'Finding 'Ohana' Has Some Nods to 80s Movie 'Goonies,' Including This Actor!

Finding ‘Ohana premiered on Netflix this past weekend and it’s already one of the top trending titles in the US!

The new family adventure movie, which stars Kea Peahu, Owen Vaccaro, Alex Aiono and Lindsay Watson, also features some 80s references.

Fans of 80s movies may recognize one very famous face – Ke Huy Quan. The actor plays George Phan in Finding ‘Ohana, but he is most well known for his role as Data in Goonies and Short Round in Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom, which were his first two projects. To top it off, Ke Huy Quan and ‘Ohana producer Ian Bryce also worked together on Temple of Doom, 37 years prior!

In fact, Finding ‘Ohana was even inspired by Goonies, as screenplay writer Christina Strain was a big fan of the movie.

“As a 90s Asian American kid, I didn’t have a lot of Asian American representation to look up to, but I had Ke Huy Quan who played Data. And because Goonies holds such a special place in my heart, I wrote a Goonies-esque adventure movie starring mostly Datas. And now it’s a real movie my kids can watch, with Asian American and Pacific Islander heroes other AAPI kids can look up to. I’m always going to be grateful to Netflix for that,” she said.

Another 80s Easter egg in the movie is when Pili steals her grandfather’s truck and straps cans of Spam to her feet to reach the pedals. That is an homage to the first time Short Round drove Indiana Jones in Temple of Doom. There’s also another nod to Goonies on the keychain that George loans Papa.