Anssi Vartiainen Barret Oliver plays Bastian Balthazar Bux - a proud name, if there ever was one - a studious little boy, who's quite fascinated with books and stories as means to escape his less than ideal life as a child, who has lost his mother and is bullied at school. After dodging said bullies into a bookstore, he happens upon a book called The NeverEnding Story. Taking the book to school with him he ends up lost in its pages, reading about a world being taken over by The Nothing and about the Childlike Empress and Atreyu of the Plains People, who hunt the purple buffalo.The NeverEnding is one of the most beloved classics of the fantasy genre for a reason. Partly this is because of how the film looks. The beautifully made and animated puppets are still a sight to behold and give the whole film amazing authenticity. Rock Biter, Falkor, Morla and so many more fantastic creatures, who despite clearly being puppets, feel amazingly alive and alert in every scene they're in.But the other and most important part is the story itself. The barebone plot itself is more than decent fantasy adventure, but its the subtext, to which I keep returning. This film and the original book take a step backwards and decide to examine the very act of experiencing a story, be it through the act of reading a book, seeing a film or even listening to a song. We get lost in this experience. The surrounding real world shuts down and suddenly we're there, struggling across the Swamp of Sadness or peering through the telescope of old Engywook. It's an amazing thing, but quite often it's taken for granted.Not with this story, though. And for that, if for nothing else, this is a great film.

Al Cadey To say this film is one of the great classics of my generation would be an understatement. This is one of the greatest films ever. The Basics... It was released in 1984 - when I was born... shows my age. and it continues to be played every Christmas and often on a wet weekend. Its a magical adventure with a cast of all sorts, Humans, fairies, Bug people, rock monsters and a flying dragon, and so many more. the plot is to long winded to explain here, basically its a magical quest with great set/location and a tedious link to the real world. it addresses some heavy issues: Bullying, Death, Love and fear. so far I have chosen not to show my kids. I don't want them to feel the sadness of the swamp (RIP Artax). but I know my kids will love this film when they get chance to watch it. The Bad-ish!... some people say it is a little slow, some say the acting or the lip sink is poor. but none of that matters. The film is just the right speed to really feel all the aspects. The acting is well played, can seem a little OTT at times, but that's part of the fun. and the lip sink issues actually seem to suit the characters somehow... and to be honest, you wont actually notice unless you stare and study the film, deliberately looking. I would sadly have to say that the franchise didn't quite build well... Though this film was great, the following continuations were really not as good, NES2 was OK. NES3 was worse than bilge-water.The Good... as a child I grew up watching these easy to love friends in the film. it teaches a good set of moral things about good friends. The music - especially the main theme is great... My MP3 player now has "Never ending story - Ah-h-h-ah-h-h... Make believe I'm everywhere, Im written in the lines, there upon the pages..." The film will just blow you away - I would actually say - for its time, it is an easy 80s equivalent of the Lord of the rings. If you have not seen it I demand you go watch it now ! - But first, go get some movie snacks, and a family pack of tissues per person for the swamp scene... seriously, you will be in floods of tears. My final point is that this film will do everything the old Disney (not a D film) told you their films would do... You'll laugh, you'll cry and you will enjoy every minuet.

Kirpianuscus not the best adaptation. but useful one as beautiful invitation to discover the book. because, far to be the most inspired, it preserves the spirit and the delicacy and the pieces of unique images from a book who remains, for many of its readers, real special. and this is the most important thing in this case. to remind fundamental values. to rediscover great characters. to redefine small things. to preserve the magic of childhood. it was one of the first films viewed by me after the 1989 Romanian revolution. and, after 27 years ago, it remains more than a beautiful memory, associated with the freedom, it is one of the most accurate definition of it. so, a beautiful film. maybe, useful for its young public.

Marthian80 I remember watching this as a kid and was curious how it holds up to these days.In the movie we follow a little boy, Bastian, who likes to read fantasy books and dreams about being part of them. When he gets chased by bullies he hides in a bookshop were he encounters the book titled 'The NeverEnding Story'. The store owner warns Bastian for the book because it contains a story were the reader cannot escape from. Off course Bastian doesn't listen to the warning so he borrows the book, takes it to the attic of the school and delves into it's pages. We are then taken into the world of Fantasia, were the book's story takes place. Fantasia is in danger of being destroyed by 'The Nothing' and only the child hero, Atreyu, can save it. We then get to follow two protagonists, Atreyu on his quest to save Fantasia and Bastian reading this tale.NeverEnding Story is an entertaining film that still looks great in this age. Off course it doesn't look as smooth as today's movies because it's all animatronics, model set pieces and a few stop motion effects but they still manage to bring the world of fantasia alive. They really went out of their way with designing weird characters and that's the film main strength in my opinion. What I don't like about this film is that many of these characters only appear very briefly on screen. The main child actors spend a lot of time alone, a bit to long for me. The lack of (inter)action during these scenes makes the film feel a bit dull at times. Also the ending is a bit confusing and the movie struggles to bring the message to the audience. (I had to look it up in the FaQ) But it is still a entertaining movie to watch if your curious what this movie was about or perhaps watch it with your kids to let them see one of your childhood movies.