On My Shelf: Neverending Story (1984)
I did see The Neverending Story as a child, thanks to our friends, The Smiths, who had cable. I thought that it was amazing, but I was also somewhat confused by it, because I couldn't figure out if it was a foreign movie or not, and I thought that I had only seen half of it.
Watching it as an adult, I can understand why I felt that way.
Plot: Bastian, a young boy whose mother recently passed away, has trouble with daydreaming (according to his Major Dad). Bastian attempts to knuckle down to reality and go to school, but is waylaid by bullies -- who he avoids by hiding in a bookstore. The creepy, low-rent Wilfred Brimley who owns the store reverse-psycologies him into "borrowing" a weird book titled The Neverending Story. Bastian shows up so late for school that he decides to just ditch, and lets himself into the school's attic, where he reads the book for the rest of the day. He finds himself drawn into a weird, fantastical story (is it a daydream, or is it real?!) with many creative characters and scenic backdrops.
And sometimes it's just a kid sitting in a dark attic, crying
and talking to himself.The Good Things...
The Music
The music might be the single best thing about this movie. It's 80's music with a 70's disco beat -- and still features the soaring, fantastical qualities of a good fantasy movie soundtrack. Not surprisingly, perhaps, since it was done by Giorgio Moroder -- the guy who did the memorable theme to the movie Midnight Express (even if you've never seen or heard of that movie, you've probably heard that theme) and also wrote the quintessential 80's Top Ten hit, Take My Breath Away .
The Visuals
Although I didn't really like the look of the character-design when I was a kid (specifically, I found Falkor the Luck Dragon's face gross)...
"But how could you find the ugly, flesh-colored weasel-dog
with a human nose gross?"...I really, really like the scenery and the set-design and the matte-paintings. This is classic 1980's fantasy movie material. I would watch this movie just for the scenery. It's so beautiful and so creative. I would take one movie that looks like this movie over a hundred modern CGI nightmares.
It's so pretty.
The Darkness
For a kid's movie, this film goes into some really dark places...
Literally and figuratively.... And I'm counting that as a good thing. Too often, children's movies have zero stakes because filmmakers were apparently afraid of "frightening" or "upsetting" children. And you know what? That makes for boring, bland, bad children's movies. Kids didn't love E.T. because of how neutral it made them feel. And do you know of any adults who have PTSD because they saw Raiders of the Lost Ark when they were little? And how many people are unable to function now because The Goonies main-characters went through such peril? NONE, that's how many. In a good movie, characters must face some form of dire circumstances (physically, emotionally, or whatever), or else it's simply going to fail as a movie. The end.
The Nothing...
Nit-Picky Points
Like I said... the movie does make some questionable choices. Not all their character designs are what one might term "attractive." And... I can't help but wonder why they dubbed Deep Roy's voice.
Left, Deep Roy. Right... uh, I don't know his name.For the uninitiated, Deep Roy is a little person with an extensive acting portfolio. You might have seen him in classic Doctor Who episodes, or Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory (as all the "Oompa Loompas") or as "the little person" in one of a billion other things (Transformers II, Alien from L.A., etc.) But for some reason, in this movie, they put him in a scene where everything seems to be in scale with him, so that one can't really tell how tall he is -- and they dub his "little" voice over with the ordinary voice of a full-sized man. It's really peculiar, because it basically nullifies the point of hiring a physically little person; he doesn't sound or look little. Why would you do that? What's the point?
Also, although I've gotten used to Falkor's voice (performed by Alan Oppenheimer of Skeletor fame) I still dislike Falkor's face. But I'm sure that's just a personal thing and everyone else finds his horrible, stiff, gaping maw simply adorable.
"Ain't From Around Here"
I really understand my confusion as a child. This still feels like a foreign movie. From the inexplicably dubbed characters at the beginning, to the surprise I always feel when I see Gerald McRaney in this film ("What's he doing in a foreign movie? ... Oh wait.") ... There's something about it that just feels like a movie made "elsewhere". And perhaps that's not surprising. It's based on a German fantasy novel (Die unendliche Geschichte) ... and was filmed in Germany with a mainly European cast. The "not American" feel really rubs off, but not in a way that I can really put my finger on. Just something about the rhythm, and the cinematography... and the casting... and the dialogue...
Weak Central Problem
What amounts to the main plot problem is that Bastian's Dad has asked him to keep his head out of the clouds and stop failing school on account of daydreams.
Pictured: A "no daydream" smoothie in the making.To that end, Bastian absolutely resists getting involved in 'the neverending story' ... WHILE SIMULTANEOUSLY SKIPPING AN ENTIRE DAY OF SCHOOL, MISSING AN IMPORTANT MATH TEST, AND DOUBTLESSLY MAKING HIS DAD THINK HE HAS BEEN ABDUCTED, SO THAT HE CAN READ A NOVEL.
Since Bastian has already completely disobeyed his Father's wishes, bigtime, there is no reason on earth for him to avoid getting involved in the story; by the point that his resisting becomes an issue, it's pretty much nonsensical for him to resist.
