The NeverEnding Story
Movie, 1984, The 80s, Set in Fantasia
The NeverEnding Story is #2 of 27 in release order and #3 of 27 in chronological order in the VHS Kids Classics.
The story
While hiding from bullies in his school's attic, a young boy discovers the extraordinary land of Fantasia, through a magical book called The Neverending Story. The book tells the tale of Atreyu, a young warrior who, with the help of a luck dragon named Falkor, must save Fantasia from the destruction of The Nothing.
The NeverEnding Story recap
Bastian Bux is a lonely, bullied boy whose mother has died. Hiding from bullies in an old bookshop, he takes a book called The NeverEnding Story and reads it in the school attic. In the book, the land of Fantasia is being swallowed by the Nothing, and the Childlike Empress is dying. She sends the young warrior Atreyu on a quest to find a cure, wearing the amulet AURYN. Atreyu loses his horse Artax in the Swamps of Sadness, consults the giant turtle Morla, and is rescued by the luckdragon Falkor. He passes the Sphinx gates and a magic mirror, which shows him Bastian reading, and the Southern Oracle tells him the Empress needs a new name from a human child. The wolf Gmork, servant of the power behind the Nothing, explains that the Nothing is people giving up on their dreams, and Atreyu kills him as Fantasia falls apart. Bastian slowly realises the story knows he is there.
The NeverEnding Story ending explained
Fantasia is destroyed except for a single grain of sand, and the Empress begs Bastian to give her a name. He shouts it out the attic window, and she tells him he can rebuild Fantasia with his wishes. Fantasia returns, Atreyu and Falkor are restored, and Bastian starts wishing the world back into being. In the last scene, he rides Falkor into the real world and chases the bullies who tormented him into a dumpster, while the bookseller who lent him the book smiles to himself.
Post-credits scenes
No. There is no post-credits scene.
Where to watch The NeverEnding Story
The NeverEnding Story is streaming on Philo, YouTube (free), and Plex in the US. You can rent or buy it on Amazon, Apple TV, and Google Play.
Ratings
IMDb 7.3/10, Rotten Tomatoes 84%
Where it fits
- Release order: after E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial, before The Goonies.
- Chronological order: after E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial, before The Goonies.
Cast
- Noah Hathaway as Atreyu
- Barret Oliver as Bastian
- Tami Stronach as The Childlike Empress
- Alan Oppenheimer as Rockbiter / Falkor / G'mork / Narrator (voice)
- Sydney Bromley as Engywook
- Patricia Hayes as Urgl
- Moses Gunn as Cairon - Empress' Servant
- Frank Lenart as Teeny Weeny / Night Hob (voice)
- Robert Jadah as Morla the Ancient One (voice)
- Gerald McRaney as Bastian's Father
- Tilo Prückner as Night Hob
- Deep Roy as Teeny Weeny
Directed by Wolfgang Petersen.