The Goonies: a timeless family movie

I remember the first time my dad sat my siblings and me down and told us we were about to watch one of the best movies ever made, The Goonies. I don’t recall my exact age but somewhere between 8-10. Some could argue that I may have been too young to watch this movie. But I believe I was just the right age despite the crude jokes and swear words. This movie helped define my childhood.

The Goonies follows a group of misfits, Mikey, Data, Mouth, Chunk, and Mikey’s brother, Brand. Mikey and Brand are getting ready to move because their parents can no longer afford their house. When looking through their attic, the boys come across a map to a pirate treasure, and set off on the adventure of a lifetime to find the treasure and save their house – but not without a family of criminals, the Fratellis, following close behind.

We were already adventurous. We were never inside and were mostly on these random quests with our cousins, but after watching this movie, we hoped that the unthinkable could happen. It awakened a new sense of adventure and curiosity in us, the chance to discover something nobody else could; anything was possible for us.

Today you see kids on iPads in restaurants, buses, waiting rooms, basically anywhere they may get bored. I think this movie could change and awaken that curiosity in kids today and they need it. The unknown should excite them, the outdoors should be their playground and their imagination should be able to take them anywhere.

Although it may just seem like a thoughtless, goofy, adventure movie, there is much more to it than that. Friendship, courage, the fight between right and wrong, greed and the importance of youth are major themes. There is tenderness throughout the whole movie. The boys are the goonies – they don’t fit in and are bullied because they’re different, but they band together and find solace in their differences.

The boys find a treasure map with no clue if it will lead them anywhere. They hear gunshots inside a building they need to go into but continue anyway. All the boys risk their lives to help Mikey and Brand save their house because their friendship is worth it to them. They believe they deserve the treasure because they need it to save the house, but the Fratellis want it simply because they’re greedy.

I tried to find something about this movie to criticize but I thoroughly enjoy every part of it. Their friendship is wholesome and innocent, they were misfits alone but together. They are the goonies.

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