Who can forget the classic film The Goonies? It's been more than thirty years since the story of a group of kids went to extreme ends to save off the destruction of their neighborhood and it still gives us a certain nostalgia thinking about the adventures of the youngins…they don’t make em like they used to.
Let’s see what the ragtag gang of young treasure hunters looks like today and if they managed to hold onto their fame, looks, and careers as well as some weird and wonderful facts about this film that you definitely didn’t know!
Even movie critic website Rotten Tomatoes gave it a 91% and said: "An energetic, sometimes noisy mix of Speilbergian sentiment and funhouse tricks that will appeal to kids and nostalgic adults alike." Haters be hate'in but this movie was a breath of fresh air in the whole scene of dangerous action and blood films going around at the time.
This iconic picture of Chunk in the movie sums it all up. Funny, adventure-styled story with bad guys, good guys and the funny guy who gives the whole film a good feeling, even in the scary parts of the movie.
You should see Chunk today, unlike the others, he is really unrecognizable.
Keep smiling and see where the rest of the cast is today...
Sean Astin
Then
This was Sean Astin’s feature film. He played asthma-stricken Mikey Walsh in ‘The Goonies’ who led the gang through their adventures and was the kind of kid we all wanted to me. The son of actress Patty Duke, he made his first appearance on the small screen opposite his mother in ‘Please Don’t Hit Me, Mom’.
Sean Astin
Now
After the success of the Goonies, Astin’s career was fairly quiet for quite some time. until he made it big once again in the Lord of the Rings trilogy as Samwise Gamgee, a bodyguard to Frodo. Since those movies he has continues to work steadily, most currently appearing in Stranger Things. Astin has been married since 1992 and has three children.
Corey Feldman
Then
Corey Feldman is the epitome of a child actor gone wrong. Back then he was in all the hits, an 80’s movie staple. Gremlins, Stand by Me, The Lost Boys, License to Drive and of course The Goonies where he plaid a smart-alecky Spanish speaker Mouth.
Corey Feldman
Now
Time has not been very kind to Feldman. He went down the path we see many child actors fall into addiction, divorce and struggles finding gigs. Feldman claimed that his earnings of over $1 million wilted down to under $40,000, he has most recently appeared on Dancing on Ice and….Border Security: Canada’s Front Line. Yup. He was stopped by customs in an episode, doesn’t get much lower than that.
Jeff Cohen
Then
Cohen played the character who was always hungry or eating, Chunk who was also known for his weird and wonderful fashion sense and the notorious Truffle Shuffle. He appeared in a couple of films before and after The Goonies but then his life took on a very different career path.
Jeff Cohen
Now
Since the Goonies Cohen has lost a lot of weight, a lot of hair and became a lawyer. He now runs a successful practice in California and has not been in front of a screen since 1987 nor performed the Truffle Shuffle since 1985…that we know of…
Jonathan Ke Quan
Then
Quan was born in Vietnam and moved to the USA as a young kid. He made it pretty big as a child actor appearing in Steven Spielberg hits such as 'Indiana Jones and The Temple of Doom' and of course he played the gadget-obsessed Data in The Goonies.
Jonathan Ke Quan
Now
Ke-Quan shifted more to stunt work later in life as his martial arts skills developed. he was a stunt rigger on the first X-Men film and also worked with Jet Li om The One. He is also known to attend sci-fi conventions/
Josh Brolin
Then
Brolin is the son of actor James Brolin (who is married to Barbra Streisand). His first acting gig was when he played big brother Welsh in The Goonies making teenage girls swoon in movie theatres everywhere. His career was fairly inauspicious for a few decades following that.
Josh Brolin
Now
His second big break came in 2007 when he starred in the film No Country for Old Men which won the Academy Award for best picture, and it was onwards and upwards from there. Since then he has snagged an Oscar nomination and acted in some of the biggest hits such as of course the most recent Deadpool 2 and the villain in Avengers: Infinity War In 2013 his nine-year marriage to Diane Lane ended in divorce.
Kerri Green
Then
Green’s career as a teenager was full speed ahead. She played the cheerleader and reluctant Goonies Andy Carmichael in the Goonies when she was 18. The same year she acted in Summer Rental and in 1986 starred in the high school film Lucas alongside Corey Haim, Winona Rider and Charlie Sheen.
Kerri Green
Now
Green said goodbye to the acting world after only three films and decided to attend college. She got married not long after and lives in New York with her family. She still occasionally pops up on TV screens guest starring in series like Law and Order and ER.
