The fun and zaniness of “The Goonies” has traveled halfway around the world where in Lyon, France, Frédéric China is still entranced. Lifelong movie buff and web designer, Fred may be the Goonies’ biggest international fan. He shares some thoughts about one of his life’s passions.

The Daily Astorian: What do you think the attraction of “The Goonies” movie is?

Frédéric China: “The Goonies” is one of the biggest childhood memories for a lot of people around the world. It’s the perfect movie about adventure and friendship. It’s a fun comedy for families and for all generations. Like the gang itself, this movie “will never say die!”

DA: Is there some part of it that especially appeals to French folks?

FC: (Laughs) I don’t think so. But I know that a lot of people love the characters Sloth and Chunk. They’re the favorite characters for many people.

DA: What inspired you to create such an imaginative and elaborate website to share “The Goonies” with others?

FC: Thank you for saying that. What inspired me? The movie, but also the other movies websites (like Harry Potter’s websites, the Corpse Bride’s website and many more). I’ve always loved the film websites with a certain ambiance.

My website will open this month, so I wanted to make something different and professional, a fully-animated Flash website, with a different design on each page and Goonies ambiance everywhere.

When the site opens, if people say “woooow” on every page, I’ll be very happy. All I want is to share my Goonies knowledge and the treasures I’ve collected over the years.

DA: What is your personal connection with “The Goonies” movie?

FC: This movie is on my top five movies list – with “Beetlejuice,” “Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom,” “Labyrinth” and “E.T.” – it was a fantastic childhood memory that I shared with so many friends.

It’s difficult to explain, but I “live” with the Goonies. All my life is about the movie. I’m a collector and I have so much stuff in my collection, I could open a museum!

I’m working on my website, contacting some people who have worked on the movie (like one of the Sloth creators, or someone who has worked on the Inferno model ship, and others). I need to “be” in the movie every day.

When I was a teenager, I watched the movie every day, but now, I don’t need to watch it every day because I know it so well. I’ve probably seen it more than 800 times.

DA: When you traveled to Astoria in person, what did you think of the region, the city and the people? Were they what you expected?

FC: That was a fantastic experience! Astoria is a small town but there’s something “magic” about it. I love the Victorian houses. The people were very nice with me. I really enjoyed meeting Sandi, the Goonies house owner, and the people who live in Mouth’s house.

The journalists at The Daily Astorian were also very nice. I remember the sheriff – he showed me the jail from inside. That was a cool experience.

My only problem was the equipment I had with me – an old camcorder and camera and no computer. I didn’t even have my driver’s license. But now I’ve got a professional camcorder and a nice camera. I’m very impatient to come back again.

DA: Are you a movie maker? If you could change anything about “The Goonies” movie, what would it be?

FC: Yes, I’m now a filmmaker and also a web designer. My biggest dream is to work on a movie in the U.S.

By the way, I’m actually working on a documentary about 1980s movies, called “Blast from the ’80s.” A friend and I will visit a lot of ’80s movies locations around the world and will meet with many of the cast and crew for each movie. That’s a big project. The website will open soon and you can follow us on every trip via the blog. (The link is blastfromthe80s.com)

My problem is, like on the website, I’m a perfectionist. So, everything takes me a lot of time and I’m always in late.

If I could change anything about the movie? Well, maybe one of the rocks in the Inferno scene which looks very fake, and maybe some sentences in the movie, like when Data at the ending talks about the giant octopus. And I would probably have them reshoot the Stop ‘n’ Snack scene to include it in the movie, because that’s an important scene which introduces Andy, Stef and Troy. So we can learn how Mikey knows where the treasure is.

DA: What is your favorite scene in the movie? Your favorite character? And why?

FC: I love all the parts in the Goonies house. All the Goonies friends reunited in the headquarters is something nice to see – something I would love to live. I also love the Inferno scene; the set was very big. Many guests have visited the set with their families and have fun with the slides. I would love to have the Inferno model ship.

My favorite character is Data. I was like him when I was a child. I built a time machine and many things that never worked very well. I also like the actor Ke Huy Quan (he played Short Round, also a fun character, in my other favorite movie, Indy 2.) He’s a nice guy too. I met Ke in England last year and he was so friendly. I can’t wait to come again to Astoria and meet all my Goonies friends from around the world. I’ll be there, filming everything for my documentary “Blast from the ’80s.”

Check out Frédéric’s Goonies website at www.goonies1632.com