Back in 1985, Richard Donner, Steven Spielberg, and Chris Columbus created a tale of a bunch of outcast kids searching for buried pirate treasure. It doesn’t necessarily sound like a classic. But to those of Generations X and Y, the adventures of Mikey, Mouth, Data, Chunk, and Sloth are those of legends. This past weekend, Sunday to be precise, The Goonies celebrated its 30th birthday.

Why is The Goonies so beloved? Is it the “Us vs. Them” dynamic that permeates through the generations? After all, the story at its core is about wealthy landowners trying to force families out of their Oregon homes. That’s why Mikey leads the Goonies to find One Eyed Willie’s treasure. Is it that the cast was a perfect blend of child actors (many who would grow to be even more famous adults)? Josh Brolin as older brother Bran would go on to star in Oscar winning films, as would little brother Mikey (Sean Astin). Corey Feldman and Jonathan Ke Quan were 80s staples. Maybe it’s just that The Goonies is in every way, the perfect adventure movie. It has realistic characters with meaningful motives. It has shootouts, cops and robbers, a crazy Indiana Jones-style treasure hunt, and even has a monster! The combined efforts of Donner (director), Spielberg (who wrote the story), and Chris Columbus (wrote the screenplay) takes away some of questions. Together, those three brought Superman, Indiana Jones, and Harry Potter to the screen!

Whatever it is, The Goonies left a mark on popular culture. The film has a plethora of quotable lines and images that are part of the zeitgeist, from the Truffle Shuffle, to “Slosh love Chunk”, to “Goonies never say die!” It says a lot that a 14-year old student in my freshman class wears a Goonies shirt to school. This past weekend they held an event to mark the 30th anniversary of its premiere at the Astoria, Oregon Victorian house where most of the early parts of the movie were shot. There were behind the scenes panel discussions, a Truffle Shuffle 5K walk, and of course, a treasure hunt.

The Goonies is one of my favorite films. I remember introducing it to my younger sister, and can’t wait to share it with my kids. The Goonies is available on DVD and Blu-ray, and is on Amazon Prime for a $2.99 rental. Amazon Prime also has a free 25-minute making-of documentary.

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The Goonies – Original Theatrical Trailer

From the imagination of Steven Spielberg, The Goonies plunges a band of small heroes into a swashbuckling surprise-around-every corner quest beyond their wildest dreams! Following a mysterious treasure map into a spectacular underground realm of twisting passages, outrageous booby-traps and a long-lost pirate ship full of golden doubloons, the kids race to stay one step ahead of a family of bumbling bad guys…. and a mild mannered monster with a face only a mother could love.Directed by Richard Donner and starring Sean Astin, Josh Brolin, Corey Feldman, Martha Plimpton, Kerri Green, Robert Davi, Joe Pantoliano, Anne Ramsey, Lupe Ontiveros and Mary Ellen Trainor, The Goonies is a film that still delights the young and the young at heart.

The Goonies (1/5) Movie CLIP – Truffle Shuffle (1985) HD