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146 of 156 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
"He is very close, listening to every word we say.", October 26, 2004
In 1994, Wolfgang Petersen directed the film adaptation of the German novel "Die Unendliche Geschichte", which was written by Michael Ende (1929-1995). The film/novel is better known in the U.S. with its English title of "The Neverending Story". It was also the first film that Wolfgang Petersen filmed in English. The story begins with a troubled boy named Bastian (Barret Oliver), who is being raised by his father (Gerald McRaney). An avid reader with an active imagination, Bastian walks into a used bookstore owned by Mr. Koreander (Thomas Hill) and finds a mysterious book that captures his curiosity. Mr. Koreander seemingly doesn't want to sell the book to him, but Bastian manages to run from the store with book in hand. Bastian takes the book to school with him, where he is tormented by three bullies (Drum Garrett, Darryl Cooksey & Nicholas Gilbert). To avoid the bullies, Bastian finds refuge in a rarely-used attic within the school and begins to read from the book about a magical land called Fantasia. Fantasia is a wonderful place with many unusual characters and is ruled by the Childlike Princess (Tami Stronach), but something terrible is happening to Fantasia as parts of it are disappearing by an unknown force referred to only as "the nothing". The Childlike Princess calls upon the strongest warrior to find a human child to stop "the nothing". The warrior, a boy named Atreyu (Noah Hathaway) of a tribe similar to Native Americans, takes the protective signet that the Childlike Princess gives to him and sets off to find a human child, which can only be found beyond the bounds of Fantasia. To his astonishment, as Bastian reads the book and the many adventures, challenges and dangers and Atreyu faces, Bastian slowly begins to realize whom Atreyu and the Childlike Princess are actually seeking.
With imaginative characters, good cinematography & special effects and an endearing & well-written story, "The Neverending Story" is a wonderful and engaging film that not only captures Bastian's imagination in the story, but the audience's imagination as well. Other memorable characters in the film include Teeny Weeny (Deep Roy), Night Hob (Tilo Prückner), Cairon (Moses Gunn), Engywook (Sydney Bromley), Urgl (Patricia Hayes), Falkor (voice of Alan Oppenheimer), Rock Biter, the Racing Snail and the Bat. Overall, I rate "The Neverending Story" with 5 out of 5 stars and very highly recommend it to both young & old alike. It's a wonderful film that can be watched time and again without becoming tiresome. Sadly, the film's two sequels (produced in 1990 & 1994) were far less memorable. Other films directed by Wolfgang Petersen include "Das Boot" (1981), "Enemy Mine" (1985), "The Perfect Storm" (2000) and "Troy" (2004).
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54 of 57 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
An answer to the big question....., August 30, 2001
Just in case anyone is wondering, as one reviewer did, the name that Bastien yells out the window at the end of the movie is "Moonchild". My wife happened upon a book version of the story, and it is spelled out there. It is very difficult to understand him in the film, but if you listen carefully, he yells it out in 3 syllables -- "Moon---chi---uld!!!" As for the movie, it's nothing short of a classic. I revisited this movie recently, having not seen it since I was young, when it was my favorite movie. I was struck by some logical inconsistencies (Why is Atreiu the only hope? Aren't there some grown-up Plains warriors who would fare better? Why can't he take his bow and arrow??) But that's the cynical adult in me talking. The movie has such terrific effects and the puppets are incredible. Both the Luck Dragon and the Rock Biter look more real than the digital characters in recent movies. And as for Bastien's "wish" at the end of the movie.....it's exactly what any little boy would want. What a great movie!!!
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115 of 128 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
The Book and Movie can coexist, January 9, 2002
Like so many other reviewers, I watched this as a small child. My kindergarten teacher just loved it. At the time, I found it horrible, dark and scary. (I was a VERY wimpy movie watcher, Raiders of the Lost Ark sent me into hysterics) Years later, I decided to bite the bullet and try it again. I found it to be a lovely pure fantasy with (for the time) great special effects and good music. Let's face it, you either love electronic fantasy scores or you hate them, there's no real middle ground. That said, I do think that this movie is too scary for small children, parents should use their own experience and knowledge to decide when their child is ready. (That is what the PG means) This is the tale of a sensitive child who finds himself being absorbed into the magical book he is reading, called the Neverending Story. (That is where the movie gets its name, the story is different for each person, thus it never ends. There was no ripoff) Dragons, monsters and beautiful images dance in his head as he slowly realizes that the characters in the book are talking to him. The movie is based on a German novel of the same name by Michael Ende. (a master of surrealist fairy tales for grown ups) Yes, the book is better and yes, the movie only takes the first half of the book. But really, isn't it better to take the first half mostly intact rather than try to cram in every single scene and totally alienate all viewers? What this book really needs is a miniseries but until then, this movie is great. Two other questions raised were what was the name Bastion yelled. Moonchild, and it wasn't his mother's name in the book (though it is possible if she were a hippy '_') The second question was about the attic. AS the book was written by a German, one may presume that some German schools have attics. Or maybe it was just another fairy tale element added to make the story more surreal. (Attics always seem to figure into fairy tales) either way, it is a relatively small thing to worry about. This is a very fine example of 80s fantasy, it has a good message and if you or your children are not easily frightened, it is a very good movie on a rainy day. As an owner of 186 books all I can say is see the movie, savour the book.
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