The sentiment that The Goonies should be left alone is a popular one, especially now that the director, Richard Donner, has passed away. But the realization that there was a musical that was being worked on by Donner and his wife, as well as Tim Long, might interest some fans, but make others cringe. This appears to have become a type of trend, to mention or perhaps even make a favorite movie into a musical, as Back to the Future went this route, but wasn’t even considered for another movie. On one hand, making another movie would be pretty tough since trying to get the group together again didn’t appear to be the problem. Instead, it was trying to find a story that would work, which is hard to believe since there are a number of ways to bring this story back and still manage to entice the fans into watching once again. But a musical performance feels like a cringe-worthy effort that a lot of fans might have seen out of curiosity but still wouldn’t feel the same since if anyone is really paying attention, this is one of the movies that many people love just the way it is since it’s a part of our childhood.
Some would say that’s sentimental nonsense, but the truth is that a musical might not have diminished the joy that people feel when it comes to the movie, but would have at least been less of a worthwhile project than some might think. The fact is that people associate The Goonies with the actors that took on the classic roles and trying to simply plug anyone else into those roles would be something that might in such a great way. Seriously, trying to replace the Fratelli’s with anyone else would be kind of insulting, not to mention the kids since these roles were iconic enough that it’s a bit of a surprise why Donner would think it was such a great idea. To be fair, the musical bug appears to be hitting everyone pretty hard since Vin Diesel even wants to see what might happen when trying out a Fast and Furious musical, which really sounds like it would be cringe-worthy no matter how much of a male soap opera the movies have become.
For one reason or another, musicals are somehow becoming a trend, and one can only hope that it won’t become the trendy thing to do, since even thinking about superhero musicals at this point is just, well, cringe-worthy. Plenty of people enjoy musicals since some of them are very well done and the stories can be every bit as enticing as a movie seen on the big screen. But adapting something like The Goonies feels like it’s not bound to be the best idea no matter if it does happen and is able to attract a crowd. That’s the thing really, the fact that the idea isn’t DOA at the moment, and that it might still be adapted. One way to say it is that if the story had started on the stage and been allowed to transition to the big screen it might have been a more impressive attempt. But while it’s not exactly a downgrade, taking The Goonies from the movies to the stage still feels like it’s bound to be far less effective in terms of entertainment.
I could be wrong, but in this case, it doesn’t feel like it, since plenty of people have already expressed their distaste for the idea even though there are some that would like to see it. The stage play would need to be something uniquely impressive though if it was to be seen as anything but a poor imitation since the need to replace the actors and the possibility that some scenes just wouldn’t be possible, or would be altered beyond belief, already make this idea feel like something that’s best left alone at this time. It’s not a lack of faith in the storytelling, it’s a lack of desire to see anything that’s not a direct sequel to the original movie. Even a reboot doesn’t sound like a good idea, since the original is still just as loved as it’s been for decades.
When it comes to fan favorites such as The Goonies it’s fair to say that leaving them as they are is often the best option, but it’s not always the one that people go with for whatever reason since many people think that they can find a way to improve upon it or at least show a different version of it that people might like. The words ‘leave it alone’ take on less force when someone is convinced that they can do better, when in fact there are many people trying to convince them that it’s not necessary.
