The Goonies
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- For other uses, see Goonies (disambiguation).
Template:Infobox Film The Goonies was a hit movie in 1985, produced by Steven Spielberg, and directed by Richard Donner, with the screenplay written by Chris Columbus from Spielberg's story. It was a film about a band of kids from a section of Astoria, Oregon called the "Goon Docks". The "Goonies", hoping to save the Goon Docks from demolition, go on an adventure to find the buried treasure of a legendary pirate named One-Eyed Willie.
A popular soundtrack was released for the film featuring music by Cyndi Lauper, REO Speedwagon and others (see The Goonies: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack). The Goonies (except Kerri Green) appeared alongside famous professional wrestlers (including Rowdy Roddy Piper and Captain Lou Albano) in the 12-minute "The Goonies 'R' Good Enough" music video. Lauper also had a cameo as herself in the movie performing this song on TV. Steven Spielberg had a cameo as himself in "The Goonies 'R' Good Enough" music video.
Allegedly a film sequel was in the works, something long desired by fans of the first. Donner said that he had a story that he liked and Spielberg behind him, but in 2004 several of the actors from the original revealed that Warner Brothers, the copyright holder, had not shown interest in a sequel. It is reported that Richard Donner has confirmed that the sequel is no longer a possibility.
Americans who grew up in the 1980s regard The Goonies as one of their generation's cultural staples.
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Plot summary
When developers plan to buy the entire Goon Docks to demolish it and turn into a golf course, a group of Goon Docks children who call themselves "Goonies" decide to have one last adventure together. In his father's attic, Mikey finds an old treasure map that supposedly leads to the secret stash of a legendary 17th century pirate named "One-Eyed" Willie. The young Goonies find the entrance to a tunnel in a rundown restaurant that is serving as the hideout for a notorious family of criminals named the Fratellis. When the Fratellis return, the Goonies are forced to follow the tunnel to safely escape them.
One of the Goonies, Chunk, is captured and interrogated by the Fratellis, revealing the hidden tunnel entrance and the promise of treasure at its end. The Fratellis enter the tunnel, leaving Chunk captive alongside a huge and deformed Fratelli brother named Sloth, who the family keeps chained to the wall. The other Goonies proceed through the underground passages, overcoming dangerous booby traps laid by One-Eyed Willie centuries ago, hoping to survive long enough to reach freedom. Their goal reverts to finding the treasure when they discover the bottom of a wishing well, which they could use to leave the caves. Instead of saving themselves, the Goonies decide to continue the quest for the treasure so that they can save the Goon Docks.
After outrunning the nearing Fratellis, the Goonies come to the treasure, which is still on-board One-Eyed Willie's ship. The Fratellis appear just as they are filling their pockets with loot, but the newly freed Sloth also arrives with Chunk, allowing the Goonies to escape empty-handed. The Fratellis trigger one last booby trap that causes the cave to collapse, forcing everyone to flee for their lives. The Goonies are found on the beach by a search party and eventually reunite with their families. Luckily, Mikey's marble bag held a handful of large precious stones, saving the Goon Docks from its golf course future. The police arrest the Fratellis, except for Sloth, and everyone watches as One-Eyed Willie's ship sails out to the open sea.
While sometimes called a fantasy film for its improbable, child's-dream-come-true storyline, The Goonies does not actually use supernatural elements. Its premise is frequently compared to Explorers, a science fiction-adventure film starring teenagers that Paramount Pictures released one month after The Goonies in 1985.
Characters and cast
The film featured performances by a number of child actors:
- Sean Astin as Mikey Walsh, the Goonie who leads them to find One-Eyed Willie's treasure. Astin won a Young Artist Award for this role.
- Corey Feldman as Mouth, an obnoxious Goonie who tends to be a bit of a trickster.
- Jonathan Ke Quan (credited as Ke Huy Quan) as Data, an inventive Goonie who idolizes James Bond.
- Jeff Cohen as Chunk, a fat Goonie who makes up stories and tries to pass them off as true.
- Josh Brolin as Brand Walsh, Mikey's older brother who recently failed his driver's license test.
- Kerri Green as Andy, a cheerleader who is dating Brand.
- Martha Plimpton as Stef, a friend of Andy.
Other actors included:
- Anne Ramsey as the mother of the Fratelli family of criminals. Ramsey won a Saturn Award for Best Supporting Actress in a film for this role.
- Joe Pantoliano as Francis, a balding Fratelli brother.
- Robert Davi as Jake, a singing Fratelli brother.
- John Matuszak as "Sloth", a large and deformed Fratelli brother.
- Mary Ellen Trainor as Mrs. Walsh, Brand and Mikey's mother.
- Keith Walker as Mr. Walsh, a museum curator who inspired his son Mikey with tales about One-Eyed Willie.
- Steve Antin as Troy Perkins, a preppy jock teenager whose father plans to buy the Goon Docks
Production
Principal photography on The Goonies began on October 22, 1984 and lasted five months. There was an additional six weeks of ADR recording. Template:Ref The shooting script was lengthy, over 120 pages, and several sequences were eventually cut from final theatrical version. One of the most noticeable removals was the octopus attack as the Goonies approached One-Eyed Willie's ship. Despite being cut, Data still tells a news reporter at the end of the film about how scary the octopus was. A song that appears exclusively in that scene called "Eight Arms to Hold You" was featured on The Goonies: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack.
