Top 6 Fun Movies Like The Goonies
Adventure movies are an excellent way to relax and let off some steam. In this article, we shine our spotlight on some of the most interesting movies like The Goonies.
These types of movies tend to make us want to be kids again. Adventure movies such as The Goonies ignite the fire of exploration and adventure in our minds as kids.
As we age, we gradually lose our sense of adventure and settle for the mundane. These adventurous movies bring a form of nostalgia and rekindle our sense of adventure. There are other movies like the Goonies, full of adventure and fun.
What Movie is The Goonies?
The Goonies was released in 1985 with mainly positive reviews. The Goonies plot focuses on a group of kids who live in Oregon in a neighbourhood known as Astoria.
In a bid to save their home from foreclosure, they stumble on a secret treasure map and embark on an adventure to possibly discover this hidden treasure.
The movie was directed by Richard Donner and the story by the legendary Stephen Spielberg. It starred Sean Astin, Josh Brolin, Jeff Cohen, Corey Feldman, Kerri Green, Martha Plimpton, and others.
At the box office, it grossed over $125 million after an initial production budget of $19 million.
If you enjoyed the Goonies and are wondering if there are more movies like the Goonies, don’t worry, there are more.
Best Movies Like the Goonies
1. Zathura: A Space Adventure
Zathura is similar to the Goonies in several ways, such as his love for adventure, family, et cetera. Zathura was released in 2005 with mostly positive reviews from critics and audiences alike.
The movie’s plot centers around two brothers who discover a board game that takes them together with the sister and an astronaut to a different dimension in outer space, where they try to survive to get back home.
It was directed by Jon Favreau and starred several accomplished actors such as Josh Hutcherson, Jonah Bobo, Dax Shepard, Kristen Stewart, Tim Robbins, and others.
Despite the positive reviews, the movie performed below expectations at the box office, netting only $65.1 million against a production budget of $65 million.
The abysmal performance at the box office does not take away anything from how enjoyable the movie is and how it deserves to be on this list of movies like the Goonies.
2. Jumanji
Where is your sense of adventure? If you are wondering the reason for this question, think no further.
This movie will fire up your sense of adventure as it’s got loads of adventure, thrills, danger, and unlimited fun, making it one of the movies like the Goonies, which also share similar qualities.
The first movie on this list (Zathura) was derived from Jumanji. The plot revolves around another board game but doesn’t trap the players in space; instead, it takes them into the jungle.
Alan was first trapped in 1969 while playing with a friend named Sara. In 1996, almost 26 years later, siblings Judy and Peter Shepherd, while ignorant of the board’s supernatural powers, start playing the game and releasing Alan, who is now an adult.
To release Sarah, they all go into the other dimension to finish the game and try to undo all that the game has caused.
It was released in 1995 to mainly mixed to moderate reviews. Unlike Zanthura, this was a smashing success at the box office, netting over $260 million against a production budget of $65 million. Joe Johnston directed it.
3. Romancing the Stone
This movie though slightly different, deserves to be on this list of movies like the Goonies. It shares the same theme with the other film in this article: the sense of adventure.
The plot revolves around a single novelist who loses her brother-in-law and gets a frantic message from her sister claiming she’s been kidnapped and what was required for her ransom was a map that contains the location of a secret treasure.
The movie details her adventures through the jungles of Columbia, crocodile pits, et cetera.
It is a story of romance and adventure, which is similar to the Goonies. It stars Michael Douglas, Kathleen Turner, Danny DeVito, Zack Norman, Alfonso Arau, and others.
It was released in 1984 to positive reviews and performed relatively well at the box office, garnering over $115 million against a production budget of $10 million.
4. Hook
The list of movies like the Goonies would be incomplete without the Hook. Peter Pan is an all-time favorite of so many people.
The plot focuses on an adult Peter Pan, unassuming and uninspired. Long gone were his glory days, and he seemed to have forgotten them until his kids were kidnapped by his arch-enemy, Captain Hook, and he was forced to visit his past and rescue his children.
It was released in 1991 to mixed reviews and was directed by Steven Spielberg. It starred an impressive list of accomplished actors such as Robin Williams, Dustin Hoffman, Julia Roberts, Bob Hoskins, Maggie Smith, Charlie Korsmo, and others.
It was also nominated in 5 categories at the Academy Awards, winning none. With a production budget of $70 million, it grossed over $300 million.
5. Finding Ohana
Unlike the other movies on this list of movies, like The Goonies, Finding Ohana is pretty much recent.
The plot focuses on 12-year-old Pili, who is taken away from her home in New York to a rural village known as Oahu to help take care of her grandfather, whose health is failing.
She discovers a journal that points to a hidden treasure on the island. Together with her older brother and some other friends, they embark on an adventure. The film was directed by Jude Weng and released on Netflix in 2021.
It stars Kea Perahu, Alex Aiono, Lindsay Watson, Owen Vaccaro, Kelly Hu, Branscombe Richmond, Chris Parnell, Marc Evan Jackson, Ricky Garcia, etc.
The adventure embarked upon by Pili is reminiscent of the adventure undertaken in The Goonies.
6. Scooby-Doo: The Movie
Scooby-Doo movies are the quintessential adventure movies. They are in more ways than one, like The Goonies, only bigger.
It deserves a place on our exclusive list of movies like the Goonies. The plot focuses on four young individuals and a talking dog who decide to come back together after a 2-year separation to solve the mystery at a tropical island resort.
The film was released in 2002 with mostly negative reviews from critics. Despite the negative reviews, the movie went ahead to be a smashing hit at the box office, netting over $275 million after a production budget of $84 million.
It was directed by Raja Gosnell and starred Freddie Prinze Jr, Sarah Michelle Gellar, Mathew Lillard, Linda Cardellini, Rowan Atkinson, and others.
In this article, lovers of adventure movies like The Goonies and several others would equally find Scooby-Doo enjoyable.
It has the same capabilities as several others in this article to ignite the spirit of adventure in its viewers.
Conclusion
Some movies are tragic, and some have happy endings, some are romantic, et cetera. This article, however, shines the spotlight on film with a great sense of adventure.
Movies like The Goonies such as Scooby-Doo, Jumanji, Hook, Finding Ohana, et cetera have several things in common, with the most prominent among them being a great sense of adventure.
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