Savannah “Van Van” Mcconneaughey has added another major credit to her growing résumé with a role in the animated feature Goat. The North Carolina native voices one of the twin rhino daughters of a character played by David Harbour.
The role comes as her career continues to expand across music and television. Savannah first drew national attention in early 2023 when her song “Playing Outside” went viral under the name Van Van.
Since her breakout, she appeared on Abbott Elementary in February of last year and continued releasing music alongside Heiress Harris, Snoop Dogg, MC Lyte, Missy Elliott and The Clark Sisters. The run earned her the nickname “Princess of Hip Hop.”
Goat centers on Will Harris, a determined young goat who dreams of becoming a professional athlete in the fast paced sport of Roarball. The film is produced by Stephen Curry, who also lends his voice to the project.
According to Animation Magazine, the story blends sports action with comedy and basketball world references, set against visually bold backdrops from the studio behind Spider-Verse, The Mitchells vs. the Machines and KPop Demon Hunters.
Director Tyree Dillihay, a two time Emmy nominated animation veteran known for his work on Bob’s Burgers, El Tigre: The Adventures of Manny Rivera and Weather Hunters, described the scope of the film in an interview with Animation Magazine.
“Roarball is a worldwide sport,” he said. “Our animals live in different biomes. Our jungle region, which is called Vineland, is where our main characters are from. We call it ‘Brooklyn meets Brazil.’ It’s a city within a jungle, but you have your corner bodegas, your guy that shines your shoes. Our guys are salt-of-the-earth kind of people. Then you go to another biome and it’s the total opposite; one is set in the Arctic, another is technologically advanced, kind of like Silicon Valley mixed with Dubai. We have an island region, where half of the location looks like Monaco and the other half is a live volcano!”
In addition to Savannah and Steph Curry, the Goat movie also stars Caleb McLaughlin, Gabrielle Union, Nick Kroll, David Harbour, Jenifer Lewis, Patton Oswalt, Jennifer Hudson, Aaron Pierre, and Jelly Roll.
The Goat movie is now in theaters nationwide.
