The
NeverEnding Story is an epic fantasy film made in West Germany based
off the novel of the same name written by Michael Ende. It stars
Bastian Balthazar Bux (Barret Oliver), a lover of books who is
recently dealing with the lost of his mother, and Atreyu (Noah
Hathaway), a warrior from the Grassy Plains, that is sent on a quest
to find a cure for The Childlike Empress (Tami Stronach), and to
save Fantasia from “The Nothing.” A mysterious force destroying
the world, but no pressure!
Like
a lot of people, I grew up on these movies. I can't tell you how many
times I've watched all three. I'm ashamed to tell you that it took
me a while to truly appreciate the magic of the first one. When I
was a kid I found it too dark and long for my taste, and preferred
the other two movies. Now that I'm grown up I've come to my senses.
Before
we begin, it is worth noting that Michael Ende wasn't happy with the
changes made to his book. In fact, he considered the changes so
drastic that he wanted them to either halt production, or change the
name of the movie. Even going as far to sue them when they didn't,
but he lost and we got this fantastic movie, instead. I feel bad for
the guy, but, at least the first movie was good. So, without further
ado, let's dive right into The NeverEnding Story.
We
don't need no education!
Bastian
is one of us, a nerd. He reads books, gets picked on by bullies, his
father doesn't understand him, and he knew about The Lord of the
Rings before it was popular. We don't know much about him beyond
that except he keeps having dreams about his mother who recently
passed away. Why is it always moms? In this the mom dies, in Charmed
the mom dies, in The Little Mermaid the mom dies, and even when the
mother starts out alive she can be killed off later. What do writers
have against mothers?!
After
running away from some pretty dedicated bullies, Bastian comes to a
book store and finds the NeverEnding Story. When he inquires about
the book, the store owner, Mr. Coreander, tries to dissuade
him from it, but the fastest way to get a kid to do something is by
telling them not to do it, and Bastian takes off with the book.
Once
Bastian decides that math quizzes are for wimps, he sneaks inside the
school's attic to read his new book. Bringing us to our second
protagonist.
Introducing
every little girl's first crush.
Atreyu
arrives at the Ivory Tower and gets the reaction you'd kind of
expect. Everyone was waiting for a great warrior to arrive and
instead they get a little kid. I'd feel ripped off, too, but they
ultimately realize that he's their best chance. Atreyu is given
AURYN, an Ouroboros tailsman empowered by the Childlike
Empress, though it's never explained in the movie, and sets off on
his quest with... no weapons. Really? You're going to go on about how
dangerous it is and give him no way to defend himself? Even Link got
a sword!
The
character is meant to mirror Bastian while being the complete
opposite of him. He's brave, confident, and a strong warrior who can
hold his own. Just the kind of character who someone like Bastian
would enjoy pretending to be for however long the story goes, and
like Bastian he's pretty relatable. You root for him, feel sad for
him, and just want to hug him. He meets new companions and have
plenty of good interactions with other characters throughout the
film. All beginning with a horse...
Warning:
The
following images may cause watery substance to fall out of your eyes
and stuff up your nose. A box of Kleenex is advised.
My
heart has been torn in two.
Atreyu
and Artax enters the Swamp of Sadness, and because the swamp sinks
whoever is overwhelmed by the emotion, Artax goes down, and we get
the most gut-wrenching scene in the entire film. We don't see that
many scenes of Atreyu and Artax bonding, but what we do get is
enough.
This
scene is so well done that you really feel like you're watching
someone lose a best friend and even today at the age of twenty-five
this scene is still capable of choking me up. There are movies which
can't even make you care about the relationships between two human
characters, and this one made children all across the world cry over
a kid and his horse.
Although,
I gotta ask, if the swamp is designed to sink anyone overcome with
sadness, shouldn't it be sinking Atreyu right now? I don't think the
kid can get any sadder. I'm just going to assume he avoided the
sinking parts.
I
will never get tired of that sight.
Fantasia
is beautiful. Every shot of the scenery makes you believe you've been
sucked into a fantasy world where anything's possible. Even the
things they mentioned in passing sounds just as wonderful as the
things you see on film.
This
has the fortune of being made at a time long before CGI made
everything. Back when we used things like puppetry and animatronics
to create what we otherwise couldn't make possible. As a result of
that everything looks a lot more real, with the exception of a few
shots where it does look fake, but they got more right than wrong
with the movie.
Can
you imagine if they made this movie today? Falkor
would be CGI,
Rockbiter would be CGI, Gmork would be CGI. Everything
that was great about the original would be CGI. I don't hate CGI, I
think some movies have done amazing things with it, it's just gotten
to a point where we use it in EVERYTHING and it loses all the impact
it used to have when it was still new. But that is another story and shall be told another time.
As
for the effects, they're really quite good. Every time “The
Nothing” appears and starts destroying stuff in Fantasia you know
shit's about to go down. You feel it every second it's on screen.
The only negative points are a couple of obvious green screen
effects, but if your eyes aren't trained to notice it you'll likely
miss it.
“The
emptiness that's left. It is like a despair. Destroying this world.”
– Gmork
“The Nothing” serves as the primary antagonist of the movie and acts as a metaphor of what happens when people lose hope and forget their dreams. In other words “The Nothing” is human apathy and cynicism. It what happens to most children when they grow up and realize just how crappy the world really is. Almost like a rite of passage when you get down to it.
