The
NeverEnding Story or in German “Die Unendliche Geschichte”
A
fantasy film based on the novel of same title by Michael Ende which was
released in 1984. The film was directed by Wolfgang Petersen.
The
story is about a boy named Bastian Balthazar Bux who stumbled upon a book with
a strange symbol on the cover. The symbol consists of two snakes intertwined
with each other forming a circle with three overlapping infinity symbols inside
and the snakes biting each other’s tail. The book itself was also titled
Neverending Story which he found inside the bookstore of Mr. Coreander, but he
was sternly warned not to touch or get involved with the book.
Young
and curious, Bastian took the book to read it, leaving behind a note that he
will return it once he is done.
He
book is about a fantasy world called Fantasia which is slowly being devoured by
the malevolent force known as the NOTHING. The land of Fantasia is ruled by the
Childlike Empress who has fallen ill and the young warrior Atreyu has been
given the task to find a cure for the Empress believing that the Empress holds
the key to save Fantasia from the Nothing.
The
Nothing is a living formless entity which is often shown as a dark cloud that
shrouds the entirety of Fantasia. Other creature such as the Rockbiter a giant
rock creature and the famous Falkor the flying dog like dragon called the
Luckdragon who assists the young warrior. Gmork the creature with wolf like
feature summoned by the Nothing to kill Atreyu before he finds the cure for the
Childlike Empress. Other creatures were also featured in the story which has
their own key roles.
The
adventure of Atreyu and the Luckdragon Falkor takes them to different places in
Fantasia in search for the cure for the Childlike Empress. But the adventure is
not without sacrifices one of the saddest scenes in the movie was when Atreyu
lost his horse Arta whom Falkor replaced for the travels of the young warrior.
Atreyu
and Bastian became connected to each other through the book. Later Bastian
enters the book and meets Atreyu and became the owner of the AURYN the
medallion which was also worn by Atreyu. The AURYN can grant wishes but in
return the memories of the one making the wish will lose parts if not all of
their memories. Bastian was able to cure the Childlike Empress by giving her a
new name which is the Moon Child. With this Bastian became part of the story
and one of the key characters of the new chapter which he has started.
The
movie later received two more sequels in 1990 and 1994. But the popularity of
the film did not just stop there, an animated adaptation was released in 1996
with 26 episodes aired in HBO and a live action series in 2001 with 13 episodes
also released on HBO.
I
consider the Neverending Story as one of the timeless movies that I have
watched, although I cannot recall when was the first time, I was able to watch
the first film by Falkor and the AURYN was the most notable words which lingers
in my head and some parts of the three movies I can still recall.
Another
character that other fans of the film remembers is the giant turtle known as
Morla or known as the Ancient One or some call it the Aged One.
Remembering
this classic film also made me think if the anime series Fushigi Yuugi was
inspired by the novel. But who knows, I still have to dig deep and revisit my
previous review on Fushigi Yuugi once I get all the needed facts for it.
The
movie itself other than the characters, the song was very catchy as well and it
remained in the memories of those who have seen the movie and for those who
have just heard it. The main theme was also titled Neverending Story by Limahl.
The music video for the theme used parts from the first film overlapping scenes
with Limahl as he sings the theme. Needless to say, this movie has a lot of
memorable moments for the viewers and fans.
I
would introduce this film to those who wants to see the films that I grew up
with especially once I get to have my own kids. I want them to see quality films
from my childhood.
No comments:
Post a Comment