Fun Goonies Facts – 50 Things You (Probably) Didn’t Know About The Goonies

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The 1985 classic film, The Goonies, is about a group of misfit kids who go on wild adventure to find buried treasure and save their neighborhood. Even if you’re a fan of the movie, how much Goonies trivia do you know about the film and its production? Here are some fun Goonies facts that you probably didn’t already know about this beloved Steven Spielberg movie.

Goonies Facts 101

Who are the Goonies and why are they called the Goonies? Here are some basic Goonies facts about this group of kids and their neighborhood.

1. Why are they called The Goonies? – What do The Goonies call themselves? They call themselves the “Goonies” because they live in the “Goon Docks” area of Astoria, Oregon.
2. Is Goonies Based on a true story? – Although The Goonies is not a true story, the movie is based on a famous shipwreck that took place off the coast of Oregon in 1693. The Goonies pirate ship was inspired by the Santo Cristo de Burgos, a Spanish galleon, wrecked off the coast of modern day Oregon. Although pieces of the wreck, including large pieces of beeswax from its cargo hold, have washed up on shore. The shipwreck has never been found and continues to generate interest from treasure hunters and historians to this day.
3. What’s the Goonies’ motto? – “Goonies Never Say Die“
4. What’s the Goonies oath? – The original Goonies movie script contains a scene where the Goonies recite their secret oath. Although the Goonies oath scene was shot during production, it was cut from the final film. The Goonies oath is as follows: “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 Goonie.”
5. Is there a Goonies holiday? – In 2010, during the 25th Anniversary Celebration of the film, the Mayor of Astoria, Oregon,  Willis Van Dusen, officially declared that June 7th was “Goonies Day”.

Goonies Cast & Crew Trivia

Here are some fun Goonies facts about the cast and crew.

6. Who is the Goonies weird guy? – Who is the actor who starred in the movie The Goonies that played the “weird guy”? The character Sloth was played by former NFL player turned actor John Matuszak. Matuszak was known for playing football players or gentle giants, and acted in several notable TV and movie productions including, Superboy, Perfect Strangers, Miami Vice, The A-Team, Ice Pirates, and One Crazy Summer, among others. Unfortunately he died suddenly from an accidental overdose of his prescription medication in 1989.
7. What was Sloth’s disability in Goonies? – How did Sloth get deformed? Sloth’s disability in the movie “The Goonies” is not explicitly stated, but he has physical abnormalities such as a misshapen head and a drooping left eye. He is also portrayed as having intellectual disabilities and difficulty communicating, but he demonstrates great strength and courage throughout the film. The only explanation in the film to explain his condition is that Mama Fratelli dropped him on his head multiple times when he was a baby, potentially causing infant brain injury. His poor treatment by his family also likely resulted in emotional trauma.
8. Was The Goonies the first movie to feature a character with a disability? – The first movie to feature a character with a disability is a matter of some debate, as early films often depicted disability in a negative or stereotypical manner. However, one early example of a film that portrayed a character with a disability in a positive light is the 1919 silent film, “The Miracle Man.” Produced 65 years later, The Goonies also features Sloth as a positive figure in the film. It’s Sloth heroics in the movie that help The Goonies escape The Fratellis.
9. Who was Mikey in The Goonies? – The role of Mikey, the leader of the Goonies, was played by actor Sean Astin, who was only 13 years old at the time. Astin later went on to star in other popular movies, including the “Lord of the Rings” trilogy.