Just a Half
The film starts a bit slow, it hits beats at weird points (for instance -- the scene above with the horse feels like it should happen near the end of the film, when our character is at his lowest point... not where it is, shortly after the beginning of the film) and then the story just kind of plods along and takes its time, and characters do things that have no relevance and meaning. Then, just when things finally start going, and you're all excited and you're like, "Now it's getting good! I can't wait to see what happens next!" ... it VERY ABRUPTLY ends.
"Oh... so that's it, huh?"Turns out there's a good reason for this: they made half the book into this movie. (A fact which apparently majorly irked the author). It does seem like a bit of an odd call to make half a children's book into a movie -- especially when the title of it is "The Neverending Story". Not only is it not "neverending" -- it's not even a whole story.
Ultimately
I love the way this movie looks and sounds, and I like the story elements (mainly the part about the neverending story world being absorbed by "the nothing" and how the fantastical characters attempt to combat that) -- but the plot structure and characters are pretty weak. Atreyu gets a bit high-pitched and does a bit too much yelling at points, and his motivation doesn't always make sense; Bastian's motivation also doesn't always make sense; and I ultimately can't tell whether or not the philosophy behind the film actually works.
Let me explain what I mean by that. There seems to be a vague implication that the businessmen of the world (like boring old Dad) are destroying the world through their lack of imagination -- not to mention all that "keep your feet on the ground and turn in your homework on time" jazz, which clearly stifles the joy in life. But you know what? If there weren't Gerald McRaneys out there, making sure bills get paid and people fulfil their "non-fun, non-creative" responsibilities, Bastian would be doing his daydreaming in a cardboard box out in an alley (where they now live. Because Dad got fired for not showing up to work, and then they got thrown out of their house for non-payment of the rent). Creative types love to rag on non-creative types, as if they're cavemen with no understanding of the finer things in life -- but you know what? Both types are necessary for the functioning of society. It's a thing. So, even though I consider myself a relatively creative person, I have to take exception to the apparent philosophy of the film, and its tendency to slam non-creative types. Agatha Christie once said, "Imagination is a good servant, but a bad master," and I think that's highly applicable here.
"For instance, my imagination tells me to
straight-up murder you," she seems to say....Oh, yeah, and would I recommend this movie? Yes, but with all the reservations I mentioned above. It's not a great movie, but it has a creative concept, and it looks and sounds nice. It gets a solid... C+. It's basically a pleasant screen-saver for me, excellent background noise, and doesn't bare a lot of close scrutiny.
RECOMMENDED(with pretty heavy reservations)
Watching it as an adult, I can understand why I felt that way.
Plot: Bastian, a young boy whose mother recently passed away, has trouble with daydreaming (according to his Major Dad). Bastian attempts to knuckle down to reality and go to school, but is waylaid by bullies -- who he avoids by hiding in a bookstore. The creepy, low-rent Wilfred Brimley who owns the store reverse-psycologies him into "borrowing" a weird book titled The Neverending Story. Bastian shows up so late for school that he decides to just ditch, and lets himself into the school's attic, where he reads the book for the rest of the day. He finds himself drawn into a weird, fantastical story (is it a daydream, or is it real?!) with many creative characters and scenic backdrops.
And sometimes it's just a kid sitting in a dark attic, cryingand talking to himself.The Good Things...
The Music
The music might be the single best thing about this movie. It's 80's music with a 70's disco beat -- and still features the soaring, fantastical qualities of a good fantasy movie soundtrack. Not surprisingly, perhaps, since it was done by Giorgio Moroder -- the guy who did the memorable theme to the movie Midnight Express (even if you've never seen or heard of that movie, you've probably heard that theme) and also wrote the quintessential 80's Top Ten hit, Take My Breath Away .
The Visuals
Although I didn't really like the look of the character-design when I was a kid (specifically, I found Falkor the Luck Dragon's face gross)...
"But how could you find the ugly, flesh-colored weasel-dog with a human nose gross?"...I really, really like the scenery and the set-design and the matte-paintings. This is classic 1980's fantasy movie material. I would watch this movie just for the scenery. It's so beautiful and so creative. I would take one movie that looks like this movie over a hundred modern CGI nightmares.
It's so pretty.
The Darkness
For a kid's movie, this film goes into some really dark places...
Literally and figuratively.... And I'm counting that as a good thing. Too often, children's movies have zero stakes because filmmakers were apparently afraid of "frightening" or "upsetting" children. And you know what? That makes for boring, bland, bad children's movies. Kids didn't love E.T. because of how neutral it made them feel. And do you know of any adults who have PTSD because they saw Raiders of the Lost Ark when they were little? And how many people are unable to function now because The Goonies main-characters went through such peril? NONE, that's how many. In a good movie, characters must face some form of dire circumstances (physically, emotionally, or whatever), or else it's simply going to fail as a movie. The end.The Nothing...
