Hey you guys! It’s the 40th anniversary of the beloved classic movie “The Goonies.”
Released in 1985, the action-adventure follows a ragtag band of kids on their quest to find a pirate’s treasure while being chased by a trio of bumbling criminals hoping to beat them to it. Think Indiana Jones meets “The Sandlot,” with a sprinkle of “Pirates of the Caribbean” thrown in for good measure.
If it sounds Steven Spielberg-esque, it is. The Oscar-winning director conceived the story, Chris Columbus penned the screenplay and Richard Donner directed the film, which not only has become a cult classic, but was also inducted into the National Film Registry’s 2017 class of films for its cultural impact and significance.
While “The Goonies” is mainly remembered for its swashbuckling adventure, at its heart, it’s a story about true friendship: both on screen and off.
One that was still very much on display as original cast members Sean Astin, Corey Feldman, Martha Plimpton, Kerri Green, Robert Davi and Joe Pantoliano reunited to talk to TODAY’s Joe Fryer about their experience filming the iconic movie, the possibility of a sequel, as well as the close bond the actors formed back in the ‘80s.
“It’s like when you go through an extreme trauma,” joked Plimpton of their longtime relationships. “You somehow managed to survive and come out the other side. You’re sort of inextricably linked to them forever and ever and ever, no matter what you do. For better or for worse,” she laughed.
“We really were like a family,” said Green. “A big dysfunctional, but loving, family. It was such an important time for all of us, it was such an important period of the age that we were at. We really grew up together.”
Astin agreed, saying that during his last visit with Donner, who died in 2021 at the age of 91, the director shared with him that the reason he believed “The Goonies” was so successful was that the cast was “real.”
“Even though it’s this pirate fantasy, it’s real people who were really those characters, the characters become linked in the show,” said Astin.
“And we did in life,” he concluded.
More than 40 years later, they’re still tight. Like siblings returning for a family reunion, there’s good-natured ribbing, catching up on life and they’re happy to share their memories and thoughts about the enduring movie.
Oscar winner Ke Huy Quan, who played Data in the movie, wasn’t present; nor was Josh Brolin, who played Mikey’s older brother, Brand; or Jeff Cohen, who portrayed Chunk. Other memorable “Goonies” characters Anne Ramsey (Mama Fratelli) and John Matuszak (Sloth) passed away in 1988 and 1989, respectively.
Curious to know what might have happened to the beloved “Goonies” characters after the credits rolled, TODAY.com joined Fryer in speaking with Astin, Davi, Feldman, Green, Pantoliano, and Plimpton, and asked them what they think their counterparts, Mikey, Jake, Mouth, Andy, Francis and Stef, would be doing today.
Here’s what they revealed.
Sean Astin: Mikey
In the film, Astin’s character, Mikey, leads the Goonies on a wild adventure in search of One-Eyed Willy’s hidden treasure.
Where does Astin think Mikey would be today?
“(There’s) no question what Mikey would be doing,” Astin says. “He’d be curating a museum that would take you on tours down through the caves and to the cave room, because the ship sailed away, but he would be following in his father’s footsteps and curating a museum.”
Kerri Green: Andy
Green plays Andy, the high school cheerleader-turned-action heroine, who falls head over heels for Brand. The pair develop a sweet teen romance, sharing a series of smooches, with the exception of one mistaken kiss (“Brand, what happened to your braces?”) with Mikey.
What does Green think Andy would be up to now?
“All I can picture is that Andy would probably still be in that tennis dress but drinking martinis,” Green says, inspiring a chorus of laughs from the rest of the cast.
Martha Plimpton: Stef
As Andy’s wisecracking best friend, Stef, Plimpton is the Goonies’ voice of reason and often the mom figure of the motley crew.
“I feel like I’m babysitting, except I’m not getting paid,” remains her enduring quote.
Where would Stef be now?
“She and her wife would have a really nice … fishing boat. They’d have their own deep-sea fishing tourism maybe,” says Plimpton.
“That would be their weekend thing,” she explains. “The rest of the time, they’d have their nice, big fishing boat — but very sustainable, eco-friendly — and they’d have their own seafood shop or something. And she and her wife would probably have adopted a few kids.”
Corey Feldman: Mouth
Of the “Goonies” bunch, it is Feldman’s character, Mouth, who leads the gang into one mishap after another, all while dropping sarcastic one-liners (not to mention a few “s—” bombs) and creating hilarious mayhem from start to finish.
Forty years later, would Mouth still be goading Chunk into doing the “Truffle Shuffle”?
“I’d be running for governor,” says Feldman, “in the state of Oregon.”
“And shilling bitcoin,” Plimpton volunteers.
“We’d be hosting fundraisers for him at the museum,” adds Astin.
Robert Davi: Jake
After making his escape from prison, the opera-singing Jake Fratelli joins his brother and mother in scheming to pinch One-Eyed Willy’s treasure, all while torturing his captive brother, Sloth.
It’s not surprising that Davi, a real-life jazz crooner, thinks that Jake would have established himself as a singer.
“Jake would put an act together of standards, and Francis would be managing him — and stealing from him,” Davi surmises.
“But Jake is so happy singing, that we’re going from club to club, and that’s what Jake would be doing,” he continues.
“And we have the map that Mama left in her shoe, in her coffin,” Davi adds.
“You cannot leave this question open-ended,” interrupts Feldman, laughing.
“Let me finish my moment!” Davi laughs back before elaborating. “Mama told Jake that the map is in the shoe, and we looked in her shoes, we didn’t find it. So, we have to exhume her body,” says Davi.
With the rest of the cast utterly in stitches, Davi concludes, “I’d be looking for the treasure while I’m singing, and (Francis is) ripping me off. … That’s what happens.”
“What treasure? What treasure?” Feldman asks. “The treasure was found … 40 years ago!”
Joe Pantoliano: Francis
Pantoliano portrays the black sheep of the Fratelli crime family and says that Francis would have gone on to become an entrepreneur.
“I would be running the chain of Fratelli family restaurants,” says Pantoliano of Francis’ epilogue.
“And I would be singing at the restaurants as he’s ripping me off,” interrupts Davi.
“And I’d be supplying the restaurants with seafood,” finishes Plimpton.
With the gang still together more than four decades after their pirating adventure (theoretically, anyway), it’s obvious that much like the mantra, Goonies really do never say die.
