Review of The NeverEnding Story (1984) by Jason D — 21 Mar 2010

The Neverending Story (or Die unendliche Geschichte, since it's actually a German film pretending to be an American one) wound up being an 80's contemporary classic that stretched the boundaries of children's films and gave us something unique, special, and incredibly original (unlike today's world that is filled with nothing but remakes, reboots, and unnecessary sequels).

The story concerns a sensitive young boy (Barret Oliver) whose constant fantasizing and love for literature makes him an easy target of bullies and causes him to have a chance encounter with the title book, which he takes to the school attic and reads.

This magical book takes him deep into the world of Fantasia where the Nothingness is literally engulfing Fantasia and making it non-existent. The leaders turn to a lone hero, a Native boy named Atreyu (Noah Hathaway, who looks TOTALLY different these days) to find a way to stop the nothingness, which winds up directly involving young Oliver as two very different worlds collide.

While a wholly original story and concept, this film is also known for its very unique and impressive special effects, both visually and with the creatures that are shown, like the wolf, Luck Dragon (voiced by the great Alan Oppenheimer), and Rock Monster.

This film definitely deserves its classic status, both as a child film and overall cult movie. Stick to this gem and avoid the retarded slew of badly done sequels and eventual remake. Classic film!