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Inside Out: Surprised by Joy (and Sadness)

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Islands of Personality - Inside Out
Let’s go ahead and get this out of the way now: you should run—not walk—to your nearest movie theater and go see Pixar’s latest film, Inside Out. It’s a unique and powerful tale that thrusts emotions and feelings into the spotlight, where they shine (in some cases literally) for the world to see.

The premise for the movie is a fairly simple yet challenging one: What are the voices in a person’s head like?  What do they do?  How do we react as a result?

We get to see the answers to these questions played out in the form of an 11 year-old girl named Riley Anderson. As a baby, the only character that exists in her life is Joy (voice of Amy Poehler), who manages a central control center inside her head. There’s only one button to push on the console, and it’s uniquely satisfying to see Joy push it and see Riley smile and coo. Sadness (voice of Phyllis Smith) soon joins the party (33 seconds later, according to Joy), and when she touches the console, Riley starts crying. Joy’s goal is to create and collect happy memories (denoted as colored spheres) while keeping Sadness from adding any on her part. Sadness wants to be a help, but when she touches a memory, it transforms to her color (blue) and changes to a sad one. Sometimes, there are memories that are so ingrained in Riley’s life that they become Core Memories and are saved in a special vault. These memories eventually form islands (or components) of Riley’s personality—Family, Honesty, Goofiness, Hockey, and Friendship. As a result, the console gets larger and a few more characters join the action—Fear (voice of Bill Hader), Disgust (voice of Mindy Kaling), and Anger (voice of Lewis Black), who has fire shoot out of the top of his head when he’s sufficiently agitated.

Riley's Family - Inside Out
Thankfully, Riley’s memories are joyful ones for the early part of her life. Then something changes—specifically, a move by her family from Minnesota to San Francisco when she’s eleven years old. What was a joyful existence is suddenly rocked to its core with unfulfilled dreams of what the new home will be like and change around every corner.  Riley’s parents want her to stay happy, but she soon finds Dad spending less time with her and a moving company that makes settling in very difficult. School provides a major test for Riley—and the voices–when she’s asked to introduce herself.  Sadness jumps in and messes with the core memories, changing them and bringing the little girl to tears in her class. This sets off a chain reaction where Joy and Sadness get sucked into Long Term Memory (think of the door sequence in Monsters Inc, but on steroids). Disgust, Fear, and Anger attempt to handle the situation in the meantime, with predictable results. They try a last-ditch solution that causes Joy and Sadness to attempt to rush back to headquarters before Riley loses who she is.

There’s a lot more to this (including an appearance by Bing-Bong, a pink elephant representing Riley’s imagination), but it’s impossible to explain in a short review.  Trust me that it all makes sense by the end of the film, which provides a powerful emotional punch that will likely leave you choked up or reaching for some tissues.

Thankfully, there’s also a heaping helping of inventiveness and humor included with Inside Out. Dream Productions and the Land of Imagination are two such examples.  And I hope you like clowns . . .

The voice casting works wonderfully, as does the bluesy music throughout the film. Of course, the graphics are what one has come to expect from Pixar—bright and full of color, yet able to convey dreariness when necessary. But, as is the norm with Pixar, the story drives everything–and Pete Docter and his crew did an excellent job with it. If there’s anything I would’ve loved to see more of, it would’ve been a deeper probe into the parent’s individual voices (though you still get an appropriate taste of their personalities—and a few additional people when the credits roll).  However, Riley is the focus—and that’s a good thing. She’s going to be the center of someone’s Ph.D. dissertation one day.


