The Goonies Analysis

"The Goonies" is a film from 1985 starring young Sean Astin. Sean Astin plays the character Mikey Walsh, a young boy who decides to solve his parent's financial crisis by hunting for pirate gold. He and his friends find an ancient treasure map in his attic and follow the clues that sends them down a path of excitement and danger. While searching for the gold, they attract the attention of the Fratelli family, a family of thieves and murderers. A few things come together to create this great movie. A great soundtrack, the lighting of the set, and the off-the-wall characters all create this cult classic.

The soundtrack of "The Goonies" makes this movie seem somewhat magical. The music is very slow and eerie thus adding to the haunting effects. Many string instruments are used in the musical score; the string instrument family is very haunting when played slowly. Whenever the kids are underground, the creepy score makes the viewer feel slightly creeped out.

The lighting in this film is very minimal thus adding to the haunting feeling of the movie. For a large majority of the film, the characters are in dark underground tunnels; during most of the rest of the film, the sky is very cloudy thus minimalizing the amount of light in these shots. The lack of light creates a somewhat solemn mood that is reflective of the sadness of the Walsh family. This lighting creates both haunting and solemn feelings within the viewer.

This film has many zany characters. There is an italian family of killers, a kid with a jacket full of gadgets, a super strong man known as "Sloth", and a few other off-the-wall characters. These bizarre characters surely help make "The Goonies" a cult classic. The crazy character personas bounce off of each other to drive the plot in a kooky way.

"The Goonies" is a great film that has a plot that keeps the viewer engaged from beginning to end. The musical score makes the film seem eerie and magical. The low lighting of the film adds more creepiness to the film, and the bizarre characters bounce off of one another to adds kookiness to the film. All of these effects come together to create a purely spellbounding film.