Film: Goonies
Director: Richard Donner
Country: USA
Released: June 1985
Runtime: 114 minutes
Genre: Adventure
Studio: Amblin / Warner Bros
Influenced: Rob Reiner, Richard Linklater, JJ Abrams, Guillermo del Toro, Joe Cornish
The Goonies will never be anywhere near any critics' list of the greatest films ever made, but that just goes to show how often one of the most important aspects of cinema – entertainment value – is overlooked. The film was also innovative in several ways, not least for its unique combination of adventure and comedy in a coming-of-age story centred around kids, capturing the essence of 1980s childhood. The film also introduced the concept of a treasure hunt to a new generation, invoking nostalgia for classic adventure tales. Masterminded by director Richard Donner, producer Steven Spielberg and screenwriter Chris Columbus, The Goonies was conceived by Spielberg, who then approached Columbus to write the script and brought in Donner as director.
The film was made with a modest budget but managed to become a cult hit, thanks largely to its immersive story that follows a group of seven misfit kids from the fictional Goon Docks neighbourhood in Astoria, Oregon, who call themselves the Goonies. Facing the foreclosure of their homes due to a real estate development project, the kids stumble upon an old treasure map in the attic of Mikey Walsh's (Sean Astin) house. Mikey, his older brother Brand (Josh Brolin) and their friends Chunk (Jeff Cohen), Mouth (Corey Feldman), Data (Ke Huy Quan), Andy (Kerri Green) and Stef (Martha Plimpton) embark on an adventure to find the hidden treasure of the notorious pirate One-Eyed Willy.
Mikey finds an old map, believed to lead to One-Eyed Willy's treasure, and the Goonies assemble to investigate further but standing in their way are the Fratellis, perhaps the greatest family of villains in cinema history. Led by the formidable Mama Fratelli (Anne Ramsey), the family consists of her and her two sons, Jake (Robert Davi) and Francis (Joe Pantoliano), who capture some of the Goonies in the caves and cause them to be separated. The Goonies also have to navigate a series of booby traps set up by One-Eyed Willy to protect his treasure, and one of the film's most iconic moments is when they cascade down a water slide to avoid a room filled with deadly spikes and discover a pirate ship in a hidden cavern, where One-Eyed Willy's treasure is located.
At the end, the kids face a moral dilemma when they have the treasure in their grasp. they decide to leave it behind to save their neighbourhood and protect the historic Goon Docks from destruction, choosing friendship over greed. Full of iconic moments like Chunk's "truffle shuffle", characters (notably Sloth) and quotable lines ("Goonies never say die!", "Down here, it's our time"), the film has had a lasting impact on pop culture and has remained a beloved film for generations, often being shown at festivals so that everyone (young and old) can get a feel-good boost at the start of the day. Its legacy can be seen in the continued references and homages in other movies, TV shows and books, while the film's success also launched the careers of many of its young stars.
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