Joy and Sadness - Inside Out
One part of Inside Out that deserves mentioning is the interplay between Joy and Sadness. The two aren’t enemies, but Joy is the leader of Riley’s voices and does whatever is necessary to keep Sadness out of her life.  Sadness, for her part, mopes around and recalls the sad times. When the two are sucked into Long Term Memory, Riley begins to spiral out of control and darkness begins to take over her life.  As a result of this, Joy has to let go and allow Sadness to play a role in restoring Riley.  This is just like those times in our life that are painful and sad–often, we don’t feel like going any further and would rather quit or stew in misery. But as Joy notes, “There’s always a way to change things around.” When we allow God to heal and change us, He is able to transform a thing of depressing sadness into incredible beauty.  Or, to put it in biblical terms, He will comfort “and turn . . . sorrow into happiness” (Jeremiah 31:13 [CEV]).  In the end, we become better people for the experience.

Inside Out is a film that will simultaneously convict and challenge you to examine the voices in your head.  What will you find inside as a result?

Run All Night: Ghosts Of The Past Vs. A Father’s Love

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Run All NightLiam Neeson has basically reinvented himself as an action superstar. Sure, there’s the in-your-face bombastic Taken and its well-intended (but majorly flawed) sequels, and a few others that have shown he can throw a good, on-screen punch. The truth is though, that Neeson’s actual acting chops show up best when he’s mixing the punches with some self-inspection and heartfelt speeches a la the brooding A Walk Among Tombstones or this week’s Run All Night.

Jimmy “The Gravedigger” Conlon (Neeson) has worked hard in the services of mob boss Shawn Maguire (Ed Harris), the more sophisticated of the two childhood friends. But Conlon has done the dirty work to build Maguire’s empire, and he’s merely the shell of the man he once (ever?) was. He’s a drunk, the court fool in Maguire’s court, and he’s belittled and ignored by Maguire’s son, Danny (Boyd Holbrook), who foolishly brokers a drug deal that his anti-drug father rejects. The foreign drug dealers react, Danny kills them, and Conlon’s limousine-driving son, Mike (Joel Kinnaman), witnesses the killings.

The premise itself isn’t complicated. The estranged father and son are thrown into a tenuous working relationship, aimed at escaping the elder Maguire’s wrath. It’s not exactly prime Father’s Day excitement, but it does have something to say about the love of a father for a son (or a parent for a child).

While Mike Conlon rejects his father’s lifestyle, and carries anger for the absentee way the elder Conlon raised him, he comes to recognize that his father does care about him. Jimmy Conlon wants to protect his son from the lifestyle he led out of necessity (at least in his own mind), and from the ghosts of all of the men that the Gravedigger killed. In the end, the father is willing to sacrifice his own life to keep his son from inheriting the violent winds of the life he lived.

As a father, I often worry about how I’m “messing my kids” up. I can see things about the way I was raised that I want for them, and things I try to avoid doing. But it’s hard, complicated work. We’re supposed to “train a child in the way he should go” but how often do we fail by accident, tiredness, or a moment of nonchalance, do damage to the people we long to hold dear (Proverbs 22:6)? We have to admit that we don’t always get it right; we have to be willing to admit (like Jimmy Conlon) that we’ve gotten it wrong, and ask for forgiveness.

Sometimes, the forgiveness is from God above; sometimes, it’s from another human being. It’s tough when it comes from child to parent, but if we’re going to train our children the right way, we have to be able to show them when we’ve gotten it wrong, too.

7 Films You Should See For Father’s Day

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Not everyone has the family experience they should have … or want. But the truth is, we can learn from the success (and failure) of those who have come before us, even our own parents. This Father’s Day, we hope that you’ll consider the lessons from your own life, and a few from these films, as you figure out how to be child, a parent, and a whole person, growing each day. 

Here are a few of our favorite films about fatherhood. 

Father of the Bride Father of the Bride 

As I grow older (and hopefully wiser), I begin to see more value in this film as a dad raising three daughters. It’s not easy, folks. Take it from George Banks (Steve Martin):

You have a little girl. An adorable little girl who looks up to you and adores you in a way you could never have imagined. I remember how her little hand used to fit inside mine. Then comes the day when she wants to get her ears pierced and wants you to drop her off a block before the movie theater. From that moment on you’re in a constant panic. You worry about her meeting the wrong kind of guy, the kind of guy who only wants one thing, and you know exactly what that one thing is, because it’s the same thing you wanted when you were their age. Then, you stop worrying about her meeting the wrong guy, and you worry about her meeting the right guy. That’s the greatest fear of all, because then you lose her.

