The Goonies follows a gang of kids who find a treasure map and set off on an adventure to find the gold. These films share some of that: children out on their own and a mystery bigger than them.
Updated 19 October 2026. Picked and written by hand; every film below has a trailer that plays here. The Goonies (1985) trailer page
Watch trailer: Stand by Me (1986)Four boys set off on foot on a quest their parents know nothing about, and the friendship is the real story.
Different: It is quieter and sadder, a coming-of-age drama with no treasure and no villains in a pirate ship.
Watch trailer: E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial (1982)Suburban kids on BMX bikes keep a secret from the grown-ups and outrun them when it counts.
Different: The adventure is about protecting a lost alien rather than finding gold, and it leans far more on tears than on jokes.
Watch trailer: Super 8 (2011)A group of friends making their own movie in 1979 are caught up in a mystery when something terrifying is set loose after a train crash the kids film.
Different: It turns from a kids' adventure into a monster film.
Watch trailer: Gremlins (1984)It comes from the same Amblin stable and the same mix of small-town warmth, slapstick and genuine scares.
Different: The hero is a young man rather than a band of kids, and the trouble comes to his town instead of being dug up.
Watch trailer: Hook (1991)Pirates, a hidden world and a gang of Lost Boys give it the same treasure-ship spirit as One-Eyed Willy's galleon.
Different: It is told from the side of a grown-up who has forgotten how to play, and it lives in a fantasy Neverland rather than a real coastline.
Watch trailer: Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981)It is a similar booby-trapped treasure hunt, with a race to reach the prize first.
Different: Its hero is an adult archaeologist racing the Nazis, with more peril and less bickering.
Watch trailer: Jumanji (1995)Kids open something old they should have left alone and have to see the adventure through to get home safe.
Different: The danger comes out of a board game into the house, so it is closer to a fantasy comedy than a treasure hunt.
Watch trailer: It (2017)A gang of misfit kids in a small town face bullies and a monster together.
Different: It is a horror film, so the scares are real and it is not one for younger children.