The NeverEnding Story: Review By Dan

Do you have any movies that bring you comfort when you watch them? The NeverEnding Story was certainly one of those movies for me as a child. It had bizarre, imaginative creatures (something akin to what I could see Guillermo Del Toro or Tim Burton doing), and a story I feel is important for people to see and hear. It's a fantasy movie, no doubt, but it had a great message, much like a lot of 80's movies did. Sadly, it seems to be rare that new movies capture the same spirit and wonderment that NeverEnding Story possessed, with its message of believing in yourself and allowing your vivid imagination to help you work through the drudgeries and depressing nature of real life at times. I just don't feel that same way with modern movies, as they tend to substitute that type of substance for impatient, weak jokes or just never take the the time to venture there (this is, of course, excluding the Lord of the Rings trilogy, which certainly captured that same spirit and took the time to tell a wonderful story, which is why it's so beloved).

While the special effects look badly dated (I cringed re-watching this today, seeing how Falkor the luck dragon has held up over the years), but it is still fun to me to see much more practical effects then CGI. Something about that old fashioned way of effects that feels familiar and better. But, like a lot of 1980's movies, the story and message was what really mattered, not how much everything could visually dazzle you. That's not to say there isn't some awesome imagery in Story, though, as the story progresses we're shown at least 4-5 different types of landscapes, several odd creatures such as the Rock Biter and his strange companions, and one of the antagonists of the story, The Nothing (a visual interpretation for hopeless, unimaginative, depressed people) is shown in an epic way for a 1984 movie.

I think the most endearing thing about Story was how our protagonist, Bastian Bux (Barret Oliver) finds comfort in a good book versus the dark reality he lives in at the time (with coping with the recent death of his mother, and falling behind in school, not to mention the bullies that pick on him). That is something I can definitely relate to, as sometimes it's great to get away from the real world and get caught up in someone else's plight and quest in a good novel. Where NeverEnding Story really wins though is while Bastian is reading the book, over the course of the movie he slowly but surely becomes integrated into its story, and we learn through one of the villains that the reason the book is called what it is, is because people's imaginations are not finite. The reason the story seems to be heading into oblivion, though, is The Nothing is a reflection of Bastian. I saw it as an allegory of the anti-social, depressed state he was in over the previously mentioned death of his mother and being constantly bullied, and the book helps him work through those issues, particularly in the form of the Childlike Empress near the conclusion of the film. In a sense, she was an embodiment of his mother, and a way for him to work past his grief. It's actually surprising to me now, as an adult, how much psychology was woven into this children's movie, and makes it all the more impressive to me.

Story's director, German director Wolfgang Peterson, is like a hit or miss director with me. Here, he triumphantly succeeds in giving us an immortal tale that can be watched over and over, and yet some of his other movies I find to be snooze fests (such as the Perfect Storm. Not a bad movie, but after you've seen it the first time, it seems to be hard to keep the eye lids open on repeat viewings). However, he has put out quite a few that I've loved (Air Force One, Das Boot, Outbreak for examples), so I'm still interested to see what he does in the future. There are far worse directors out there.

There was also a sincerity to the acting that I adored. The interaction between the fictional character Atreyu (a personification of Bastian that is filled with hope, bravery and adventure) and the monsters he encounters is great and smile-worthy, and the quiet climax between the Childlike Empress and Bastian himself is very sweet and a nice culmination to what the entire movie's message is all about. Really, I have no complaints in that department.

While I'm not a fan of the sequels, nor of this rumored reboot (however, if it happens and looks like it'll capture the magic of the original, I may give it a chance, an updated Falkor might be cool after seeing how badly aged he looks now), NeverEnding Story is one of those fantastic, near and dear movies from my childhood that I still enjoy as an adult. I highly recommend it to anyone who can appreciate a movie that puts story and heart first, visuals second.

Thanks for reading :) (All words, ideas are mine. Any similarities to other reviews are of complete coincidence)...