Thankfully, I haven’t quite gotten to the ‘drop her off a block before the movie theater’ line. But fathers have a special role in the development of their kids that should not be overlooked. They’re supposed to love, care for, protect, and build up their kids to make right decisions consistently. The Bible makes it clear that dad are not to “embitter your children [i.e. provoke or make resentful], or they will become discouraged” (Colossians 3:21). Father of the Bride showcases a dad letting go and trusting that all the lessons he taught his daughter along the way would help her have a fantastic and fruitful life.  Isn’t that what all fathers secretly want to have happen? — J. Alan Sharrer

 

fieldofdreamsField of Dreams

There aren’t many things out there that is more iconic (in the US that is) than a dad playing catch with his son. Baseball, no matter how far behind it has fallen to other sports today, is and always will be America’s past time. So when you think of a great Father’s day film that really speaks to the heart of it, Field of Dreams ranks right up there. “If you build it, he will come” is the theme heard throughout the film leads you on this journey.

A dad (Kevin Costner) has that pressure we all feel of providing for his family. Yet, with his son believing in him, and his wife (although she doubts a little) backing him, he builds a baseball field on his farm. The field brings the past to life in the present. It’s a magical feel that saves his farm, creates a special connection with his son, and in the end reunites him with the father he never got the chance to play catch with. Baseball, fathers, and sons…..a perfect combination. — Arnaldo Reyes

 

pet_semetary

Pet Sematary

Dr. Louis Creed (Dale Midkiff) moves his family from the Chicago rat race to the idyllic countryside of Maine and all seems right…for about five minutes. Aside from the nearly non-stop slew of tractor trailers zooming past the front of his new place, the creepy pet cemetery at the rear, and the ghost of the college student who died in his treatment room on his first day in his new practice (who has now decided to haunt him), everything seems hunky dory. While his wife and daughter are away, the family cat, Church, falls victim to one of the endless trucks. Judd Crandall (Fred Gwynne, of The Munsters fame), a neighbor, helps bury Church, but not at the pet cemetery—at an old Indian burial ground just a little further up the hillside. A day later, the previously graveyard-dead Church shows back up at the house, now fully alive, and mean as a rattlesnake.

It isn’t long before another of the trucks claims the life of Louis’ toddler, Gage. Louis, non-plussed by Church’s hellish behavior, decides to bury Gage at the Indian site in the hopes that he too will return. And return he does, with a bloodthirsty vengeance.

Based upon Stephen King’s novel of the same name (King wrote the screenplay, as well), Pet Sematary is a most bizarre, macabre love letter from a father to a son. On the surface, it’s easily dismissed as a new twist on the classic zombie film. But sift through the layers and you’ll find a story of undying devotion (granted, an obsessive, borderline psychotic one). Louis will do anything he can to bring his son back, even if it means sacrificing his own life—and possibly, the lives of the rest of those he loves. In a warped sense, it dredges up the parable of the lost sheep (Luke 15: 1-7), whose shepherd risks the lives of the ninety-nine others in his flock to rescue the one who has strayed. Jesus tells us God–our Heavenly Father–is just as relentless in his pursuit of us; in his attempt to bring us, Lazarus-like, out of the dark tombs we wander into.  And if we will just believe in him, he promises us that one day we too will rise again to eternal life. Creepy zombie cats (hopefully) not included.–Jason Norton

 

firstknight

First Knight

First Knight (1998)—not to be confused with the Dark Knight—takes us back in time to the court of King Arthur (Sean Connery). Engaged to be married to Lady Guinevere (Julia Ormond), Arthur lords over Camelot with strength, power, and grace. When he meets the brave Lancelot (Richard Gere), he is immediately taken by the young man, inviting him to become a member of the Knights of the Roundtable. However, Arthur’s leadership is soon put to the test as Camelot comes under the attack of the evil Malagant (Ben Cross) and they are drawn into combat. What’s more, as Lancelot catches Guinevere’s eye and the two consider giving into their passions, Arthur soon discovers that not all wars are on the field of battle.

