Museum of Durham History

The Museum of Durham History is partnering with the Carolina Theatre’s Retro Film Series to bring our supporters a special double-feature of The Goonies and Groundhog Day. Come enjoy a night of treasure hunting and holiday reporting!

The 2024 Retro Film Series is a part of the programming for the Fall 2023-Spring 2024 exhibit, Stranger Times, an exploration of the contemporary and the nostalgic. For these events, we are excited to partner with the Carolina Theatre to show and promote the films. If you are attending the Retro Film Series events, the Museum will have a marketing booth set up. Stop by to learn all about the new exhibit and its themes. Stay tuned for more installation announcements.

If you’re unfamiliar with the movie, The Goonies follows a ragtag group of kids who are constantly getting into trouble, kind of like the kids on Stranger Things. However, rather than battling the monsters from the Upside Down, the Goonies kids were on a mission to follow One-Eyed Willy’s map to try and find his buried treasure so they could save their town. 

Thus, Bob’s little joke about looking for the treasure was definitely meant to give ’80s kids Goonies flashbacks, and as the show creators, the Duffer Brothers, told BuzzFeed, they regret nothing. “We’re like misbehaving children,” Matt Duffer admitted. “I was like, ‘I know I’m gonna get slapped for that by the critics, but I don’t care, I have to make it.’ It just presented itself, it was too easy.” 

Astin was also totally into the nod as well. “Sean loved it, he was totally game for it,” Duffer continued. “He loves to talk about [Goonies], thankfully. We asked him about it all day, and the kids are big fans so they’d pester him about it all day.” The Duffer Brothers also noted that were a number of visual nods to The Goonies as well. “We’ve got kids going into a cavernous area, there’s plenty of familiar Goonies imagery in there,” Ross Duffer said. 

Thus, Bob’s little joke about looking for the treasure was definitely meant to give ’80s kids Goonies flashbacks, and as the show creators, the Duffer Brothers, told BuzzFeed, they regret nothing. “We’re like misbehaving children,” Matt Duffer admitted. “I was like, ‘I know I’m gonna get slapped for that by the critics, but I don’t care, I have to make it.’ It just presented itself, it was too easy.” 

Astin was also totally into the nod as well. “Sean loved it, he was totally game for it,” Duffer continued. “He loves to talk about [Goonies], thankfully. We asked him about it all day, and the kids are big fans so they’d pester him about it all day.” The Duffer Brothers also noted that were a number of visual nods to The Goonies as well. “We’ve got kids going into a cavernous area, there’s plenty of familiar Goonies imagery in there,” Ross Duffer said. 

This ‘Goonies’ Reference In ‘Stranger Things’ Is The ’80s Nostalgia We All Needed

Jump to the 24:00 minute mark to listen to the Duffer Brothers on their inspiration from The Goonies.