With The Goonies, director Richard Donner made a movie that stood the test of time. Having said that, directing a gaggle of young kids would wear any adult down. Toward the end of production, Donner took a much-needed break and flew to Hawaii. But producer Steven Spielberg thought it would be hilarious to surprise Donner by flying most of the Goonies kids (and many of the Goonies adults) to him while he was still on his island vacay. Writer Todd Spence uncovered the footage of said prank (via Collider).
Watch Richard Donner and the bewildered look on his face as the Goonies cast gave him the surprise of his life:
The least shocking thing about this video is that Goonies producer Steven Spielberg was the mastermind behind this prank. Donner took the whole thing in stride. He genuinely seemed happy to see his cast again—at least while they were recording him. After all, he’d just spent a whole year with them on set. He probably just wanted to relax by the beach with a cocktail without a kid actor in sight.
The Goonies remains one of the greatest “kids on an adventure” movies ever made, and it helped launch the careers of everyone from Lord of the Rings‘ Sean Astin to Thanos himself, Josh Brolin. It was also a rather huge influence on everything from Stranger Things to the upcoming Star Wars series, Skeleton Crew. Seeing this prank sure made us want to revisit the Goon Docks in Oregon and search for lost pirate treasure. Even if it is for the 100th time.