While this film is definitely more obscure than titles like Finding Nemo and Field of Dreams, I have to admit that it’s one of the movies that has had a significant impact on me over the years. Hardly considered a classic due to its obvious flaws, there’s still something about Connery’s King Arthur that has always humbled me. Released during his ’90s ‘renaissance period’ (somewhere between The Untouchables and Entrapment – and well before The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen ruined our lives forever), Connery carries the mantle of history’s most famous medieval king in a manner that reflects God-like qualities. Faced with the rebellion of Malagant and his army, he remains both calm and protective. As he hears of Guinevere’s betrayal, his heart breaks but his judgment never becomes vengeful. And, in the midst of it all, he constantly offers grace. In the end, we see a man who is both broken by prodigals, yet steadfast in his loving leadership.

To me, that’s the very definition of fatherhood.

 

The Lego Movie - Finn and DadThe Lego Movie

No; I’m not referring to the antics of Vitruvius, Wyldstyle, and Emmet, but to a deeper aspect to this film. When Emmet lets himself fall from the Octan Tower into the Magic Portal, he ends up . . . a part of real life.  It turns out that the whole film–up to that point–was from the imagination of Finn, a young boy playing with his dad’s Lego collection (a quite sizable one) and playing out what real life is like for him.

However, Finn’s dad (Will Ferrell) has taped all kinds of warnings on the tables to let people know that his Lego buildings are not to be messed with.  He wants order–just like President Business. And when he comes downstairs, he doesn’t like what he sees at all.  Finn tries to convince him that Lego creations are just toys, but Dad insists that they’re “a highly sophisticated, interlocking brick system” and sets out to restore things the way they were.

It’s through this discussion that Finn’s Dad comes to understand that, perhaps, it’s okay to keep the lines between kids and adults a little blurred. It’s important to spend time on occasion with your kids simply doing kid stuff.  It allows the relationship to grow and keeps resentment from creeping in. Their reconciliation scene is unexpected—and quite touching. The Lego Movie is also a fantastic reminder that, as the writer of Ecclesiastes noted, there is a time for everything (3:1)—like making memories with our children that will last a lifetime.— J. Alan Sharrer

 

instructions not included

Instructions Not Included

A film that many have probably not seen because of it is at least half Spanish with subtitles, Instructions Not Included will have you laughing throughout, only to make you cry at the end. The tears are not because the film is bad; it is because you finally understand the craziness of it! You will realize how one man, who had no idea what he was doing and for the most part appeared like he should not be raising a little girl on his own, turned out to be the best father in the world.

After he has a fling with an American girl, she drops off a little baby and runs off. Here is this man with no clue what to do and no idea how to raise a child. He goes to the United States looking for the mother and instead by wild occurrence becomes a stunt man. When the girl is a little older, she has free rein to do whatever she wants really. He buys her everything, he lets her have a vivid imagination, and he also lies about her mother. When the mother comes back, she attempts to take the girl back after seeing what appears to be an unfit dad raising a girl with no boundaries or discipline. The courts rules in his favor, but the mother pulls the DNA card and it turns out, he is not the father. All these years and now he has no choice but to give her up.

Instead, he runs off with her to Mexico, and when the mother threatens his friend, the truth is revealed. She has a terminal illness, so he lived everyday as if it was the last day he would see her. He gave her everything and allowed her to experience a full and happy life. In the end, in his father’s arms overlooking the ocean, she went just as happy and peacefully as she lived. A great example of how awesome fathers can be. –Arnaldo Reyes

 

bigfish

Big Fish

Tim Burton’s film didn’t immediately grab me the first time I saw it, but every time I’ve seen it since, it has opened up a little more for me. In this tall tale of a parable, Will (Billy Crudup) sits with his father, Edward (Albert Finney as an older man; Ewan McGregor as the younger one), as he dies. Will has been estranged from his father for as long as he can remember, and his father’s inability to “tell a story straight” continues to frustrate the son. But he sets out to find out once and for all whether these are true stories or figments of his father’s imagination.

