The Story Behind Sloth the Sea Lion

I've got a new collection of Goonies-inspired merch to share with you today! It’s ridiculous. It’s joyful. It’s pure Truffle Shuffle energy, Goonies-style. 

Have you ever seen the movie "The Goonies"? If you haven't, you'll get no shade from me here. I don't like to make people feel bad if they haven't seen/listened/consumed a thing that I like. But if you have, tell me which character you resonate with most! Mine is Data. :)

The story behind the illo

This illustration was not initially inspired by "The Goonies." 

It was inspired by sea lions.

While yes, I live in Astoria, Oregon, aka the North Coast, the Oregon Coast, or the Graveyard of the Pacific...I cannot see water from my house. If I walk a few blocks, I can see a little bit of the Columbia River.

But I can hear sea lions. And those sea lions are actually on the other side of town on their own dock (another story for another time). It's fascinating how the barks from these marine wobble chonks reverberate across the river to Washington state, back to Oregon and up the hill to reach my ears at my house. 

"Arf arf awooof arf arf," they would bark. I always wondered what they were saying.

And what if it was "HEY YOU GUYS!" just like Sloth did in "The Goonies?"

The thought of that, and the image in my head made me laugh so much that I knew it was the next thing for me to draw. I had to add a little tricorn hat with a skull and crossbones, of course. 

The stripe in the illustration use colors I legit pulled from one of my favorite sunset photos I took of the 101 bridge at the end of a summer day.

Here in Astoria, Oregon, "The Goonies" is either a beloved film...or a mixed bag among the community. 

I'm the former- I grew up with a pirated version of the movie on Betamax...what? It was before the home movie (cough VHS tapes cough) market even was a thing. Buying a movie to watch at home was super expensive, so many folks rented a movie, then recorded it on their other device (ours was a Betamax, natch). I watched that Betamax tape on repeat as a kid, and the script is probably buried in the depths of my brain and only can be fetched while watching the movie again.

Starting today, potentially thousands of people will descend on our small Oregon coast town to celebrate the 40th anniversary of The Goonies, including some of the cast members.

Many locals (including myself) have had to make a game plan as if we're preparing for a storm- food in the house, gas in the tank, all the errands done before the storm, etc. It was either that, or leave town.

And if you're the type who would rather not be in a crowd or deal with traffic*, you can just snag some silly Goonies stuff right here. Some of the items (shirt, hoodie, hat) are made to order, so you wouldn't be able to get it even if you came out to Astoria this weekend anyway.

DO THE TRUFFLE SHUFFLE (aka shop the collection)