Martha Plimpton
Then
Plimpton was born into acting as she is part of the Carradine acting family. Her first role was when she appeared as a 10-year-old in the Jane Fonda movie Rollover but when she appeared as the tough Stef Steinbrenner in The Goonies her acting abilities were made clear. She even snagged a Young Artist Award nomination!
Martha Plimpton
Now
Since 2010 Plimpton as starred as Virginia Chance, a young grandmother in the sitcom Raising Hope. She also has a recurring role on The Good Wife and in 2010 performed the one woman show 'Martha Plimpton Sings?'
Anna Ramsey
Then
Ramsay played Mama Fratelli, the matriarch of the Fratelli family which was one of her most well-known performances. She also turned up on Little House on The Prairie, Wonder Woman and Ironside.
Anna Ramsey
Now
Sadly, Ramsey suffered from oesophageal cancer and while she overcame it once, in 1988 it returned, and she passed away.
Joe Pantoliano
Then
Joe Pantoliano was part of the Fratelli family, some of the most memorable bad guys in film history (and inspiration for the UK band of the same name) the constant arguing between the two brothers and the pursuit of the Goonies was fantastic to watch.
Joe Pantoliano
Now
Bad guys finish first, and the proof is in the booming career of both ‘bad guys’ in The Goonies. Joe Pantoliano has been one of the busiest actors in Hollywood from betraying Keanu in The Matrix to acting in the Fugitive, this guy is in everything.
Robert Davi
Then
Another one of the bad Fratelli brothers, Robert Davi played Jake Fratelli and was hilarious t watch as he alongside his brother and scary mother tried to chase down the Goonies with little success.
Robert Davi
Now
Davi’s career has also thrived since the days of the Goonies and has been a swarthy Latino stereotype in a stream of movies since 1985. From playing Bond villain in License to Kill to playing Special Agent Johnson in Die Hard, he is still on the up and up
John Matuszak
Then
They don’t get much more memorable than Sloth, the poor deformed and outcast Fratelli brother who was the heart of the film. His relationship with Chunk brought a tear to the eyes of every person who watched the film!
John Matuszak
Now
The story of Actor John Matuszak is also a heart-breaking one… he was a two-time Superbowl winner in the 70’s and 80’s before picking up acting. However, he was also hiding a narcotics and painkiller addiction and died of a cocaine overdose in 1989 at the young age of 38.
Lupe Ontiveros
Then
Who could forget the adorable Rosalita, a Spanish Maid hired to assist in the packing and moving of the Walsh family in The Goonies. The poor housekeeper who speaks only Spanish is forced to get her instructions through Mouth who described the Walsh home ads one with a cockroach infestation and sexual torture devices! (this is a kid’s movie remember).
Lupe Ontiveros
Now
Ontiveros often stuck to the role of a maid and near the end of her career, a loving grandmother. One of her most acclaimed roles was later on in her life when she acted in Desperate Housewives. After a battle with liver cancer, she, unfortunately, passed away in 2012 at the age of 69.
Mary Ellen Trainor
Then
Mary Ellen Trainer played the mother of Mikey and Brand. The film centered around the family’s movie although Mrs. Walsh’s hand is injured and in a sling hence Rosalita’s assistance in packing up.
Mary Ellen Trainor
Now
Trainor is yet another one of The Goonies cast that is no longer with us today after passing away in 2015 after suffering from pancreatic cancer. Later on in her career, she was known for her roles in the TV world playing Diane Evans in Roswell.
Steve Antin
Then
Who could forget the biggest jerk in the Goonies world, Troy. The bully that was determined to make Brandon’s life miserable and certainly wasn’t above bullying kids younger than him. so where is this jerk today? He has come a long way.
Steve Antin
Now
The 2000’s saw Steve move from acting to directing. He also came out as openly homosexual. We wonder if he was already open about it while acting on The Goonies when homosexuality was still kind of a hot topic. One of his most recent and successful projects was directing the movie that bombed at the box office (but is still close to my heart) Burlesque which sees Cher and Christina Aguilera showing off their stuff.
Authentic Reaction
Remember that scene when the kid’s see the famous pirate One-Eyed Willy’s ship for the first time? Well director Richard Donner wanted the kid’s reaction to the ship to be as authentic as possible, so they didn’t get to see it until it was time to shoot the scene!
Bleep it out
However, it didn’t go so much as planned and so many of the kids cursed that it to be re-shot! Another fun fact: the pirate ship was entirely real and after filming they offered it to any of the cast who wanted it…no one took up the offer, so the ship was scrapped!