To tell more would undo the magic of this story, but it does show, quite visually, that there is a deeper truth (to quote C.S. Lewis, “a deeper magic”) buried in the stories Edward tells. He is certainly not the father to Will that he hoped to be but he aimed to give his son everything he could, and to provide Will with the belief in himself that he could accomplish anything, no matter how insurmountable it might be. Big Fish is a parable you can’t see without getting a bit wet. — Jacob Sahms

The Best Of Pixar: How 4 Films Changed The Way We Watch

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"MONSTERS, INC. 3D" ©2012 Disney•Pixar. All Rights Reserved.

What if we had never met Dory? Or if Buzz and Woody had never become friends? Would our world be different?

Most of us think that Pixar burst onto the scene with the release of its first feature film in 1995, Toy Story, noting its fifteen Academy Awards coinciding with the partnership with Walt Disney Studios. But the real Pixar Animation Studios originated sixteen years earlier as a division of Lucasfilm, aiding in the special effects for The Wrath of Khan, Young Sherlock Holmes, and others. But when we reflect of the legacy of Pixar, we do so with an eye toward the fourteen feature-length films and its wealth of awards. But what makes these films rise above any others in the animated genre?

With the release of Inside/Out on Friday, a film receiving rave reviews from advance screenings, we should recognize that PIXAR has changed animation, and our expectations for how good a ‘toon’ might look. No more are we stuck with the flat objects on screen, moving around in jerky motions (like those flip books we used to make in elementary school). No, we have real-life motion with toys, bugs, and rats! The thing is though, while we can get caught up in the visual wonders (and there are plenty of those!) that the minds at PIXAR bestow on us, there’s more to this brand of storytelling than the “average animated movie.”

Let’s look at a few of the films that shouldn’t be missed. With apologies to the others (quite honestly, Monsters Inc. is my favorite), here are the five deep PIXAR movies that visually wow us but have more going on under the hood.

 

toy storyToy Story  (1995)

When we’re introduced to  Woody (Tom Hanks) and Buzz (Tim Allen), we meet a pair of toys, one old and one new, owned by a six-year-old boy named Andy. Over time, and I’ll cheat a little here by incorporating all three movies, the two foil a bully who destroys toys for fun, a collector who steals Woody, and each other, but it’s their friendship (and bickering) that add much of the fun to the films. We (adults, that is) see something of our own childhoods, recognizing that there’s a time and a place for play, and probably feel a desire to nurture that in our own children (a la The Lego Movie). While other real-life films like The Sandlot or The Goonies might also provide the same sense, there’s a certain amount of magic that the PIXAR crew bottled up here.

For me, the “you had me at hello” moment is in Toy Story 2, when Buzz comes to rescue Woody. Woody has been sort of brainwashed into thinking that being a collectible is all there is to life; he’s forgotten his purpose as a toy to entertain Andy and to be loved. Buzz reminds him that there’s more to the world, and in a moment of clarity, Woody wipes off the new paint from his boot, revealing “ANDY” scrawled across his foot. Like Woody, we can get deluded into believing that “this is all there is,” or that we don’t matter. It often takes an outside force, or someone who God uses, to break through and remind us that we are loved by the God of the universe, that God’s name is written on our hearts and in our DNA.


 finding nemo

Finding Nemo (2003)

It’s amazing who you meet on a cross-ocean journey, and better still when that journey is animated by some of the best in the business. While Finding Nemo has some of the typical Disney sadness (Nemo’s mom), there’s still a sense of love, community, and recovery that’s greater than the average two-dimensional animated flick.