In The Making of the Goonies, director Richard Donner noted the difficulties and pleasures of working with so many child actors. Donner praised them for their energy and excitement, but said that when they were a handful when brought together. The documentary frequently shows him coaching the young actors and reveals some of the techniques he used to get realistic performances. One of these tricks involved One-Eyed Willie's ship, which was actually an impressive full-sized pirate ship created under the direction of production designer J. Michael Riva. Donner forbade the child actors from seeing the ship so that the first time the characters see the ship is also the first time the actors saw it. (It was later noted that the full-sized version of the ship was merely destroyed after shooting because they could not find anyone who wanted it.)
Reception
Film critics were split over The Goonies. Rotten Tomatoes shows 16 positive reviews and 11 "rotten" ones, giving The Goonies an overall score of 59% where 60% is the cutoff for fresh movies. Several reviewers noted that the movie appeared to be enjoyable for children and teens, but not so much for adults. It was also slightly controversial that the child stars said "shit" and "bullshit" numerous times throughout the film. Template:Ref Some were concerned that Spielberg's name and style was merely being slapped onto a movie directed by someone else. Template:Ref
The Goonies US$9 million opening weekend in the US placed it second on the charts behind Rambo: First Blood Part II. Template:Ref It grossed over US$61 million that year, placing it among the top ten highest grossing movies of 1985 (in the US).
In the decades following its release, The Goonies has gained a cult following primarily comprised of people that were children or teens in the 1980s. Chunk actor Jeff Cohen used the slogan "Chunk for President" in his successful campaign for UC Berkeley class president in 1996. Template:Ref The Ataris released a song and an album called "So Long, Astoria" (2003) that references the filming location of The Goonies as well as the plot in its lyrics. Fans of The Goonies celebrated its 20th anniversary in Astoria on June 3–5, 2005. The movie also inspired the name of punk rock band Slick Shoes, taken from when Goonies character Data exclaims, "I've got a great idea, you guys! Slick shoes!"
Later releases
The Goonies was first released on VHS video in the United States in March 1986 and the laserdisc version also debuted that year. Warner Home Video released a theatrical widescreen laserdisc on 29 January 1992.
Warner Home Video released The Goonies in widescreen on Region 1 DVD on 21 August 2001. The DVD featured several notable extras, including:
- Commentary by actors Jonathan Ke Quan, Corey Feldman, Sean Astin, Kerri Green, Martha Plimpton, Jeff Cohen, Josh Brolin, and director Richard Donner. Interestingly, this option frequently switches back and shows the actors and Donner gathered together as they are watching the film while recording the commentary. Unfortunately, midway through the film, Sean Astin had to leave, much to the puzzlement of his costars, and without ever getting to say a personal message to Cyndi Lauper that he intended to. He left a Samwise Gamgee action figure in his place, however.
- A 7-minute behind-the-scenes documentary called The Making of The Goonies.
- "The Goonies 'R' Good Enough" music video by Cyndi Lauper. The video is notable in its casting of some 80s icons, like Andre the Giant.
- Deleted scenes: The octopus attack (where the "8 Arms to Hold You" song can be heard), the convenience store scene, and scenes with Sloth and Chunk. This feature is called "Outtakes" in the menu.
- The theatrical trailer.
Video games
Konami created two versions of The Goonies for the MSX (The Goonies) and Famicom (Goonies). There is also an NES game, The Goonies II. Only Goonies II was released in North America, although the first Goonies was available for play in PlayChoice-10 machines located in most arcades and pizza parlors in the 1980s. This game had little to do with the movie, but achieved a following for its inventive gameplay. In it the Fratellis have managed to kidnap all of the Goonies (except Mikey, whom the player guides) and hide them in hidden cages across a terrain of caverns, mazes and abandoned buildings. As Mikey the player must rescue them all (not entirely unrelated to the film) and to ultimately free a mermaid named Annie (completely unrelated to the film).
Datasoft produced a Goonies video game for 8-bit computers including the Commodore 64, Atari and Apple II. This game featured eight screens in which a player had to use two members of the Goonies group to solve puzzles and reach an exit to advance to the next stage. The screens were largely inspired by actual sets and puzzles seen in the movie.
Mikey also appeared as a character in the Japanese Famicom game Konami Wai Wai World (1988).
References
- Template:Note The Goonies review by Roger Ebert
- Template:Note Mountain Xpress - Movie Review: The Goonies
- Template:Note The Numbers - US Movie Box Office Chart Weekend of June 7, 1985
- Template:Note Audio commentary from The Goonies DVD (2001)
- The Making of The Goonies. Documentary produced by Mick Garris in 1985.
External links
- TheGoonies.com, a popular fansite
- TheGoonies.org, a fansite by the creators of a documentary video that visited filming locations from The Goonies
- {{{2|{{{title|The Goonies}}}}}} at The Internet Movie Databasede:Die Goonies
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