As
we get older, we do become more cynical. Things that used to wow us
when we were younger just don't do it anymore. We become apathetic
to things that we used to be passionate about and stop caring
altogether. “The Nothing” is a warning as much as it is a
consequence of said apathy. Gmork says it best.
Gmork: People who have no hopes, are easy to control. And whoever has the control, has the power!
The old saying goes, “Evil prevails when the good do nothing. Well, if you become apathetic to things and stop caring it's a given you're not going to be doing anything, so evil wins!
When
I was a kid I hated this scene, I dreaded it more than the swamp
scene. It was one of the big reasons I didn't like going through
this movie, and looking back I can see why now. I didn't hate this
scene because it was dark, or scary, I hated this scene because deep
down I knew it was telling me something I didn't want to hear, I
just didn't know what it was until I was much older.
And
because of it, I adore this scene now. I think it's one of the best
scenes in the movie, and it doesn't feel like it's talking down to
kids. If anything it's treating them as much of an adult as the
adults who are sitting down watching the movie with them. True, it
might fly over your head the first time you see it as a kid, but
that's just what make this movie age so well. You can come back as
an adult later and get a whole different experience from it. If you
like this little piece of mind fuckery than get ready for the
biggest one of all, because we are heading back to the Ivory Tower.
Introducing
every little boy's first crush.
In
hindsight, it's kind of funny thinking that Tami Stronach's
performance is the best. All she really does is sit there and give
exposition. Granted, that's more or less what she did in the second
movie, but she got to stretch her legs a little. Three gives her the
most interactions out of all of them, but she never really needed
all of that.
She
has more atmosphere surrounding her character in this one scene than
both sequels combined. I'm not exaggerating in the least when I say
I'll watch the entire movie from beginning to end just to see her. I
know I could just skip to her part, but it wouldn't have the same
impact as it does when you watch the whole thing.
Long
story short, Atreyu informs the Empress that he failed her only to
find out he hasn't, and that the Earthling Child was with him all
along. Upon learning that the Empress knew all of this from the
start Atreyu is less than thrilled about it.
Atreyu: My horse died, I nearly drowned, and for what? To find out what you already knew?
The
Childlike Empress: It was the
only way to get in touch with an earthling.
Yes, we feed on the misery of others.
Atreyu: Where is he!? If he's so close why doesn't he arrive?
The
Childlike Empress: He doesn't
realize he's already a part of the Neverending Story.
Atreyu:
The Neverending Story? What's
that?
The
Childlike Empress: Just as he
is sharing all of your adventures, others are sharing his.
Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall!
The Childlike Empress: They were with him when he tore up his room in search for his favorite movie.
What?
The Childlike Empress: They were with him when he took the case with our faces on the cover, in which he's reviewing his own story right now.
Boy, I have watched this movie way too many times. I thought they were talking about me for a second. Okay, moving on. Atreyu disappears and we get the infamous face to face meeting of The Childlike Empress and –
The Childlike Empress: ToriJ!
Oh, crap.
The Childlike Empress: Why don't you do what you dream, ToriJ?
Okay, if you knew the kind of things I dreamed you wouldn't be asking me that question!
The Childlike Empress: Call my name! ToriJ, please! Save us!
All right! All right! I'll save you! Just, don't cry! Okay, name. You need a name. Names are easy. I come up with names all the time. What name to give you? I – I – oh, oh great. Writer's block! Of all the times in the world to get writer's block you have to choose now!? Come on! Think of a name...! It doesn't even have to be a good name just come up with a name! Uhh... Uhh...
MOOSDFJSFSJFIOSDUFIOSDUF!
Okay,
who forgot to pay the electric bill?
ToriJ: Why is it dark?
The
Childlike Empress: In
the beginning it is always dark.
ToriJ:
That's
one way to avoid a question. What's that?
The
Childlike Empress: One
grain of sand. It's all that remains of my vast empire.
ToriJ:
Fantasia's
gone?
The
Childlike Empress: Yes.
ToriJ:
I
guess I could have gone about the whole naming thing quicker, huh?
The
Childlike Empress: …
ToriJ:
Right,
not the time to joke. I'm sorry everything has just been one big waste of
time.
The
Childlike Empress: No,
it hasn't. Fantasia can arrive in you. In your dreams and wishes,
ToriJ.
ToriJ:
How
would I do that?
The
Childlike Empress: Open
your hand.
ToriJ:
Awkwardly
opens hand
The
Childlike Empress: Places
the grain of sand in it
ToriJ:
Sings
I
got the whole world in my hands. I got the whole world in my hands.
Ahem! Sorry.
The
Childlike Empress: What
are you going to wish for?
ToriJ:
I
have no idea.
The
Childlike Empress: Then
there will be no Fantasia anymore.
ToriJ:
Jeez,
you really know how to lay on the pressure. How many wishes do I get?
The
Childlike Empress: As
many as you want. And the more wishes you make, the more magnificent
Fantasia will become.
ToriJ:
You
are the best genie ever!
The
Childlike Empress: Try
it.
ToriJ:
And
my first wish is...
That's the NeverEnding Story. What more can be said about it? The movie is great, the characters are memorable, it has a good message, and it encourages imagination and creativity. If you have kids then you owe it to them to let them see this movie. If you're an adult you owe it to yourself to see this movie. I'm ToriJ, and I'm going to go fly on a luck dragon now.
Get
it
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