While some might say that Dory’s (Ellen DeGeneres) “Just keep swimming, just keep swimming” is the best life advice they’ve ever received from an animated flick, I’ll again refer to the more Biblical tones the story reverberates with: The Parable of the Prodigal Son. Our friend Nemo (Alexander Gould) strays from the safe confines that his father (Albert Brooks) set up for him and ends up netted, transported, and dropped in the dentist’s tank. But his father doesn’t stop searching for Nemo. He just keeps going and going and going, until he’s able to save him. That’s pretty consistent with my understanding of God’s love for us: even when we’re in a mess all on our own, God won’t give up on us.

 

Walle

WALL-E (2008)

Stanton (who also did A Bug’s Life) directs a film I’ll never forget. With a few hours to kill before officiating the wedding of a good friend (who happens to be our site manager here at ScreenFish), my wife and I tripped into the least family-friendly animated flick I’d seen at that point: Wall-E. [Editor’s note: this was before seeing the animated Watership Down…] But the “Waste Allocation Load Lifter – Earth-class,” who sounds a bit like Johnny 5 from Short Circuit, had a profound thing or two to say about childlike wonder, believing in the best of humanity, and never, ever giving up.

Before Tomorrowland and Mad Max: Fury Road proposed that we needed to rejuvenate the community we’re in (and to some extent, the Earth) instead of bolting for some better promised land, Wall-E proposed that the Earth could be cared for if we would all waste less, recycle more, and care about each other. Less jettisoning lifeboat and more life-restoring ark, Wall-E is still not really a kid movie, even if it masquerades behind a wall of eye-popping animation.

 

up

Up (2009)

Russell (Jordan Naga), an earnest “Boy Scout” type, and his grumpy, elderly neighbor, Carl Fredricksen (Ed Asner), end up taking a ride via lots of balloons and … a house. While there’s plenty of amusing stuff going on here, this is another film that seems more for the adults than for the kids. Sure, the excitement is worth diving into but there’s plenty of social/psychological commentary going on here.

Carl never lived out his dream because death got in the way; he’s being marginalized and diminished by the people making decisions all around him because of his old age. The overall vibe moves toward the positive, but the power in the story is recognizing the ways that we push people to the side when we think they’ve outlived their usefulness or we don’t understand their pain. What Up pushes us to consider is that we can still learn from our elders even if we think they move too slow or don’t like the new things that we’re into technologically or socially. In fact, we might even propose that understanding our “cloud of witnesses” and embracing mentorship is strongly on the minds of those who created Up.

 

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So, there you have it. Four movies. Four stories of faith and family, of powerful characters with big challenges, who live out stories that are true to our human experience. “Cartoons?” These are narratives, moving pictures that are bigger than just a throwaway afternoon of entertainment, movies that move us and make us dream, think, and love.

Can Inside/Out join the pantheon of the greats?

I know you won’t all agree. That’s what the comment section is for. What did I miss about your favorite PIXAR film? Show me the error of my ways with your response below!

The Goonies #tbt: Lessons from One-eyed Willie

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gooniesmainI mentioned on Facebook a few days ago that The Goonies, one of my favorite films of all time, was about to turn thirty. It seemed to surprise a few people while reminding them of how old they were. Quality movies have a way of acting as friends who we stroll with through life.  We quote the lines, we envision the scenes playing out in reality (take the recent escape of two prisoners in New York being likened to The Shawshank Redemption by the media), and we develop a fondness of certain characters—quirks and all.

The Goonies is no different in this case.

You probably know the plot already, but here’s a quick synopsis: In the town of Astoria, there are a rather eclectic bunch of kids who wonder what the future holds for them and their families.  One rainy day, Mikey is at home with his friends Mouth (a jokester fluent in Spanish—just ask Rosalinda), Data (inventor of wacky contraptions that work irregularly), and Chunk (a certifiable klutz often harassed by Mouth). Since the house is about to be razed to make room for a golf course, they decide to take a look inside Mikey’s attic and discover a bunch of ancient artifacts of the town and a treasure map. When the guys want to try to find out if the map is real or not, Mikey’s brother, Brand, tries to shut the operation down, but to no avail. He later finds himself (along with Andy and Stef) caught up in the search for One-Eyed Willie’s ‘rich stuff’ while trying to avoid a trio of chronic criminals known as the Fratellis. Throw in some Indiana Jones-esque booby traps (after all, Steven Spielberg had a hand in the film), Sloth, and a pirate ship, and you’ve got the makings for a film that has withstood the test of time.

