-like sport.

The details

The production team for 'Goat' looked to the films of Sergio Leone for lighting cues and drew character designs based on classic African American sculptures. They also closely studied NBA players, with the Komodo dragon character Grizz being heavily inspired by Dennis Rodman. A key visual element is the 'impact card' moments, which replicate the look and feel of 1990s basketball cards, complete with gold foil, holographic printing, and wear-and-tear effects. These 'impact cards' are designed to immortalize key story beats and make them feel like legendary moments.

  • The film 'Goat' is set to be released in 2026.

The players

Jang Lee

The production designer for 'Goat' who aimed to give the film a more realistic, live-action-inspired look compared to previous Sony Animation features.

Dylan Casano

A motion graphics designer and animator on 'Goat' who was responsible for creating the 'impact card' moments that replicate the look of 1990s basketball cards.

Dennis Rodman

The former NBA player who served as a key inspiration for the Komodo dragon character Grizz in 'Goat.'

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What they’re saying

“We took our feature cues from live-action film, meaning the lighting and world physics are quite close to live-action film versus an animated movie. It's a lot less cartoony, more realized, and so it's more vivid, especially lighting. The overall texture and look of the picture is more closely associated with the live-action vibe.”

— Jang Lee, Production Designer (thewrap.com)

“One of my biggest tasks was what we're calling, internally, the impact cards. These were inspired by an idea that Adam Rosette, our co-director, had, where we could take key moments of the film and imbue them with the basketball card aesthetic.”

— Dylan Casano, Motion Graphics Designer and Animator (thewrap.com)

“We wanted to take these moments in the film and make them collectors moments – like something that you would want to take a screenshot of and sell it for a lot of money.”

— Dylan Casano, Motion Graphics Designer and Animator (thewrap.com)

What’s next

The film 'Goat' is set to be released in 2026, so the next major milestone will be the film's premiere and initial public reception.

The takeaway

Sony Pictures Animation's 'Goat' blends a variety of visual influences, from live-action films to classic African American sculptures to nostalgic basketball card designs, to create a unique and immersive animated world. The 'impact card' moments in particular aim to make key story beats feel like legendary, collectible moments, further enhancing the film's bold and adventurous visual style.