The Neverending Story is a great fantasy movie with a lot of meaning to the real world. It's easily enjoyable for anyone with a vivid imagination.
Bastian (Barret Oliver) is a lonely young boy who is coping with the death of his mother, struggling in school, and has to deal with bullies every day. His only solace is books, particularly fantasy books. While hiding from bullies in a used book store he sees an exciting looking book called "The Neverending Story" in the hands of the grouchy shopkeeper. Bastian becomes intrigued and steals the book when the shopkeeper is on the phone. He then escapes to his school's attic to read the book, and the film becomes a movie within a movie. The audience is then transported to Fantasia, a lush fantasy land being destroyed by "The Nothing", and whose childlike Empress is dying. The Fantasians only hope is a boy warrior named Atreyu (Noah Hathaway), who must find a cure for the Empress' illness and stop the Nothing from destroying their world. Bastian then follows Atreyu on his quest, experiencing and feeling everything Atreyu feels, including the desperate hope they can save Fantasia.
I love this movie. It's been one of my favorites for a long time for both the film itself, and the deeper meanings of it. The Neverending Story is also easily enjoyable for children and adults. Though parents be warned, children under seven may be very frightened by the "G'mork", an evil wolf-like creature. The acting is good and the atmosphere of Fantasia is always with the audience. I must admit the special effects are pretty bad. But it was only the early 80's, and the film is good enough to ignore that. There was a lot of criticism for this movie on the fact it was not loyal to the book, and even the author himself hated it. Honestly, it IS fairly loyal to about half of the book, but this film ends where maybe Chapter 14 of the 26 chapter book starts. It is definitely the fantasy of every lonely bookworm, and a must for anyone who loves to read. Oh, and don't watch the other two sequels to this, it will just kill everything lovable about the first one.
Bastian (Barret Oliver) is a lonely young boy who is coping with the death of his mother, struggling in school, and has to deal with bullies every day. His only solace is books, particularly fantasy books. While hiding from bullies in a used book store he sees an exciting looking book called "The Neverending Story" in the hands of the grouchy shopkeeper. Bastian becomes intrigued and steals the book when the shopkeeper is on the phone. He then escapes to his school's attic to read the book, and the film becomes a movie within a movie. The audience is then transported to Fantasia, a lush fantasy land being destroyed by "The Nothing", and whose childlike Empress is dying. The Fantasians only hope is a boy warrior named Atreyu (Noah Hathaway), who must find a cure for the Empress' illness and stop the Nothing from destroying their world. Bastian then follows Atreyu on his quest, experiencing and feeling everything Atreyu feels, including the desperate hope they can save Fantasia.
I love this movie. It's been one of my favorites for a long time for both the film itself, and the deeper meanings of it. The Neverending Story is also easily enjoyable for children and adults. Though parents be warned, children under seven may be very frightened by the "G'mork", an evil wolf-like creature. The acting is good and the atmosphere of Fantasia is always with the audience. I must admit the special effects are pretty bad. But it was only the early 80's, and the film is good enough to ignore that. There was a lot of criticism for this movie on the fact it was not loyal to the book, and even the author himself hated it. Honestly, it IS fairly loyal to about half of the book, but this film ends where maybe Chapter 14 of the 26 chapter book starts. It is definitely the fantasy of every lonely bookworm, and a must for anyone who loves to read. Oh, and don't watch the other two sequels to this, it will just kill everything lovable about the first one.
