Remember "The Goonies"?

Which One Were You?

Mary DeBerry
Mary DeBerry, Yahoo! Contributor Network
Mar 3, 2009 "Share your voice on Yahoo! websites. Start Here."
You probably remember identifying with one or more of the kid characters from "The Goonies", the secret kid's society and film of the same name. It was one of the Classic 80's movies that hit theater screens in 1985. It drew not only a good movie reviews and good box office at the time, about $60 million dollars, but has been a best seller at video stores in the twenty-plus years since.

Was it Mikey and Brandon that were your favorites? Or was it "Chunk", "Mouth", "Andy", "Stef" or "Data"? You may not realize that the story was actually pitched by Stephen Spielberg. Spielberg made many millions of dollars during the 1980's - not the least of which came from other classic 80's movies - with kid or family oriented themes. It was yet another kid movie idea from the great Spielberg. However, he apparently had no further interest in developing the film, so he handed it off to another creative team and it was directed by Chris Columbus.

The gang of future "stars" - Josh Brolin, Sean Astin, Corey Feldman, Jeff Cohen, Martha Plimpton and even Jonathan Ke Quan (Short Round in Indiana Jones), got to follow every kid's dream of finding a pirate map to a great hidden treasure - One-Eyed Willie's stash. Mikey and Brandon Walsh hoped to use the treasure to stop the destruction of their family home for a golf course.

The movie tapped into most kid fears and fantasies, which is why, even as adults, kids of that era still love the film. When I was a video store manager, it was nearly as popular as the "Star Wars" classic 80's movies and "Back to the Future" films.The Goonies had to navigate their way through the evil, jail-escaped neighbor's property and face a disfigured giant, "Sloth" Fratelli, who ended up helping the gang. They had to navigate through traps and trials in the cavernous land under the Fratelli's house to make their way to the treasure.

You can still purchase a copy of "The Goonies". Follow any of these five links.

www.amazon.com
www.entertainmentearth.com
www.suncoast.com
www.bestbuy.com
www.reel.com

Published by Mary DeBerry

I draw on a variety of work & life experiences for my writing. Careers include: PBS Producer, PR, Educational Manager, Movie & Theater Reviewer, Communications Manager, Filmmaker.  View profile

  • "The Goonies" was the brainchild of Stephen Spielberg.
  • "The Goonies" tapped into every kid's childhood fears and fantasies.
Compared to other classic 80's movies - the super blockbusters, "The Goonies" still made decent box office...over $60 million dollars.

To comment, please sign in to your Yahoo! account, or sign up for a new account.