''3 Little Kungpoo Goats'', also known as ''The Gools'', ''Shangol and Mongol'', ''Kung Fu Gools,'' and ''Keçigiller'', is a 2022

adventure An adventure is an exciting experience or undertaking that is typically bold, sometimes risky. Adventures may be activities with danger such as traveling, exploring, skydiving, mountain climbing, scuba diving, river rafting, or other extreme spo ...

animation Animation is a filmmaking technique whereby still images are manipulated to create moving images. In traditional animation, images are drawn or painted by hand on transparent celluloid sheets to be photographed and exhibited on film. Animati ...

martial arts film Martial arts films are a subgenre of action films that feature martial arts combat between characters. These combats are usually the films' primary appeal and entertainment value, and often are a method of storytelling and character expression a ...

directed by Farzad and Kianoush Dalvand and written by Darioush Dalvand, Bahram Heidari and Eliza Ip. It features the voices of Jon Allen,

Caroline Amiguet Caroline Amiguet (born 23 May 1977) is a French actress, film producer, and model, best known for her roles in the films ''Love All You Have Left'' (2017), ''Angels Fallen'' (2020), and ''Everybody Dies by the End'' (2022), and for producing the ...

, Mark Atkinson and

Brian Patrick Butler Brian Patrick Butler is an American actor, film director, screenwriter, and film producer. He is known for writing and directing the film ''Friend of the World'' (2020), writing and performing in the film ''Hemet, or the Landlady Don't Drink Tea ...

. The film screened at

Red Sea International Film Festival The Red Sea International Film Festival () is a film festival launched in 2019 and held in Jeddah, western Saudi Arabia. The festival mainly focuses on new storytelling trends, as well as emerging talents from Saudi Arabia, the Arab world and th ...

and the

54th International Film Festival of India The 54th International Film Festival of India opened on 20 November 2023 with ''Catching Dust'' by Stuart Gatt in Goa. Shekhar Kapur an Indian filmmaker served as chairperson of the international jury. This year a new award category IFFI Best W ...

, had limited theatrical releases in

Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...

and

Turkey Turkey, officially the Republic of Türkiye, is a country mainly located in Anatolia in West Asia, with a relatively small part called East Thrace in Southeast Europe. It borders the Black Sea to the north; Georgia (country), Georgia, Armen ...

, and won Best Director in the animation category at International Film Festival for Children and Youth. It has grossed $365,087 worldwide.

Plot

Three young goats go on an adventure to prevent a

truce A ceasefire (also known as a truce), also spelled cease-fire (the antonym of 'open fire'), is a stoppage of a war in which each side agrees with the other to suspend aggressive actions often due to mediation by a third party. Ceasefires may b ...

from being broken.

Cast

Production

Production began in 2015. The film features

martial arts Martial arts are codified systems and traditions of combat practiced for a number of reasons such as self-defence; military and law enforcement applications; combat sport, competition; physical, mental, and spiritual development; entertainment; ...

as a key component to the story and is based on a legend that inspired '' Shangoul and Mangoul'' and ''

The Wolf and the Seven Young Goats "The Wolf and the Seven Young Goats" () is a fairy tale collected by the Brothers Grimm and published in Grimm's Fairy Tales (KHM 5). It is of Aarne-Thompson type 123 "The Wolf and the Kids". Origin The story was published by the Brothers Grimm ...

''. The film was translated in five languages with Kaitlyn McCormick,

, and Mark Atkinson as part of the English-language cast, and

Hootan Shakiba Hootan Shakiba (; born 14 June 1984) is an Iranian actor. He is best known for his role as Habib Naghavi in ''Bachelors'' (2016–2019) which earned him a Hafez Award. Shakiba won the Crystal Simorgh for Best Actor and his second Hafez Award f ...

, Hamed Ahangi, Hooman Haji Abdollahi,

Behnoush Bakhtiari Behnoosh Bakhtiari (, born May 19, 1975) is an Iranian actress. She has a bachelor's degree in French from the Islamic Azad University, Tehran Branch. Behnoosh Bakhtiari was nominated for the Crystal Simorgh for Best Supporting Actress at the 34 ...

, and

Hadi Kazemi Hadi Kazemi (; b. 1976) is an Iranian actor, narrator, sculptor, painter and photographer. He is known for his roles as '' Nezam Du Barareh'' in comedy series '' Barareh Nights'', and ''Baba Shah'' in ''Bitter Coffee'', both television series di ...

included for the Persian-language cast. Kianoush Dalvand said the script was originally a very serious story with a different title, and required a rewrite to appeal to children under the age of 12.

Release

The film was expected to release in 2021 under the title ''The Gools'' in the United States and ''Kung Fu Gools'' in China. It was included the film lineup as ''The Gools'' at 2022

Marché du Film The ''Marché du Film'' (), also called Cannes Film Market, is an annual marketplace for films and one of the world's largest film markets. Established in 1959, it is held annually in conjunction with the Cannes Film Festival. In the 2020s, mor ...

through Iuvit Media Sales and again in 2025 as ''3 Little Kungpoo Goats'' through Galloping Entertainment. It premiered as ''The Gools'' on September 10, 2022 at World Festival of Animated Film in

Varna, Bulgaria Varna (, ) is the List of cities and towns in Bulgaria, third-largest city in Bulgaria and the largest city and seaside resort on the Bulgarian Black Sea Coast and in the Northern Bulgaria region. Situated strategically in the Gulf of Varna, t ...

and had a limited theatrical release in

on April 13, 2023. Later in 2023, the film premiered in Asia under the title ''Three Little Kungpoo Goats'' at the

, followed by

and 14th Cairo International Animation Forum. It was distributed by Phoenix Animation Studio. Other festivals include the

Warsaw Film Festival Warsaw Film Festival (; WFF), also known as Warsaw International Film Festival, is an annual international film festival held every October in Warsaw, Poland. The 40th edition of the festival will take place from 11 to 20 October 2024. Histor ...

and Sundance Children's Film Festival. On May 24, 2024, the film had a limited theatrical release as ''Keçigiller'' in

. As of October 2024, the film grossed $365,087 worldwide. The film had a theatrical release in

Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI) and also known as Persia, is a country in West Asia. It borders Iraq to the west, Turkey, Azerbaijan, and Armenia to the northwest, the Caspian Sea to the north, Turkmenistan to the nort ...

on November 20, 2024.

Reception

Critical response

On episode 30 of ''Haft'', animator Bahram Azimi said that the "execution of this animation was very good; to the point that I couldn't believe that its creators didn't have help from outside" and agreed with the filmmakers that it was given an unfair number of screenings for its theatrical release. Ravanbakhsh Sadeghi praised the direction by saying "one of the main advantages is that the Dalvand brothers have followed an international model." Hossein Abdollahi Kermani at iNAGHD called the film a weak, blind imitation that lacked cultural elements.

Accolades

References

External links

* * * {{Authority control 2022 films 2022 animated films Iranian animated films Films about goats 2022 martial arts films Iranian adventure films Iranian children's films Films about society Films about friendship