10. Who played Mama Fratelli in Goonies? – Actress Anne Ramsey played Mama Fratelli in The Goonies (1985). Besides The Goonies, Ramsey is most remembered for her role as Mrs. Lift in Throw Momma from the Train (1987), which earned her nominations for an Academy Award and a Golden Globe Award. Ramsey died a year later from cancer in 1988.
11. Was The Goonies Wes Takahashi’s first major motion picture? – Yes, Wes Takahashi‘s first major motion picture credit was The Goonies where he was the animation supervisor for George Lucas‘ special effects company, Industrial Light & Magic. After The Goonies, Takahashi went on to work on a series of blockbusters including the Back To The Future films, The Abyss, The Mask, Hook, and Top Gun.
12. What happened to Chunk? – After the film, most of the Goonies cast went on to bigger roles in Hollywood, except for Jeff Cohen who played Chunk. The subject of fat jokes both on and off screen, Cohen left acting, slimmed down, and became a successful entertainment lawyer.
13. Was Chunk sick during The Goonies? – Yes. Actor Jeff Cohen (Chunk), had the chicken pox at the beginning of the movie. But he showed up to the set anyway, worried that producers would replace him. If you look closely at his stomach during the “Truffle Shuffle” scene, you can see red bumps from his chicken pox.
14. Did Corey Haim audition for The Goonies? – Corey Haim also auditioned for the role of Mouth in The Goonies, but lost it to Corey Feldman. At the time, the two actors didn’t know each other, but they would get cast together in The Lost Boys (1987) a couple years later. Then in 1988, Feldman would lose the lead role to Haim in the film License To Drive (1988). Feldman and Haim developed a close friendship and would star in six films together.
15. Who wrote the Goonies script? – The film’s screenplay was written by Chris Columbus, who went on to direct other popular movies such as Home Alone (1990), Mrs. Doubtfire (1993), and the first two Harry Potter films, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone (2001) and Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (2002).
16. Who was the producer for The Goonies? – The movie was produced by Steven Spielberg, who is known for his work on numerous blockbuster films including E.T., the Indiana Jones films, and Minority Report.
17. Who directed The Goonies? – The Goonies was directed by Richard Donner, the same director as Superman (1978), The Omen (1976),and Lethal Weapon (1987).

Goonies Trivia About The Film’s Production

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This section contains some fun Goonies trivia items about the film’s production.

18. When was Goonies made? – What year was the goonies made? The movie was filmed between 1984 and 1985. The film was mostly shot in sequence.
19. When did the Goonies come out? – The film was released on June 7, 1985.
20. How long did it take to make The Goonies? – Total production took about five months. Most of the movie was shot in only 84 days, but total production spanned 152 days between 22 October 1984 – 21 March 1985. The rest of the time was used for editing and post production.
21. Was The Goonies successful at the box office? – Yes, the movie was a huge success. It was the 9th highest-grossing film of 1985.
22. What is The Goonies rated? – The film is rated PG, but remember, a 1980s PG rating is closer to a PG-13 rating by today’s standards. Clearly intended for a younger audience, the film contains a significant amount of profanity (19 total mentions), as well some sexual, weight, disability, and racially insensitive jokes.
23. What was the first movie to feature a music video? – The Goonies was the first movie ever to feature a music video within the film. In the beginning of the movie, a TV at Mikey’s house is playing Cyndi Lauper‘s music video for the song “Good Enough” from The Goonies soundtrack.

24. Is There A Goonies 2? – There has been talk of creating a Goonies 2 movie for years. Several members of the cast have expressed interest and Chris Columbus has reportedly been working on a script for a Goonies sequel. Unfortunately, director Richard Donner as well as multiple actors from the original cast have died over the years, including Anne Ramsey, John Matuszak, Keith Walker, Lupe Ontiveros, and Mary Ellen Trainor. Also, several main cast members from The Goonies, including Kerri Green (Andy) and Jeff Cohen (Chunk), are no longer active actors. Hopefully a Goonies II movie will happen but at this point, it’s still not a sure thing. However, it does have an IMDB page.

