Neverending Story (A or 4/4 stars)
In 'The Neverending Story' (based on a book & directed/adapted by Wolfgang Petersen, Das Boot), there are two young heroes who exist in parallel-then-intersecting storylines. City kid Bastian (Barret Oliver) is a lonely, misanthropic boy - but with good reason. His mom is recently deceased. He's having trouble connecting with his dad (Gerald McCraney, "Stop daydreaming. Start facing your problems"). He's struggling at school. His head is constantly in the clouds. And a pack of bullies are always on his case: in other words, he needs his escapism. So when he runs to hide in an antique bookshop & discovers a copy of a forbidden book called 'The Neverending Story', he can't help but hole up in his school's musty attic to get away from class, the bullies and, well, everything.
As he reads the story, it comes to life onscreen. It's a tale of brave boy warrior Atreyu (Noah Hathaway), the hopeful savior of the mystical land of Fantasia. There, the Child Empress (Tami Stronach) has fallen morbidly ill as an indescribable force called 'The Nothing' slowly swallows Fantasia whole. Because of The Nothing, "people have begun to lose their hopes & forget their dreams". And as Bastian reads the story, he realizes that Atreyu (a boy of the same age) is the only one who can save Fantasia. Atreyu's quest to stop The Nothing and save the Empress finds him fighting an evil werewolf, navigating the deadly Swamps of Sadness, & the Howling Forest on the way to find the all-important Southern Oracle, & meeting up with a friendly white luckdragon named Falkor.
Along his journey he also encounters a well-dressed Indian who sits atop a racing snail (yes, he's actually speedy), a narcoleptic bat, an enormous Rockbiter that only eats rocks, a giant prophecy-spewing turtle named Morla, a valiant horse named Artax, an elderly gnome couple, among many others. And by the end of the film, the fates of Bastian, Atreyu, & Fantasia converge in a way that only storybooks can allow. Even watching it today, this movie quickens my pulse, makes me tear-up {a scene with Artax in a swamp, holy hell!}, & makes me dream that an adventure like this could maybe, just maybe ... happen to me. The in-the-moment AND cumulative effect of this movie is magical.
'The Neverending Story' is one of those great child fantasy films of the early 1980s (Dark Crystal, Return to Oz, Goonies, Labyrinth, eventually The Witches) that wasn't afraid to scare kids a little -- I love that. I mean, why play it safe? I came out from the experience unscathed. And I'm sure millions of other kids appreciate the darker material, as well. 'The Neverending Story' gets a lot of mileage out of the world of Fantasia; with its wondrous creatures, majestic lands, & daring adventures. Many of the brilliant visual effects involve stellar use of Muppet-like creatures (a la The Dark Crystal). They are, in a way, much more convincing than animation, because they exist in three dimensions; having a similar depth to the human co-stars.
Not only is the film wonderful - with an imaginative premise, epic scope, iconic characters, ornate fantasy design, & stirring music - but I also like the metaphor of 'The Nothing'. A fantasy world where kids are disappearing by an encroaching void signifies the challenge of holding on to childhood innocence (as what's happening to Bastian while he breathlessly turns the pages of the book). And given that the innocence & wonder in contained within a magical book, it's easy to give in to The Neverending Story's charms in an increasingly anti-literate society. I just love that a child responds positively to a book as a vessel for his imagination and as a way to escape his reality. By becoming part of this immersive adventure, the boy is given the self-confidence he needs when he returns to the real world. What a great movie.
As he reads the story, it comes to life onscreen. It's a tale of brave boy warrior Atreyu (Noah Hathaway), the hopeful savior of the mystical land of Fantasia. There, the Child Empress (Tami Stronach) has fallen morbidly ill as an indescribable force called 'The Nothing' slowly swallows Fantasia whole. Because of The Nothing, "people have begun to lose their hopes & forget their dreams". And as Bastian reads the story, he realizes that Atreyu (a boy of the same age) is the only one who can save Fantasia. Atreyu's quest to stop The Nothing and save the Empress finds him fighting an evil werewolf, navigating the deadly Swamps of Sadness, & the Howling Forest on the way to find the all-important Southern Oracle, & meeting up with a friendly white luckdragon named Falkor.
Along his journey he also encounters a well-dressed Indian who sits atop a racing snail (yes, he's actually speedy), a narcoleptic bat, an enormous Rockbiter that only eats rocks, a giant prophecy-spewing turtle named Morla, a valiant horse named Artax, an elderly gnome couple, among many others. And by the end of the film, the fates of Bastian, Atreyu, & Fantasia converge in a way that only storybooks can allow. Even watching it today, this movie quickens my pulse, makes me tear-up {a scene with Artax in a swamp, holy hell!}, & makes me dream that an adventure like this could maybe, just maybe ... happen to me. The in-the-moment AND cumulative effect of this movie is magical.
'The Neverending Story' is one of those great child fantasy films of the early 1980s (Dark Crystal, Return to Oz, Goonies, Labyrinth, eventually The Witches) that wasn't afraid to scare kids a little -- I love that. I mean, why play it safe? I came out from the experience unscathed. And I'm sure millions of other kids appreciate the darker material, as well. 'The Neverending Story' gets a lot of mileage out of the world of Fantasia; with its wondrous creatures, majestic lands, & daring adventures. Many of the brilliant visual effects involve stellar use of Muppet-like creatures (a la The Dark Crystal). They are, in a way, much more convincing than animation, because they exist in three dimensions; having a similar depth to the human co-stars.
Not only is the film wonderful - with an imaginative premise, epic scope, iconic characters, ornate fantasy design, & stirring music - but I also like the metaphor of 'The Nothing'. A fantasy world where kids are disappearing by an encroaching void signifies the challenge of holding on to childhood innocence (as what's happening to Bastian while he breathlessly turns the pages of the book). And given that the innocence & wonder in contained within a magical book, it's easy to give in to The Neverending Story's charms in an increasingly anti-literate society. I just love that a child responds positively to a book as a vessel for his imagination and as a way to escape his reality. By becoming part of this immersive adventure, the boy is given the self-confidence he needs when he returns to the real world. What a great movie.