The NeverEnding Story (film)

''The NeverEnding Story'' () is a 1984 fantasy film, co-written and directed by Wolfgang Petersen (in his first English-language film), based on the 1979 novel ''The Neverending Story'' by Michael Ende. It was produced by Bernd Eichinger and Dieter Geissler, and stars Noah Hathaway, Barret Oliver, Tami Stronach, Patricia Hayes, Sydney Bromley, Gerald McRaney and Moses Gunn, with Alan Oppenheimer providing the voices of Falkor, Gmork, and others. It follows a boy who finds a magical book that tells of a young warrior who is given the task of stopping the Nothing, a dark force, from engulfing the wonderland world of Fantasia.

It is the first in ''The NeverEnding Story'' film series. It adapts only the first half of the book, so it does not convey the message of the title as portrayed in the novel. The second half of the book was then used as a rough basis for the second film, '' The NeverEnding Story II: The Next Chapter'' (1990). The third film, '' The NeverEnding Story III: Escape from Fantasia'' (1994), has an original plot not based on the book.

Plot

Bastian Balthazar Bux is a shy boy who lives with his widowed father. One morning, Bastian's father tells his son of his concern after hearing he daydreams in school and tells Bastian he needs to stop. On his way to school, Bastian is chased by bullies, and escapes by hiding in a bookstore. He meets the owner, Carl Conrad Coreander, and Bastian's interest in books leads him to ask about the one Mr. Coreander is reading, ''The Neverending Story'', but he advises against reading it. With his curiosity piqued, Bastian secretly takes the book. Arriving at school late, Bastian hides in the building's attic to read.

The book describes the world of Fantasia, a fantasy realm that is slowly being destroyed by a malevolent force called "The Nothing". Messengers are heading to the Ivory Tower to seek help from The Childlike Empress. To their dismay, they learn that she has fallen ill. The young warrior Atreyu is tasked with discovering a cure for her illness in order to save Fantasia. Atreyu is given an amulet called Auryn that can guide and protect him in the quest. As Atreyu sets out, a wolf-like being named Gmork is sent to kill Atreyu.

Atreyu's quest leads him to seek the advice of Morla, the Ancient One, in the Swamps of Sadness. While making their way through the swamp, Atreyu's horse Artax is overcome by the sadness and sinks into the swamp, leaving Atreyu to continue alone. Morla, being a prisoner in the swamp, can't assist Atreyu and doesn't have the answers he seeks, but directs Atreyu to the Southern Oracle, ten thousand miles distant. Gmork closes in as an exhausted Atreyu begins to sink into the swamp before being saved by the Luck Dragon Falkor, who takes him to the home of Urgl and Engywook, two gnomes who live near the gates to the Southern Oracle. Atreyu just manages to make it through the first deadly gate but at the second gate, a mirror reveals an image of Bastian reading the book. Atreyu eventually meets the Southern Oracle, who tells him that the only way to save the Empress is to find a human child who lives beyond the boundaries of Fantasia to give her a new name.

In flight, Atreyu is knocked from Falkor's back by the Nothing, losing the Auryn in the process. He wakes on the shore of some abandoned ancient ruins, where he finds several murals depicting his adventure, including one of Gmork, who explains that Fantasia represents humanity's imagination and is thus without boundaries, while the Nothing is a manifestation of the loss of hopes and dreams. Gmork lunges at Atreyu who slays him with an improvised weapon as the Nothing begins consuming the ruins.

Falkor manages to retrieve Auryn and rescue Atreyu. Later only small fragments of Fantasia remain in a starry void. Fearing that they have failed, they come upon the Ivory Tower intact. Inside, Atreyu reports he failed the Empress, but she assures him that he has brought to her a human child who has been following his quest. She explains that Bastian has been following Atreyu's adventures. He has become a part of the story they are all sharing in. As the Nothing begins to destroy the Tower, Atreyu is knocked unconscious. The Empress pleads with Bastian to call out her new name in order to save Fantasia. Filled with doubt, Bastian declines to believe any of it could be happening. After she implores him directly to call out her new name, he runs to the window of the attic and calls out her new name: "Moonchild".

The Empress presents Bastian with a grain of sand, the last remnant of Fantasia. The Empress tells him that he has the power to bring Fantasia back with his imagination. Bastian re-creates Fantasia and flies on Falkor's back to see the land and its inhabitants restored, including Atreyu and Artax. When Falkor asks what his next wish will be, Bastian brings Falkor to the real world to chase down the school bullies. The film narrates that Bastian had many more wishes and adventures before returning to the ordinary world but that is another story.

Cast

* Barret Oliver as Bastian Balthazar Bux
* Noah Hathaway as Atreyu
* Tami Stronach as The Childlike Empress, to whom Bastian gives the new name "Moon Child".
* Patricia Hayes as Urgl, Engywook's wife and a healer.
* Sydney Bromley as Engywook, Urgl's husband and a scientist.
* Gerald McRaney as Barney Bux, Bastian's widowed, workaholic father.
* Moses Gunn as Cairon, a servant of the Empress.
* Alan Oppenheimer as the voices of Falkor, Gmork, Rockbiter, and the Narrator (the latter three are uncredited).
* Thomas Hill as Carl Conrad Coreander, a bookseller.
* Deep Roy as Teeny Weeny, a messenger riding on a racing snail.
* Tilo Prückner

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