The Goonies (1985)
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A group of children discovers an old treasure map and embarks on a perilous quest to find a pirate's fortune to save their homes.
The story
In the 'Goon Docks' neighborhood of Astoria, Oregon, a group of children known as 'the Goonies' face the threat of their homes being foreclosed upon by a developing country club. While searching a local attic, they discover a 1632 doubloon and an old treasure map leading to the legendary fortune of 17th-century pirate One-Eyed Willy. To save their homes, the kids embark on a dangerous adventure to find the treasure, unaware that they are being pursued by a family of criminals who are also hunting for the pirate's gold.
Full plot (contains spoilers)
The Goonies—Mikey, Data, Mouth, and Chunk—find a treasure map in a local attic and decide to find the treasure of One-Eyed Willy to save their homes from foreclosure. They are joined by Brand and his friends, Andy and Stef. The group navigates a series of deadly booby traps in a tunnel system, eventually reaching a grotto where the pirate ship, the Inferno, is anchored. They are pursued by the Fratelli crime family, who are also seeking the treasure. After a tense confrontation where the Fratellis are forced to drop their haul due to a booby trap, the Goonies escape. They eventually reunite with their families on a beach while the Fratellis are arrested. The Goonies find enough jewels in Mikey's bag to stop the foreclosure, and the Inferno is seen sailing off into the distance.
- First release year
- 1985
- Runtime (minutes)
- 114
- Production countries
- United States
- Original languages
- English
- Directors
- Richard Donner
- Writers
- Chris Columbus · screenplay; Steven Spielberg · story
- Cast and characters
- Sean Astin · Michael "Mikey" Walsh; Josh Brolin · Brandon "Brand" Walsh; Jeff Cohen · Lawrence "Chunk" Cohen; Corey Feldman · Clark "Mouth" Devereaux; Kerri Green · Andrea Theresa "Andy" Carmichael; Martha Plimpton · Stephanie "Stef" Steinbrenner; Ke Huy Quan · Richard "Data" Wang; John Matuszak · Lotney "Sloth" Fratelli
- Genres
- adventure; comedy
- Themes
- friendship; adventure; bravery
- Tone and mood
- adventurous; nostalgic
- Premise and plot tags
- treasure hunt; coming-of-age; underground exploration
- Reception
- The film received positive reviews upon release and has since become a cult film, noted for its 'Spielbergian sentiment' and 'high-energy performances of the kids.'
- Reported review scores
- Rotten Tomatoes · score: 77% · scale: percentage · review count: 65; Metacritic · score: 62 · scale: score · review count: 13
- Awards and nominations
- Saturn Award · Best Supporting Actress · Win; Youth in Film Awards · Best Starring Performance By a Young Actor in a Motion Picture · Win; Not specified · adventure motion picture · Nomination
- Production trivia
- The film was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry in 2017.; The pirate ship was a full-sized replica and was not shown to the actors until filming.; A sequel was confirmed to be in the works in February 2025.
Film metadata comes from the open sources listed in Credits & Contact. Catalogue details may be incomplete.
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