I rewatched The Goonies last weekend with my teenage daughter and realized that a good story trumps cinematography tricks and fancy CGI any day. This film was pretty cutting-edge at the time with a pirate ship, skeleton organ, waterslide tunnel, and music video that helped to propel Cyndi Lauper to stardom. Now…not so much. Thankfully, director Richard Donner decided to cut the octopus scene, as the special effects are laughable–though Data refers to it at the end of the story. But the kids’ life-changing journey is still pretty harrowing (just ask Chunk about the blender) and holds many things that we can take and apply to real life.

gooniesIn the DVD commentary, which I highly recommend, it’s revealed that Donner wanted to make sure he got the best possible reaction from the kids at all times—even if it meant handling the script in an unorthodox manner. After Andy plays the bones, the group slides down an incredible waterslide and lands in an underground lake. Only at that point were the actors and actresses allowed to see the pirate ship for the first time. The cameras were rolling for their reaction: one that was genuine, unreleased, and what the audience sees in the film.  To this end, there are many situations we face in life where we’re unable to see the final outcome immediately. We have to trust, with a measure of faith (see Hebrews 11:1), that God knows better than our finite minds and plans. On many occasions, the end result can leave us amazed and awed at how much better His ways are than ours (see Isaiah 55:8-9). We just have to be willing to wait and be patient.

The concept of temptation is brought to life by the film through the wishing well scene. The crew is given the option by Troy, a high school jock trying to make it big with Andy, to end the quest by riding up the bucket he lowers to them. After Mikey gives his “Our Time” speech (See? The film is so old that I’m even giving speeches titles!), Andy chooses to send up Troy’s jacket instead.

There are many times in life where we have the chance to give up on something incredible by stopping the journey too soon. Perhaps we’re in the middle of something that we know we’re supposed to be doing, but something unforeseen steps in the way, threatening to divert us from the goal lying ahead. This is when it’s important to remember that nothing has tempted us that hasn’t tempted someone else at some point in time. Besides, God is faithful to not let you deal with stuff you can’t handle (see 1 Corinthians 10:13).  The goal is to keep focusing on the eventual reward and not allow oneself to succumb to immediate gratifications, no matter how enticing or enthralling they may seem.  Remember that Jesus overcame every temptation thrown His way—yet did it without sin. This provided us a way–through His life, death, and resurrection–to be reunited with God forever (see Hebrews 4:14-16).

goonies4A third point of discussion comes in the area of greed. The Goonies were the first to get to One-Eyed Willie’s riches and began acquiring as much loot as they could carry. Data saw a scale filled with coins and grabbed a few, only to have Mikey tell him that gold was for Willie and to leave it. Later on, the Fratellis plunder the same room–only this time, Mama lifts the scale and sets off a booby trap that causes the ship to set sail one last time.

It’s easy to see why people want as much as they can—after all, some people just seem to be born with whatever they want, whenever and however they want it. Sometimes this involves money, but it can also involve houses, cars, attention, status, power, number of Twitter followers, and the list goes on and on. Yet Jesus gave His disciples a specific warning about this in Luke 12:15 (NIV): “’Watch out! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; life does not consist in an abundance of possessions.’” We don’t get to keep anything gained on earth when this life is over—even if we’re an A-List celebrity. The happiest people are often those who are simply content with what they have and nothing more. Our star-struck society needs to learn this lesson sooner rather than later.

If you have access to a copy of The Goonies, you should watch it soon. The rich lessons you see on screen will help to make you a better person in real life.

Nobody can take that away from you–even the Fratellis.