The
NeverEnding Story (1984)
Rating:
PG
Runtime:
94 minutes
Box
Office (in today’s dollars): 45 million (approximately)
Characters:
Bastian, Atreyu, Artax, Falkor, The Childlike Empress, Rock Biter, Gmork,
Engywook, Urgl, Nighthob, Teeny Weeny, Morla, bat, snail, Mr. Koreander, The
Nothing
Cool
Stuff: The Book, the AURYN
Cool
Music: “Never Ending Story”
Cool
Quote: “Never give up and good luck will find you.”
I
have two funny stories about this movie: I am pretty sure my friend Jeff Brown
used to say, “No. Not too much. We still have a long way to go.” sometimes when
he was eating food, much like Bastian did in the school attic ... and a kid in
my class looked exactly like Falkor. I am pretty sure I watched this movie
several times as a kid. There is a lot to like about this movie. Atreyu and
Artax are as great as any heroes we have encountered so far. The scene in the
swamp of sadness is, well, sad. Like super sad. Rock Biter is my favorite
character. He also has a sad scene near the end. Gmork and The Nothing are
terrifying. Bastian and Falkor are just weird. And I have to admit I probably
had a crush on The Childlike Empress when I was 10.
The
book Bastian “borrows” is pretty cool ... it comes to life and stuff. It is
almost like a Choose Your Own Adventure book. And we all know how awesome those
were when we were kids. The AURYN is neat as well. I really felt sad when
Atreyu lost it. The score of the movie is really good. It really gets you
excited and scared and feeling sad when you need to be. And of course there is
the title song “Never Ending Story”. I love it! Funny story: all these years I
thought it was sung by a woman. Nope. Some guy named Limahl (former lead singer
of Kajagoogoo) sings it. Side note: Kajagoogoo’s one hit ... ”Too Shy” is also
a classic.
Though
my friend Jeff Brown’s favorite line is pretty cool, my choice for cool quote
is Falkor’s “Never give up and good luck will find you.” It is a good message
for kids, and it coming from a luck dragon should count for something. I mean,
if anyone knows about luck it would be him. My final words for this review are
“Beware of The Nothing for it is something and it could be anything.” I should
put that on a shirt.
Next
movie to review: Ghostbusters
I too have a funny story about NeverEnding Story. Back when I was a freshman in college, I was walking on Church Street in Burlington. Jack Black was in town for a Tenacious D show, and he was sitting on one of the benches when I walked past. I stopped and asked if he was Jack Black. (He wasn't that well known at the time.) He said yes, and I told him he was the shit in NeverEnding Story. (He was in the third one.) He laughed and said that was awesome. We chatted for a quick minute and I went on my way, but had I known he would go on to be super famous, I totally would've made friends with him.
ReplyDeleteAlso, I too had a crush on the Empress as a kid.