Goonies Script & Plot Trivia

25. What happened to the Goonies octopus scene? – In the final scene of the movie, the Goonies are talking to reporters on the beach. One of their responses mentions “fighting a giant octopus”. Although a fight scene with a giant octopus was filmed as part of the movie, the Goonies octopus scene was ultimately cut from the final film. In the cut footage, Data defeats the octopus by shoving a portable cassette player into its mouth. Why was the octopus scene cut from The Goonies? Quality and pacing. The octopus prop doesn’t look realistic and only delays the Goonies’ arrival to One-Eyed Willy’s pirate ship.
26. What happened to the Goonies zoo scene? – Another scene that was cut from the final version of The Goonies was a zoo escape. In the scene when The Goonies start banging on the underground water pipes, they cause a lot of chaos at Troy’s dad’s Country Club. But in a cut part of that scene, the malfunctioning water pipes also accidentally help multiple animals escape the local zoo. Some of those animals include two gorillas who steal Troy Perkin’s car.
27. What are the Goonies collecting? – In the film, The Goonies are trying to save their town. The owner of the Astoria Country Club is buying all of the surrounding homes to tear them down and expand his club. In a desperate last attempt to save the town, The Goonies embark on a dangerous quest to find the long lost treasure of One-Eyed Willy rumored to be hidden somewhere near their town.
28. Was the Chunk confession in Goonies based on a real story? – According to Jeff Cohen‘s DVD commentary, the Goonies Chunk confession scene (52:00), where he pukes over a theater balcony onto the audience below, is not based on anything from his life. It was actually based on a real-life childhood prank pulled by Executive Producer Steven Spielberg. However, Cohen does use both the real names of his sister Edie and his uncle Max in his confession.
29. What does Fratelli mean? – In The Goonies, the bad guys are the Fratelli brothers. In Italian, the word “Fratelli” means brothers.
30. Are The Fratellis based on a real family? – The Fratelli family was based on the real-life gangsters, the “Barrow Gang”.
31. What are the Gremlins Easter Eggs in Goonies? – The Goonies (1985) wasn’t the first time that both Steven Spielberg and Chris Columbus worked together. Immediately prior to The Goonies, they made(Amazon link) Gremlins (1984), and decided to add a couple Gremlins Easter eggs to the film. When Chunk calls the Police to report the Fratellis (~1h 12 mins), the officer wants to know if it’s another prank like the time he called to report “creatures that multiply when you throw water on them.” The other Gremlins Easter egg in The Goonies is the Gremlins action figures in Mikey’s room.
32. Were the pirate skeletons real? – Yes! All the pirate skeletons in the movie are real. The only fake skeleton in the movie is Chester Copperpot. His skeleton is plastic because of how it was handled in the film and located on the ground.
33. What’s The Goonies alternative ending? – In the film, the story ends on the beach after their housekeeper Rosalita finds the marble bag full of gems. This gives the Walsh family enough money to prevent their neighborhood from being demolished for the country club. Mr. Walsh then tears up the foreclosure papers and One-Eyed WIlly’s pirate ship sails off into the distance. However, this isn’t the ending that was written in the script. In the original ending, the Goonies go home after being rescued on the beach and start packing up their house to move to another city. But while they are packing, Rosalita finds the marble bag full of gems. The last minute change in the script simplified the ending by keeping it at the beach and created an opportunity for The Inferno to sail off into the distance. A much better ending! You can watch the alternative ending to The Goonies here.

Goonies Movie Locations

34. Where was the movie The Goonies filmed? – Most of the movie’s exterior scenes were filmed in and around Astoria, Oregon. The underground scenes were all filmed at Stage 15, Stage 16, and Stage 19 at Warner Brothers Burbank Studios. This included the wishing well, hole with spikes, kissing tunnel, skull tunnel, mast bridge, skeleton organ chamber, water slide, and pirate ship grotto.
35. Where is the old restaurant in Goonies? – The rundown restaurant that the Fratellis use as a hideout is called the Lighthouse Lounge. Located in Ecola State Park in Cannon Beach, Oregon, the building was created just for the film. It took three weeks to build and was torn down after production. If you look carefully, you might be able to see the picnic tables that the set designers had to disguise during filming.
36. What is the Goonies waterslide location? – Unfortunately, you will never be able to experience the thrill of riding the Goonies waterslide (which reminds us of the wild rides at Action Park). The slide was constructed inside Stage 15 at Warner Brothers Burbank Studios and dismantled after filming was completed.
37. Was pirate activity common in the Pacific Northwest? – No, not at all. Pirates are opportunists and stayed near popular shipping routes. With multiple islands and ports in the Caribbean, this was an ideal location for pirates between the 1600-1800s. The 1693 shipwreck of the Santo Cristo de Burgos that inspired the Goonies was a fluke. The ship had drifted thousands of miles off course before sinking off the coast of Oregon. At the time, no European settlers were in the area.

