DVD Review: ‘The Goonies: 25th Anniversary Edition’ Plays to Beloved Movie’s Biggest Fans

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CHICAGO – There is an entire generation out there that LOVES “The Goonies.” It is one of those ’80s films that is spoken about in hushed tones in certain circles as if it is the product of a time when they just made better movies. People adore the Richard Donner film that turned Sloth and Chunk into annual Halloween costumes. A 25th Anniversary Edition Blu-ray and DVD of “The Goonies” has been issued with those diehard fans in mind.

DVD Rating: 4.0/5.0

What happens when a studio desperately wants to repackage a film for the holidays but they’ve run out of on-disc material like featurettes, deleted scenes, or commentary tracks? Physical collectibles! While most technology is getting smaller, Warner Bros. collector’s edition gift sets just keep getting bigger. “The Goonies: 25th Anniversary Edition” is enormous and will take up the space of about four normal DVDs. “The Goonies” fans are unlikely to care about the enormity of the box but it does feel like someone went a bit overboard.

What’s in the big box? Of course, there’s the movie itself, a cherished adventure flick produced by Steven Spielberg and directed by Richard Donner at the height of this kind of action entertainment in the mid-’80s. “The Goonies” is a direct descendant of what Spielberg was trying to do with films like “Raiders of the Lost Ark” and even the “Star Wars” trilogy in the way it tried to bring intense adventure to suburbia. Anyone could be a goonie. Starring Sean Astin, Josh Brolin, Corey Feldman, and Martha Plimpton, “The Goonies” has held up pretty well. It’s not as spectacular as the films that inspired it but it’s still a heck of a lot of fun and I think it transports people back to their childhood through pure entertainment. It takes them back to a more innocent and enjoyable time and there’s something to be said about that magical power of the film.

The Goonies: 25th Anniversary Edition was released on Blu-ray and DVD on November 2nd, 2010
Photo credit: Warner Bros.

The movie itself looks pretty good on DVD (we couldn’t get the Blu-ray version for review but, of course, if that’s an option then it’s the one you should pick up).

It’s accompanied by a commentary track with Donner and seletc cast member, “The Making of The Goonies,” outtakes, and Cyndi Lauper’s “The Goonies ‘R’ Good Enough” music video. The movie will also be available On Demand and download through iTunes, Amazon Video, PSN, and XBLA.

The movie is great and all but this is a release about paper — the kind on which collectibles are printed. Buyers get a new board game, 10 collectible storyboard prints, a 64-page 1985 souvenir magazine, and a reprint of an Empire Magazine “Where Are They Now?” article from 2009. Read your magazines, decorate your room with the storyboard cards, and invite your friends over to play your new “Goonies” board game.

Every holiday season produces a few giant fan-driven gift sets, usually based around the anniversary of major films. With 1985 falling a quarter-century, it only makes sense that movies like “The Goonies” and “Back to the Future” have been given the lavish treatment. Next year around this time, you can expect storyboard cards for “Top Gun” and a “Ferris Bueller’s Day Off” board game. A boy can dream.

By BRIAN TALLERICO Content Director HollywoodChicago.com brian@hollywoodchicago.com