Movie · 1985 · Adventure, Comedy, Family · 1h 54m · PG · English
Curator score: 6.6/10 (954.1K ratings)
They call themselves "The Goonies." The secret caves. The old lighthouse. The lost map. The treacherous traps. The hidden adventure. And Sloth… Join the adventure.
Overview
Young teen Mikey Walsh and his friends set off on a quest to find Pirate One-Eyed Willie's treasure in hopes of saving their homes from demolition. However, on their quest to find the treasure, they run into a family of recently escaped criminals, determined to capture the kids and reach the treasure first.
Ratings
Curator score: 6.6/10
IMDb: 7.7/10
Letterboxd: 3.82/5
Rotten Tomatoes: 77%
Metacritic: 62
TMDB: 7.5/10
Director
Richard Donner
Production
Amblin Entertainment, Warner Bros. Pictures
Cast
Sean Astin, Josh Brolin, Jeff Cohen, Corey Feldman, Kerri Green, Martha Plimpton, Ke Huy Quan, John Matuszak, Robert Davi, Joe Pantoliano, Anne Ramsey, Lupe Ontiveros, Mary Ellen Trainor, Keith Walker, Curt Hanson, Steve Antin, Paul Tuerpe, George Robotham, Charles McDaniel, Elaine Cohen McMahon
Curator Review
Verdict
A quintessential kid-adventure movie: noisy, chaotic, funny, and packed with booby traps, secret passages, and big-hearted friendship. Its charm comes from how seriously it treats childhood imagination while still delivering genuine peril and momentum.
Best for
fans of 80s adventure movies
viewers who like ensemble kid casts
families with older kids
nostalgic comfort-watch audiences
people who enjoy treasure-hunt stories with comic energy
Skip if
you want subtle or realistic storytelling
you dislike loud child-centered comedy
you prefer modern pacing and polished effects
you need a darker or more grounded adventure
Overview
The Goonies is pure childhood mythmaking: a basement-map quest that turns into a full-blown underground odyssey. It moves with the messy energy of kids making bad decisions for good reasons, and that gives the movie its enduring spark. The humor is broad, the stakes are simple, and the sense of discovery is constant.
Worth noting
What keeps it alive decades later is the chemistry of the group. Each kid has a distinct comic rhythm, and the film understands that friendship can be as important as the treasure. The villains are cartoonish enough to feel like a real threat without breaking the movie’s playful tone.
Bottom line
It’s also very much a product of its era, with all the scrappy charm and occasional rough edges that implies. If you want a polished family adventure, this may feel unruly; if you want a movie that feels like a sleepover dare turned into legend, it still delivers.
Top Letterboxd reviews
DirkH (5★) · 4315 likes
My father died when I was very young, so I have no real memories of him. Today, while dropping off my kids at my mum for a sleepover, I found a box full of them. My mum was clearing out the attic and had set aside a box with pictures of my dad when he was younger. I was shocked by the sharp sting of missed opportunities and absent memories that washed over me.
When I got home, that feeling… more
adambolt (2.5★) · 2899 likes
if i wanted to hear kids screaming for two hours i would've just booked a flight
Mark Mooney (5★) · 2695 likes
"Hey, kid! I want you to spill your guts, tell us everything!" - Francis
"Everything?" - Chunk
"Everything" - Francis
"Everything. OK, I'll talk! In third grade, I cheated on my history exam. In fourth grade, I stole my uncle Max's toupee and I glued it on my face when I was Moses in my Hebrew School play. In fifth grade, I knocked my sister Edie down the stairs and I blamed it on the dog... when my mom sent… more
David Sims (2.5★) · 2515 likes
I will never understand this fuckin thing
demi adejuyigbe (3.5★) · 2467 likes
mikey is fucking delusional and i love and cherish data so much