Where is the Lighthouse Lounge in the Goonies? #TheGoonies #GooniesTrivia #MovieTrivia Share on X

Goonies Movie Props & Easter Eggs

38. What happened to the Goonies pirate ship? – The Goonies pirate ship, the Inferno, was a real ship built just for the film by J. Michael Riva’s production team. The Inferno was was 105 feet long and took 2-1/2 months to build. Sadly, most of the ship was destroyed after the movie. Only the ship’s rigging was recycled for Disneyland’s “Pirates of the Caribbean” ship.
39. How big was the underground lagoon? – The lagoon from Goonies was huge! 900,000 gallons of water was used during the production of the film.
40. Was One-Eyed Willy’s skull real? – Although the skull used for One-Eyed Willy was made from real bone, One-Eyed Willy is a factional character. One-Eyed Willy’s body skeleton was from the body of a man named Raul Woo, who died from lead poisoning.
41. Where is One-Eyed Willy’s skull? – After the movie, director Richard Donner kept both One-Eyed Willie’s skull and a production model for the Goonies pirate ship, the Inferno.
42. Were the Goonies bats real? – At about 59 minutes into the film, a colony of bats flies through the caves and freaks out the Goonies. The bats were fake. They were props made from(Amazon link) black crepe paper ($1 via Amazon) that were shot out of an air cannon.

43. What happened to the Goonies treasure map? – After the movie, actor Sean Astin, (Mikey) was allowed to keep One-Eyed Willy’s treasure map. But several years later, when his mother was cleaning their house, she thought the map was just an old piece of paper, and threw it away.
44. Does the Goonies treasure map have real blood on it? – Yes. Before shooting began, production designer J. Michael Riva still didn’t think the map looked real enough. While in his hotel room, he tried aging the map with coffee. When that didn’t work, he used his own blood.
45. What’s the Rube Goldberg machine in Goonies? – In one of the first scenes of film, Chunk has to do the Truffle Shuffle before his friends open the yard gate (at around 7 mins). Painted on a beam under the chicken coop is the phrase “Rube G” which is a reference to Rube Goldberg, the award-winning cartoonist known for drawing whimsical machines.
46. Why was Sloth wearing an Oakland Raiders t-shirt? – In the movie, actor and former NFL player, John Matuszak, who played the role of Sloth, wore an(Amazon link) Oakland Raiders t-shirt. The Oakland Raiders was his former team.
47. Who was laughing during the Chunk ice cream scene? – At around the 1 hour mark in the film, Jake Fratelli takes away a container of ice cream and a plastic spoon from Chunk. Chunk then starts to cry. At that point, if you listen carefully, you can hear someone laughing in the background. That laughter is from director, Richard Donner. His unintentional laughter was left in the film because it was the best take.
48. Did the real families of The Goonies actors have cameos in the movie? – In the final scene of the movie, the Goonies’ wild adventure comes to a heartwarming conclusion as they reunite with their families on the beach. But the parents on the beach aren’t all actors. The producers had the young actors’ real parents and siblings join them on screen. The next time you watch the movie, look for Jeff Cohen’s character “Chunk” get a big hug and a pizza from his real-life mom, dad, and sister.
49. What date did The Goonies take place? – There are a few time related clues in the film that help identify the exact date. In the beginning of the movie, Mouth mentions that it’s a Saturday (06:43). At Mikey’s house, the date of the wall calendar is October 1985 (09:50). The front page of the newspaper is dated October 24, 1985, which was a Thursday (43:00). This means that the Goonies’ adventure takes place on Saturday, October 26, 1985. That just happens to be the same exact date that Marty Mcfly goes back in time in another Steven Spielberg movie, Back to the Future (1985).

50. Was there an Indiana Jones prop in The Goonies? – The hat that Jake Fratelli wears during the movie was a prop from Indiana Jones and The Raiders Of The Lost Ark. Steven Spielberg borrowed the hat from Harrison Ford‘s wardrobe and brought it to the Goonies’ set.

Fun Goonies Facts & Goonies Trivia

Even if you’re a huge Goonies fan and have watched the movie a million times already, hopefully you learned a few new Goonies facts from this article. Do you have any cool Goonies trivia that we missed? Please let us know in the comments.

Fun Goonies Facts That You (Probably) Didn't Know About The Classic 1985 Film ... #GooniesNeverSayDie #TheGoonies #Goonies #AstoriaOregon #StevenSpielberg #GooniesTrivia #MovieTrivia Share on X