The Neverending Story

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The Neverending Story is a 1984 fantasy classic adapted from Michael Ende's German novel of the same name, and begins with the story of a young boy named Bastian, and his evasion from a group of bullies. When he ducks inside a bookstore to hide, he is greeted by an old man and begins to look over the selection of literature. Bastian finds one book in particular, the Neverending Story, piques his interest. The old man however, tells him that this book is not for him, and denies Bastian. Inevitably, Bastian steals the book on his way out, and takes it into the school attic to continue hiding from the pursuing bullies.

It is within the first few pages that the story on screen transitions to events in the book, and we the viewer, alongside Bastian, are along for every step of the journey. A storm called the Nothing is devouring Fantasia, the fantasy world of the book, and the only way to stop it is to find a cure for the ailing Empress. A young yet courageous warrior named Atreyu takes the task upon himself, beginning an epic journey that will find him face to face with some of Fantasia's most dangerous locations and the mysteries hiding around every corner. His adventure leads him to forge many friendships with the odd inhabitants of Fantasia- a colorful and diverse group of characters that add a lot to the story- and the looming threat of oblivion grows ever closer with every step he takes towards his task to defeat the Nothing.

I love this movie so very much, and it means a great deal to me for very personal reasons. I saw it on VHS when I was seven, at school, about a year after it came out. I found the concept of a story within a story profound, even at a young age, and it was a story telling method I would continue to enjoy in the films of my adulthood, in example Donnie Darko. It was then after seeing the movie for the first time that I knew I wanted to be a writer when I grew up.

I've revisited it occasionally as an adult, and the luster hasn't dulled in the slightest. I still see what I saw then as a young boy, in what makes this such a great flick. It was rife with the excitement of adventure and discovery, but at the same time, a sense of impending dread and annihilation lurked around every corner. One scene in particular is quite easily one of the most traumatic movie scenes of my childhood. I don't horse around with spoilers so I'll just say that the Swamp of Sorrows scene was that scene, and leave it at that.

This movie is one of my most loved and influential films of my childhood, right up there with the Secret of Nihm, E.T., Ghostbusters, and the original Star Wars trilogy. I highly recommend it if you have kids around six-eight, especially if you didn't see this yourself as a kid. It's a great fantasy film experience, and I know I eagerly look forward to watching it with my niece when she's old enough...

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