Nit-Picky Points
Like I said... the movie does make some questionable choices. Not all their character designs are what one might term "attractive." And... I can't help but wonder why they dubbed Deep Roy's voice.
Left, Deep Roy. Right... uh, I don't know his name.For the uninitiated, Deep Roy is a little person with an extensive acting portfolio. You might have seen him in classic Doctor Who episodes, or Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory (as all the "Oompa Loompas") or as "the little person" in one of a billion other things (Transformers II, Alien from L.A., etc.) But for some reason, in this movie, they put him in a scene where everything seems to be in scale with him, so that one can't really tell how tall he is -- and they dub his "little" voice over with the ordinary voice of a full-sized man. It's really peculiar, because it basically nullifies the point of hiring a physically little person; he doesn't sound or look little. Why would you do that? What's the point?Also, although I've gotten used to Falkor's voice (performed by Alan Oppenheimer of Skeletor fame) I still dislike Falkor's face. But I'm sure that's just a personal thing and everyone else finds his horrible, stiff, gaping maw simply adorable.
"Ain't From Around Here"
I really understand my confusion as a child. This still feels like a foreign movie. From the inexplicably dubbed characters at the beginning, to the surprise I always feel when I see Gerald McRaney in this film ("What's he doing in a foreign movie? ... Oh wait.") ... There's something about it that just feels like a movie made "elsewhere". And perhaps that's not surprising. It's based on a German fantasy novel (Die unendliche Geschichte) ... and was filmed in Germany with a mainly European cast. The "not American" feel really rubs off, but not in a way that I can really put my finger on. Just something about the rhythm, and the cinematography... and the casting... and the dialogue...
Weak Central Problem
What amounts to the main plot problem is that Bastian's Dad has asked him to keep his head out of the clouds and stop failing school on account of daydreams.
Pictured: A "no daydream" smoothie in the making.To that end, Bastian absolutely resists getting involved in 'the neverending story' ... WHILE SIMULTANEOUSLY SKIPPING AN ENTIRE DAY OF SCHOOL, MISSING AN IMPORTANT MATH TEST, AND DOUBTLESSLY MAKING HIS DAD THINK HE HAS BEEN ABDUCTED, SO THAT HE CAN READ A NOVEL.Since Bastian has already completely disobeyed his Father's wishes, bigtime, there is no reason on earth for him to avoid getting involved in the story; by the point that his resisting becomes an issue, it's pretty much nonsensical for him to resist.
Just a Half
The film starts a bit slow, it hits beats at weird points (for instance -- the scene above with the horse feels like it should happen near the end of the film, when our character is at his lowest point... not where it is, shortly after the beginning of the film) and then the story just kind of plods along and takes its time, and characters do things that have no relevance and meaning. Then, just when things finally start going, and you're all excited and you're like, "Now it's getting good! I can't wait to see what happens next!" ... it VERY ABRUPTLY ends.
"Oh... so that's it, huh?"Turns out there's a good reason for this: they made half the book into this movie. (A fact which apparently majorly irked the author). It does seem like a bit of an odd call to make half a children's book into a movie -- especially when the title of it is "The Neverending Story". Not only is it not "neverending" -- it's not even a whole story.Ultimately
I love the way this movie looks and sounds, and I like the story elements (mainly the part about the neverending story world being absorbed by "the nothing" and how the fantastical characters attempt to combat that) -- but the plot structure and characters are pretty weak. Atreyu gets a bit high-pitched and does a bit too much yelling at points, and his motivation doesn't always make sense; Bastian's motivation also doesn't always make sense; and I ultimately can't tell whether or not the philosophy behind the film actually works.
Let me explain what I mean by that. There seems to be a vague implication that the businessmen of the world (like boring old Dad) are destroying the world through their lack of imagination -- not to mention all that "keep your feet on the ground and turn in your homework on time" jazz, which clearly stifles the joy in life. But you know what? If there weren't Gerald McRaneys out there, making sure bills get paid and people fulfil their "non-fun, non-creative" responsibilities, Bastian would be doing his daydreaming in a cardboard box out in an alley (where they now live. Because Dad got fired for not showing up to work, and then they got thrown out of their house for non-payment of the rent). Creative types love to rag on non-creative types, as if they're cavemen with no understanding of the finer things in life -- but you know what? Both types are necessary for the functioning of society. It's a thing. So, even though I consider myself a relatively creative person, I have to take exception to the apparent philosophy of the film, and its tendency to slam non-creative types. Agatha Christie once said, "Imagination is a good servant, but a bad master," and I think that's highly applicable here.
"For instance, my imagination tells me tostraight-up murder you," she seems to say....Oh, yeah, and would I recommend this movie? Yes, but with all the reservations I mentioned above. It's not a great movie, but it has a creative concept, and it looks and sounds nice. It gets a solid... C+. It's basically a pleasant screen-saver for me, excellent background noise, and doesn't bare a lot of close scrutiny.
RECOMMENDED(with pretty heavy reservations)
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