"The Goonies" and the Map

I was lucky to give Wilbert Plijnaar a ride to Woodbury for a critique. Wilbert has worked in the story department for Warner Bros., Dreamworks, Blue Sky and Disney. Looks like he worked on Despicable Me as well. (I didn't know it at the time.)

Since he was a captive audience in my beat up Cavalier, I told him my story for this project. He seemed to like the story overall, but his concern was with the hero having the map on his cell phone. Now I thought since cell phones are so common, that it made sense for the hero to have a copy of the map on his phone. But Wilbert pointed out that anyone can put any kind of art on a phone, and could be confused with a video game, or some other contrived piece of art. Long story short, the hero should have a real map.

At first I was resistant, a bit. But now it makes sense since information is so cheap, so available, and can be manipulated in so many way, having an authentic, one of a kind treasure map gives the story more credibility. Credibility is Wilbert's focal point: If a story has no credibility, no matter what leap of faith it requires, then it's not going to work.

Wilbert also suggested a much more clearer, and super magical climax. And think about the hero's back story. How did he get the map? I jotted this all down, and crashed for the night. 

Then, this morning, I pulled out my copy of "The Goonies" to see how those darn kids found their map. Of course, they find it in a forbidden attic. They enter when they feel like they've got nothing left to lose. I'm trying to keep the story simple, so I don't have time to reveal how the hero found the map. My joke is the intentional mis-direction of the hero thinking he's going to find a conventional treasure of gold and jewels, but gets something better instead: a reconnection with nature.

                                   (Art copyright Warner Bros./Amblin Entertainment)

Wilbert also pointed out that the story is mostly clear in my mind, and I can gloss over the story points that don't work. But I have to make it clear to my audience. And to top it off, Wilbert mentioned that wilderness existed long before big cities. That's another assumption I took for granted. That's why the map has to be ancient. It would be a treasure in itself. Oops! Unless Mankind has become out of touch so much that a map like that would be overlooked.

The whole point is living in a modern, unhappy city that's squatting on Nature. And we need to take that weight off it a.s.a.p.

Let's hear it for Sloth: "Hey you guys!"