'The NeverEnding Story' (1984), Bastian Must Save Fantasia with Courage and Imagination

While running away from other children, a meek and daydreaming young boy, Bastian (Barret Oliver), hides in a bookstore owned by Carl Koreander (Thomas Hill), who tells him about a book titled "The NeverEnding Story" and that it's not meant for him. Bastian's curiosity is peaked and he steals the book and promises to return it when he's done reading it.

Once Bastian begins reading the book, he is drawn into the story of the world of Fantasia that is being slowly destroyed by The Nothing because humans in Bastian's world are starting to lose their imagination. Fantasia sends a legendary warrior named Atreyu (Noah Hathaway) on a journey to find a cure the illness suffered by the world's ruler, The Empress, in the Ivory Tower and stop Fantasia from being destroyed. Bastian actually becomes part of The NeverEnding Story and most find the courage to participate to save Fantasia and his own world.

"The NeverEnding Story" (1984) is a live-action film based on a 1979 fantasy novel by German author, Michael Ende, originally titled "Die unendliche Geschichte," and translated into English by Ralph Manheim in 1983. There were, of course, changes made but most viewers haven't read the book.

I first watched "The NeverEnding Story" way back in the 80s when I was a kid. At the time, it felt like a very long but entertaining movie which was a good thing. On recent views, it's still entertaining but doesn't seem like that long of a movie as it used to. I guess after watching and writing about so many movies over the years has made me break them down into their key component scenes which seems to greatly my perception of content length.

Still, this movie does cover quite a bit of ground in its 94-minute runtime. This movie truly portrays an epic-length journey in the same vain as "Wizard of Oz" (1939) and "Labyrinth" (1986). It's fun and fantastic which really gets our imagination pumping with child-like enthusiasm. It seems more simplistic than it really at first appears; there are layers of underlying meaning. For example, the author's belief in anthroposophy, which is a philosophy that says we can enter a spiritual world through direct experience without using our physical senses, that might be how Bastian can see into Fantasia and interact with its inhabitants. His ability to interact with Fantasia is rather unique. This theatrical technique breaks the Fourth Wall which basically means that we see Bastian becoming a part of the story that he is reading.

The budget was an estimated $27,000,000 (the highest of any German movie up until the time) which was very expensive movie for 1984 and it shows with its elaborate sets and special effects. The SFX are cool but somewhat dated by today's standards. I'd put it on par with the Jim Henson animatronic puppets in "The Dark Crystal" (1982). Still, it's a great-looking movie for what it is.

The movie is filled with fantastic creatures such as the giant but gentle Rockbiter, the ancient turtle-like Morla, the huge luckdragon that helps Atreyu on his journey, Falkor, Teeny Weeny on his racing snail, Night Hob with his narcoleptic bat, tiny gnomes, among many others. Let's not forget G'mork, the evil and menacing wolf-like creature.

As for human characters, Barret Oliver does a fantastic and believable character as Bastian Bux, the Earth boy, as does Noah Hathaway as Atreyu, the Fantasia warrior. Tami Stronach is adorable as The Childlike Empress and the Southern Oracle. Gerald McRaney (of "Major Dad" fame) plays a small role as Mr. Bux, Bastian's father. And Thomas Hill (of "Newhart" fame) plays a grandfatherly Carl Conrad Koreander, the bookstore owner who appears in "The NeverEnding Story" sequels.

The acting by everyone isn't perfect but it's good enough to not ruin the movie. On the other hand, the voice actors for the creatures do a phenomenal job.

The original music was composed by Klaus Doldinger. All of the music makes the imaginative journey all the more magical and fun.

Most importantly, this movie leaves us and, especially, children with a warm and optimistic feeling. The movie's basic message is that we can create whatever we dream about, that we can use our imagination to do great things with our lives and the world. This is a great lesson for our children.

Conclusion

"The NeverEnding Story" (1984) is a 80s classic adventure movie that will always be remembered (I expect a remake) but is more popular with those of us who grew up in the 80s. The younger generation today might not be as open to this movie and probably laugh at the SFX and characters but we can try. Children under age 10 might like it but be aware of the G'mork because he can be a bit scary to younger children. Other than that, it's pretty safe for most ages. Give it a view or another view.

Rating: 4/5

Trivia

The new Empress name that Bastian yells out of the window is Moonchild but whether or not this is the name of his mother or something he made up is up for debate.

Falkor is comprised of a 43-foot-long motorized animatronic robot with 6,000 plastic scales, pink feather-fur, and a head that is three feet tall and long.

Most scenes were filmed in Bavaria Studios in Munich, Germany, except for the scenes in the city and at Bastian's home which were filmed in Vancouver, Canada.

Quotes

Falcor: Never give up and good luck will find you.

The Childlike Empress: Fantasia can arise anew, from your dreams and wishes, Bastian.