Classic Movie Review: The NeverEnding Story (1984)

For people of a certain age, this film is considered to be an epic movie for them. Whilst the movie was a while before my time, there was a short-lived animated series in the mid-90s that I watched so I do know the characters without knowing the story.

It is the story of Bastian Bux (Barret Oliver), a schoolboy who has just lost his mother. One day, while being chased by bullies, he finds refuge in Mr Koreander's (Thomas Hill) bookshop. He steals a volume called The Neverending Story and goes to school to read it. He hides in the attic during the day.

In the land of Fantasia, a mysterious force known as the Nothing is swallowing the everything and leaves only darkness behind. At the Ivory Tower, the people of Fantasia have come to see if the Childlike Empress (Tami Stronach). But the presence of the Nothing has made her sick, but she has summoned a powerful warrior known as Atreyu (Noah Hathaway) to find a cure.

Atreyu travels across the land of Fantasia encountering many of it's people. In the Swamps of Sadness, Atreyu loses his horse, only to be then saved by a luck dragon, Falkor (voiced by Allen Oppenheimer), who takes him to the Southern Oracle. The Oracle tells him that he must find a Human boy to give the Empress a new name, thus saving Fantasia.

Meanwhile, in the real world, night time has fallen and Bastian remains in the school attic. As the story progresses, he discovers that he is the boy that must save Fantasia. He has an internal struggle and finally gives in, naming the Empress at the very last moment.

This is one movie that all kids must see (and by that, I mean everyone up to the age of 30). It gave me a feeling of warmth inside because it really does inspire hope for those with big imaginations.

It is amazing to see the pre-CGI effects in this movie. It has a lot of early blue screen images as well as some visual editing techniques that you just don't see anymore. The most fantastic elements are the puppets. To see Falkor interacting with Atreyu in a physical way that is real is amazing to watch.

There are some elements that don't fly in our modern world, and one of those is negligence that adults have. No one cares that Bastian doesn't show up for classes or that he's not been seen all day. Nor does anyone stop the kids who are obviously harassing him in the middle of the day in the middle of the city. And then, an obviously deranged bookshop owner actively starts a child's early shoplifting career. No wonder this kid wants to escape to Fantasia.

One scene that apparently gets everyone sad, is when Atreyu's horse, Artax dies in the Swamps of Sadness. You don't need to cry. We've known this kid for like five minutes when it happens, there's no need.

Verdict: An overall fun movie that everyone has to see. So go out, watch it with your friends, your kids, whoever.