The Goonies Oath
This film cut so many scenes before the final film came out, some which were absolutely adorable if you go through the deleted scenes. One such scene is the Goonies Oath which goes as follows:
Oath Lines
I will never betray my goon dock friends
We will stick together until the whole world ends
Through heaven and hell, and nuclear war
Good pals like us, will stick like tar
In the city, or the country, or the forest, or the boonies
I am proudly declared a fellow Goony
5-Hour Makeup
Matuszak who played Sloth in the Goonies had one impressively messed up face to play the distorted Ferelli brother, but it didn’t come easy! In fact, the make-up took 5 hours to complete daily!!
Mechanical eye
One of the eyes was mechanically operated by a remote control (the digital effects we have today wasn’t fully developed yet). Someone would count down, and Matuszak would blink his other eye in synchronization.
The Two Coreys
Everyone remembers late Corey Haim and Corey Feldman’s friendship back in the days when they were Hollywood’s leading child actors and heartthrobs. And little did you know the first time they ever met was in the waiting room during auditions for The Goonies! Both were auditioning for the part of Mouth, which Feldman scored in the end.
Long-lasting friendship
Later on, the two starred together in Lost Boys and became inseparable which Feldman claiming in an interview: ‘'People get wind of (our chemistry). Like wow, these two have something off camera, but on camera it's...' They know what they're—we can complete each other's sentences."
The story ends in tragedy when Hiam was found dead in his apartment at 38, those who knew him well including Feldman always feared this would happen.
James Bond References
When you have Steven Spielberg as a producer, you are bound to get some iconic references throughout the film and in The Goonies, it is the James Bond movies that pop up now and then.
Little Hints
One of these references is Data’s belt which as ‘007’ inscribed on it. He also listens to the James Bond theme song before sliding a rope over to Mickey’s. (I don’t know about you, but I live for these Easter Eggs!)
Brolin getting weird
Hilariously, actor Josh Brolin was already starting to use some weird and wonderful method acting to try get into his character, something Steven Spielberg wouldn’t have too much off…
Just act
Apparently, Brolin was reading about the Stanislavski method of acting while on set. “I came up to Spielberg," recalls Brolin "And said that I wanted to climb the walls of the tunnels and that it represented my mother's womb, for some odd reason... Spielberg's response was, ‘Why don't you just act.'”
Extending to video games
The Goonies was a world of its own it was such a hit. Datasoft even produced a video game featuring eight screens in which a player had to use two members of the Goonies to solve puzzles.
Octopus makes his debut
In one of the many cut scenes from the film, there was an 8-legged Octopus which the gang had to face. Although it didn’t make it to the screen, it made it to the video game and was the seventh level! The scenes included this one were all largely inspired by the actual sets and puzzles in the film.
Sloth’s adoption
One of the more heart-breaking parts of the Goonies is the life and treatment of Sloth, the deformed Fratelli brother who is treated cruelly by his brothers and mother and locked up most of his life. throughout the film we see Sloth and Chunk form a heart-warming friendship, and in the film, it ends with Chunk telling Sloth his family will adopt him, however in the book of The Goonies it goes even further…
Barmitsvah Time!
In the novelization of The Goonies not only to Chunk’s parents adopt Sloth but the even throw him a Barmitsvah! Talk about adorable.
Jeff Cohen the Legend
We’ve already seen that Jeff Cohen is one of the Goonies that made it to success with his own law firm, but to make him even cooler he ran for class President at U.C. Berkeley with the slogan “Chunk for President”.
Always a hard worker
Clearly, he was destined for success and would work hard from the Goonies days. Cohen got chicken pox before shooting commenced, yet he showed up anyway as he was afraid the would replace him. You can even see some of the pox on his check and stomach during the truffle shuffle!
Real Family
In one of the final scenes when the kids escape the Fratellis and are reunited with their parents, on the beach, some of the actor’s actual parents were present along with some crew members! An example is Chunk’s mom who was portrayed by Chunk’s actual mother.
S-H-I-T
When Data falls from the cave ceiling he screams “holt s-h-i-t!” since his mother made him promise that he would not curse during the film. Excluding this instance, the words “shit” and “bullshit” were uttered a total of 19 times throughout the film.
Making a Cameo
It seems as though the filming of The Goonies was one fun experience with great cameos including the actual actors’ parents and even the director himself. Richard Donner made a cameo as one of the deputies, he can be seen in the picture above on the right.
Little Mistake
Real Goonies fans may have realized this little bloop. At the end of the movie, when describing what happened to the police and press, Data says, "the scariest part was the octopus!" but that scene was cut from the final release.
Rewrite, rewrite, rewrite
There were so many rewrites that the actors only got to actually see their scripts when it was time to shoot, Something very unusual for filming especially when most of the cast is children!
A set full of fun
