The NeverEnding Story was a fantasy novel made by German writer Michael Ende in 1979. Like books such as Wizard of Oz or Alice in Wonderland, its imaginative worlds and creatures were able to draw people into its words without having to rely too much on a structured narrative; allowing the emotions to take front and centre ahead of logic. The book, while not as famous as the others, was popular enough to earn itself a film version made in 1984. Bastian Bux (played by Barret Oliver) is a ten-year old outcast who only finds companionship within the world of books. After hiding in a bookstore to escape bullies, he comes across a story that he is told is different from others he’s familiar with. Against the wishes of the bookkeeper, he steals the book and begins his story in the world of Fantasia, which is slowly being devoured by a malevolent force only called ‘the nothing’. The land’s only hope comes in the form of Atreyu (played by Noah Hathaway), a young warrior who must find a cure for the child-like empresses who has fallen ill and is the only one capable of stopping the nothing. He sets out on his quest, facing several dangers along the way, in hopes of saving fantasia from the nothing. Being a German produced movie, the film fit very nicely into the realm of 80s fantasy movies and seemed to satisfy its viewers well enough, even though the response from critics was less than balanced. The movie is home to a lot of creative visuals and themes which leads to a fun imaginative experience.

This was director Wolfgang Petersen’s first English language film and his German presence (as well as all the other German talent behind the movie) helped to give the movie a more distinct atmosphere surrounding it. Unlike most fantasy stories which rely on their colorful lands and bright cheery energy, the NeverEnding story from the beginning starts off on a grey depression dark note where the fate of the world is at stake. It’s a story that fits being made during the 1980s as it was when kids movie were more risky with what they could get away with, and while there’s nothing visually scarring about the movie, there is this overwhelming sense of dread and bleakness that the film creates within its fantasy world. Despite this gloomy atmosphere, Fantasia is still home to some wildly creative creatures, beautiful landscapes, and memorable characters; it’s a world that feels dangerous and highly fantastical but lived in and full of character. The movie benefits the most when its in Fantasia and following along with this set-up, mostly because the stuff in the real world is moreso a hindrance on the film. The real-world portion exist mainly to give the message of the movie (which is a good message about appreciating imagination and the timelessness that comes with reading), but its written pretty blandly and isn’t interesting in the slightest. Because of the constant shift in location, not only does this weaken the investment felt because the real world isn’t in danger, but it also means Fantasia’s story is left to be pretty shallow because of the limited time within it. The  journey for the world is fine and works in this ‘’emotions rule all’’ style of storytelling, but it could have used more time to fully engross the audience in these characters and their plight so the consequences felt a bit more dramatic.

The characters within Fantasia have that unique fantasy-story vibe to them that allows them to get away with being memorable despite not having that much screen-time. Whether It comes through good writing, good effects, or good acting, but a lot of the fantasy creatures that Atreyu meets along his journey are pretty likeable and leave an impression despite how little time they are given. Since the story is all about the end of their world, there’s this strong avoidance of wasting time, so each character isn’t given a lot to do and many don’t even come back, but with the movie functioning like a road trip movie, it works fine under this layout. The main two kids have split reactions despite being pretty similar; Noah Hathaway is fine as Atreyu, he’s still a kid and doesn’t always deliver his lines perfectly, but for what he’s given and what the role requires of him, he does it fine. Barret Oliver is pretty bad as Bastian, it doesn’t help that his sections are the most boring of the movie, but his delivery is pretty flat and unengaging. The rest of the actors are completely dedicated to the fantasy environment they exist in and have a lot of fun going that right amount of over-the-top while still feeling like existing people to lead to some fun performances.

The practical effects within this movie are something to behold. Even though a lot of them are clearly effects and the movie even has some pretty bad green-screening (particularly near the end) but everything to the sets, to the models, to the puppets, to the make-up, it all looks and feels incredibly. The world of fantasia feels like a real world due to its landscapes, but the added touches of fantastical elements add a nice touch of life, the puppet work on a lot of the side characters is largely impressive, the sets feel memorable and grand despite not having that much color in them, and since the movie was the most expensive film produced outside of the US during its time of release, that is shown through its effects and they are something to be proud of. The music is also a score that fits nicely into a typical fantasy movie. While most of the background score is effective, but not too memorable, the main theme for the movie sung by Christopher Hamill and Beth Anderson (despite feeling like a pretty big tone shift from the movie) is insanely catchy and will never leave your mind the minute you hear it. It’s a nice 80s tune that surprisingly works in this dark fantasy movie. The movie feels like its appropriately dark and uses this to its advantage; it helps makes the world more threatening as the journey progresses and it keeps kids from getting fooled into feeling too safe in this new environment. It keeps them on their feet and does the job of putting the main character through turmoil until the end. However, the disconnect from the real-world and Fantasia still means the people won’t be as invested as they should be.

The NeverEnding Story had the challenge of bringing a book that was filled with imaginative ideas to the big screen without making it feel like other movies of its type and for the most part, it did just that. The movie has a unique presence that feels very fantasy heavy, but also engrossed within the 80s with its atmosphere, most of the actors are having fun, the effects are impressive and it’s a solid movie to show kids that has a strong element of darkness, but one that doesn’t feature too many scarring elements (outside of a certain horse scene). However, the human world element is pretty boring and doesn’t do much outside of waste time, prevents Fantasia from being properly fleshed out and leaves the main goal of the movie feeling a bit shallow by comparison. This can lead to it coming across as a bit dull to people, but it has enough creative fun elements to check out that still makes it worth a watch. Even though its eventual sequels made people wish the story would come to an end, the original film seems to keep people coming back for more. Check it out and see for yourself If is a story you want to go on a journey with.