filmreroll

Goonies 4

Added 2019-03-14 09:28:38 +0000 UTC

I can't even explain to you the narrative richness of the backstories on Peartree island. There's at least three Checkhov plays worth of conflict and history on that island. It's honestly just what my brain does when I start to think about a setting, but normally I get to do it with more fantastical or sci-fi lore. Peartree island, in spite of it's magical-realism and 80's children's movie sense of wonder, still needs to be a much more grounded place than Oz, and it's really not that big an island, and so my brain got busy drawing out the complex interrelationships and foibles and squabbles of this little island's long-suffering populace.

Ultimately, I always knew all those backstories didn't massively matter to the children's story, so I had to avoid the temptation to over-exposite. Story should only happen when it happens, when the children stumble on it, or enquire about it, or inflame it. But all the detail in my mind really serves to make the world feel a bit bigger and more real. That's it's real purpose, and I think it does the job here of making Peartree feel a bit lived in. For the listener, Peartree island will probably not register as among the most exciting locations the Film Reroll has visited but for me it will always hold a special place.