The Neverending Story Review

Disclaimer: Contains spoilers!

Plot Summary: A boy "borrows" a magical book which tells the tale of another boy's quest to stop a force known as the Nothing from destroying a world called Fantasia.

Review: This is an awesome movie I've always loved when I was growing up; despite being a basic children's movie, there are some serious themes going on here. Essentially the "neverending" aspect is that one person's adventure is the story to another and so on and so forth. I liked that there were so many deep aspects to the story other than just magical beings and magical events. Like the Nothing, which is the antagonist, is sort of an abstract concept rather than a physical being. It represents the lack of caring about the world of Fantasia (or books in general) and so it consumes Fantasia and all within; you'd be surprised by how complex the issues and ideas are considering this is supposed to be viewed by young children...guess we were just smarter back then! The character of Atreyu makes an interesting center as he's a boy-hero considered to be a great warrior. His journey is indirectly accompanied by the main character, Bastion, who is reading Atreyu's adventure. Some of the background characters are lame, but the two lead boys are great; some of the costumes are especially bad and do stand out but whatever. The parallels between the two boys makes for fun interactions as Atreyu unwittingly seeks out Bastion who thinks everything he's reading is all a story. The addition of the Childlike Empress makes for a satisfying conclusion as she is the one who set the story into motion; always had a bit of a crush on her too. Overall, the music is great, the action and pacing are perfect for a kids movie, the fantasy elements work nicely, and there is a lot of heart to the plot. The was definitely one of the greats to come from the '80s and a personal favorite of mine. I highly recommend this to viewers of all ages despite it being targeted for kids.

Notable Moment: When Atreyu is in the Swamp of Sadness. A lot happens here including the death or Artax, the revelation that Atreyu should be thousands of miles from where he's at, and the near death of Atreyu himself. Now that's some serious shit!

Final Rating: 9/10