The 80s were a wonderful time for movies. So much so, last year, LEGO® Ideas tasked fan builders with creating a set inspired by the era. Two fan designs were chosen, one inspired by Gremlins and the other by the 1984 classic, The Goonies. The ’80s isn’t the only link between the two films. Both were released by Warner Bros., both were executively produced by Steven Spielberg, and both have already appeared in LEGO form. The Goonies was one of the many franchises to appear in LEGO Dimensions, with Sloth featuring in a Level Pack. Now the beloved character is joined by a few friends in the latest LEGO Ideas set. This features the infamous pirate ship, the Inferno, once sailed by One-Eyes Willy and rumoured to be filled with hordes of treasure. This new set features key moments from the film combined into the shell of a pirate ship. Here’s a closer look at the LEGO Ideas The Goonies set.
Product Details
Set Name: The Goonies | Set Number: 21363 | Pieces: 2912 | Theme: Ideas
Number of Bags: Bags x 21 | Instructions: Paper booklet + Builder App | Stickers: Sheet x 1 | Characters: Mikey Walsh, Data, Mouth, Chunk, Brand, Andy, Stef, Sloth, Mama Fratelli, Jake Fratelli, Francis Fratelli & One-Eyed Willy
RRP: £269.99/299.99€/$329.99/499.99AUD/379.99CAD
Availability: LEGO Stores, LEGO Online & LEGO retailers from November 1st (Insiders), November 4th (General)
Back in March of last year, LEGO Ideas sought fan-created designs inspired by iconic 1980s movies or TV shows. The Goonies was chosen from the first fan vote and was created by fan designer, Delusion Brick. Their original design combined One-Eyed Willie’s pirate ship, the Inferno, with the trap-laden caves leading to it. As you can see from the original design, the final set doesn’t change much. But it is a little more compact and switches the direction in which the side of the ship is pointing. This makes sense, as when we first see the ship, we see the starboard side.
Technically, the Goon Dock caves are not directly linked to the pirate ship, but they are close enough for the set to make sense. After all, a cave system on its own or a pirate ship, also on its own, wouldn’t be as fun as a combination of both. This is a celebration of the film, not a highly detailed diorama. The ship is constructed in four separate sections, making it easier to assemble. Each of these sections includes the outer hull of the ship and various caverns connected to iconic moments from the film. These are then connected with a couple of Technic pins, with some additional pieces added to bridge gaps or fill sections. These pieces are more visual than structural.
The build begins with the bow of the ship, and the interior section includes three rooms. The upper area features a room from the Lighthouse Lounge where the Fratelli’s are hiding out and where they first cross paths with the Goonies. Below is a slightly bigger room packed with nods to the film, including the walk-in freezer full of ice cream, a money printing machine and the room Sloth’s chained up in. Beneath this is the area where the Goonies find a series of leaky pipes. They are all fairly small rooms, but nicely integrated with iconic moments from the film. The outer part of the ship’s bow is largely created with reddish brown elements. At the very front tip of the ship is a figurehead, created with the torso of a minifigure.
Moving to the next section of the ship and you’re greeted with the set’s biggest section. This also includes a great play feature. The cavernous room is guarded by one of the pirates’ many traps. This one includes a pair of spiky boulders suspended by chains. These can be deployed by flipping a lever on the deck of the ship. It’s an extremely satisfying mechanism. The floor of this room includes a skeleton nestled among the rocky outcrops. This is the unfortunate remains of Chester Cobblepot, and his bony remains hold a 1×2 printed tile to represent the key the Goonies need to proceed further into the cave system.
Leading nicely onto the next section of the ship. This features the Moss Garden Wishing Well, which is laden with coins. This part of the set also features another fun play feature. This is a trap door where Data almost drops to his doom, only to be saved by one of his many inventions. The trap door can be opened by rotating a 2×2 plate on the wall, which features two studs. Connecting the key tile from the previous room offers a better means to turn it. It’s another satisfying mechanism, and it’s been neatly incorporated into the build. Just sitting between this room and the end section of the ship is a large skull-like rock. It’s become an iconic piece of scenery often used in marketing for the film. Although it may seem awkwardly placed, it’s actually incorporated well into the rest of the build.
The stern of the ship is split into two sections, both inspired by important moments from the film. The upper room features One-eyed Willy’s captain’s table, where the legendary pirate and some of his crew are found. Although it’s quite a compact area, the layering of elements gives the impression of a treasure-filled room. Beneath the treasure room is one of the set’s most complex areas. With the Fratellis closing in, the Goonies are faced with a musical puzzle and the infamous ‘Bone Organ’. If the notes are played correctly, the path opens, but get the tune wrong and the floor drops away. This has been achieved in an extremely clever way. Pressing down on the organ keys and the section of the floor becomes dislodged. When the floor is removed, the first key on the organ also allows you to drop the rocky door blocking the exit. It’s slightly more awkward than the other mechanism, but it’s still really clever.
The interior of the ship is very much the focus of the set, but as mentioned, the exterior of the ship is still included. To help create the sloping ships of the ship, the exterior is created from large plates which clip onto the core of the set. These give it a great finish despite much of the outer part of the ship being generic brown elements, but it does include a few interesting pieces. Canons can be seen peeking through some of the ship’s portholes, and on the stern of the ship, the slide the Goonies shoot down can be found, along with what may seem like an odd inclusion. An octopus is famously mentioned by Data when the Goonies are being interviewed by a news crew at the end of the film. This is despite there never being a run-in with such a creature. It’s actually inspired by a deleted scene and offers a fun Easter Egg for diehard fans of the film.
The deck is only partly included in the set, but two of its masts are adorned by material sales, and the central mast includes another fun play feature. There is a section slotted over the mast which can be moved up and down to recreate the scene where Sloth and Captain Chunk come to the rescue.
The set includes 12 minifigures, which cover most of the film’s main cast. They are great representations of the characters and even include some new elements. Mama Fratelli’s hat and hair combo is a new element, and was the only way to capture her menacing look. Even though Sloth has previously been featured as a minifigure, his uniquely shaped head now includes a tricorn hat. Brand also includes a new hairpiece; thankfully, they didn’t just reuse Kai’s hair from the NINJAGO sets.
The rest of the cast is nicely done, with Chunk and Data being the highlights of the set. But all of the minifigures have great expressions. Especially the Fratellis, who have just the right balance between menacing and hapless. Most of the minifigures also include various accessories. Miley has a unique printed tile to represent One-Eyed Willy’s treasure map. But it’s Data who has been gifted with the best additions. A neck brace is fitted to sit on the front of the minifigures, and this can be used to connect his punching boxing glove, or chatting teeth grabber. One-eyed Willy is also featured as a minifigure, despite being mostly a skeleton.
The Goonies remains a fun film and a great example of how the 80s gave us some timeless classics and iconic characters. The Goonies’ adventures take place across many different locations, and I think the way this set manages to incorporate many of them into a singular build is pretty impressive. Sure, it’s not exactly accurate to the film, but as already noted, a set just focused on the pirate ship or the caves wouldn’t be as much fun. The various working functions are great fun to play around with. It’s another expensive set, but I certainly think you get your money’s worth. It’s a wonderful celebration of the iconic film. It would have been perfect if it included a display stand for the minifigures. The LEGO Ideas The Goonies set launches on November 1st for Insiders and will also include an exclusive GWP companion set. Look out for my review at that shortly.
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The LEGO Group provided this set to BricksFanz for this review. However, the thoughts expressed in this review are those of BricksFanz and do not reflect those of the LEGO Group. Providing a set for free does not guarantee a favourable opinion of the set.
