The Goonies Analysis

Genre/Synopsis

The Goonies is essentially an adventure film, but has aspects of comedy, which specifically appeals to the young audience. It follows a group of young children and the teenagers who set up a gang called 'The Goonies'. The film keeps to a traditional stereotype of an adventure film, it features the discovery of a map which they stumbled across by playing around in the attic. This then leads them on a quest to find the 'Rich Stuff', as it is commonly referred to throughout the film. There is then the task of trying to overpower the obstacles that they face particularly 'The Fratellis' who kidnap Chunk but in the end he escapes from their clutches and gets revenge on them.


Characterisation

Michael 'Mikey' - Mikey is very much the life of the treasure hunt and is the member of the gang which appears to be most enthusiastic about finding the treasure, and also to prove to the rest of the gang that he is correct about his theory that One-Eyed Willy does exist. Mikey ultimately takes the role of being the leader, which is supported by the fact that if a danger is encountered or another clue has been found, he is the person that the gang go to for help.

Clark 'Mouth' - Clark is obnixious, loves to talk and could be conceived as a bit of a trickster. Although the rest of the gang see him as an annoyance, he has several talents which include the fact he is fluent in Spanish. His actions and words usually end up getting the goonies into trouble, which is the reasoning behind his nickname 'Mouth'.

Richard 'Data' - Richard is seen as 'The man with the gadgets' to both the audience and the rest of the Goonies themselves. He is also the most intelligent Goonie and it appears that he aspires to be like a James Bond type character. His gadgets seem useless and gimmicky at the beginning of the film, but they actually end up saving the gang from the Fratellis in the end.

Lawrence 'Chunk' - Chunk is a loud, clumsy and food-loving Goonie and is most likely considered as a burden to the rest of the gang. At the end of the film, he proves otherwise as his befriending of Sloth actually contributes to the saviour of the gang from the Fratellis.

Brandon - Brandon is an older member of the gang and is also the brother of Mikey. His character is portayed as a sterotypical teenage boy which is supported by the fact that he is very self-obsessed and concsious e.g. In the beginning of the film he was using weights. He does not like the fact that his younger brother has taken the role of the leader and at first he seems un-interested and not as motivated as the rest of the gang to find the treasure, but he slowly becomes more interested in it throughout the film.

Andy - Andy is also one of the older members of the gang but shows reluctancy to be classed as a 'Goonie' at the beginning of the film due to her previous popularity at high school. At first, Andy is wary of the journey of finding the treasure she is about to embark on, but she soon jumps into the spirit of the adventure like the rest of the gang.

Stef - Steff is percieved as a bit of a smart mouth during the film and often competes for the role of the smartest with 'Mouth'. At the end of the film she shows the Goonies and the audience that she has a compassionate side.


Opening Sequence
In the opening sequence, we discover that the film was set in an American Suburb. It is soon brought to the attention of the viewer that there are some bad guys present in the movie named 'The Fratellis'. This is made clear by the fact that there is a police chase sequence at the very beginning involving The Fratellis. The reasoning behind this is so that after watching, the viewer then becomes curious of what is going to happen in the rest of the film and they continue watching. After this sequence, each individual character has a short clip of them in order to establish what type of character they actually are, e.g. When he watches the police chase holding both a burger and some milkshake. The music during this sequence indicates that the film is set in the eighties, as well as the hairstyes,  clothes worn and type of cars that are present.



The Technical Features

Editing - Continuity editing is used for the most part of the film, which is clear because the film moves in a chronological order. Short cuts are used very frequently throughout the film, giving a fast-paced and action packed feel to the film as a whole.

Sound - There are lots of different sound effects present in the film, e.g. explosion sound effects and wood creaks etc. Suspense music is used fairly frequently throughout the film, to build up suspense and keep the viewer engaged. When the suspense breaks through, upbeat music is played to evoke the feeling of adventure and also to give a fast-paced theme.

Camerawork - There is varied use of camera work during the film, this includes long shots (for showing the viewer what is going on in detail, e.g. action sequences), Mid shorts (for one-to-one conversations) and Close-ups (to help express the characters emotion, feeling and reactions towards different events).

Mise En Scene - The set used for the film related to the genre, this is because underground caves and pirate ships are used which give a sense of mystery and adventure. The clothes/outfits that are worn by each of the characters help to display their personalities to the audience, e.g. at the beginning of the film Brandon is wearing a vest which shows he likes to show off his physique as a result of him being self-obsessed. Brandon also wears sporty clothing alot which displays his personality (love for sport) to the audience.