A New Review Of Old Movies (With Kids In Mind)

This occasional series takes a look at older films viewed through the eyes of a modern six-year-old, a ten-year-old and their movie-loving Gen X mom who originally watched these films before she had kids. Things hit different when you watch them later, or watch them for the first time with fresh eyes.

The NeverEnding Story is a 1984 film fantasy classic featuring a book within a book, or a tale within a tale as seen through the eyes of ten-year-old Bastian Bux, a New York City child who is bullied by his much-larger classmates. Bastian, an avid reader, hides inside an old bookstore at the beginning of the movie, in order to hide from some bullies. The old bookstore is full of leather-bound originals, dust and mystery. An avid reader, Bastian notices a dusty, interesting-looking book and of course this book finds its way inside his bookbag.

TLDR: This was clutch-the-couch-pillow great for my oldest kid and hit-or-miss for my first grader. It’s a bit sad at points, so despite the PG rating, a parent should be present to deal with questions or concerns. Read on for the rest of the review.

Bastian reads the book while hiding in the attic at school during a thunderstorm. Of course he is running from the demon spawn who are bullying him. So he holes up, eats his lunch and reads The NeverEnding Story, a book which seems like it’s talking to him and written about him. It’s not, is it? Or is it?

Along the way Bastian meets the main characters of the story: a hero boy named Atreyu, the Childlike Empress and plenty of creatures who live in the land of Fantasia and are fighting the Nothing, which is a depressing antagonist who literally depresses the world into nothingness. Everything is obliterated. Death is certain.

I loved this film as a kid, and I loved it as an adult before kids. But watching this film with my kids opened my eyes a bit more. My kids were into the film up until the point where the Nothing made life look dire. This was unfun and sometimes scary for the six-year-old. (The wolf definitely came across as ‘super scary’ to him, a good reminder that even old-school film tricks look real to the littlest of the littles) When Artax the horse died, there were tears. Though the film is older, my children did not view it as an old film. They viewed it as now and enjoyed it much like I did when I first saw it as a child. That said, we needed to pause the film to take a break, talk about how to find the light even when it is cloudy outside. The six-year-old also walked away for large parts of the film, only returning when things got fun again. He had his ear out for the good bits, he said.

The 10-year-old again saw himself in the boys on screen, and he wondered aloud why Bastian didn’t figure out his key role in opposing the Nothing until it was almost too late. The 10-year-old yelled at the screen, jumped, couldn’t sit still. He was all in.

Now he is very interested in stopping into old book stores. Meanwhile the six-year-old just wants to ride a white-haired luck dragon, just like Bastian did.

This film is a 10 out of 10 on the rewatch.

Does it age well? Yes

Re-watch tip: Get popcorn, turn off the lights and settle into the couch. Fast forward through the opening credits. Those 80s movies had super long credits and the kids won’t care much about them.

Film and Box Office History: The NeverEnding Story took in $20-million at the global box office when it was originally released. Since then it has streamed thousands of times and was re-released in 2021 to the beloved surprise of fans. It stars Noah Hathaway as Atreyu, Barret Oliver as Bastian and Tami Stroud as the Childlike Empress. German author Michael Ende disliked the screen adaptation of his book so much that he requested his name be left off the credits. Even so, the film was a success and it left an indelible mark on the imaginations of a generation of children while also spending off several sequels.

How To Watch It: HBO Max, Amazon
AMZN
Prime, old VHS

Like this series? Read my Rewind Review of Jon Favreau’s Zathura, which released in 2005.