THE NEVERENDING STORY (1984) | FIRST TIME WATCHING | Reaction & Commentary | my new favorite movie?!

[@ShanelleRiccio]

PATREON www.patreon.com/shanellericcio

[@thomasmettham855]

Btw, the name Bastian gives the empress is Moon Child. I, too, didn't catch it in the movie growing up. Had to Google it. :)

[@greenpeasuit]

KZbin adds a whole new layer to the Neverending Story. As Bastian was watching Atreyu's adventures, Shanelle is watching his, and we are watching hers, and Big Brother is watching ours.

[@namelessjedi2242]

Kind of appropriate for Big Brother, the movie came out in 1984.

[@7Rendar]

Don't forget about the Lizard People that are watching Big Brother.

[@basslinepromotions]

That is actually kind of cool

[@envowedsyntropist2555]

I’ve thought this same thing, and can’t help but to extend it even further upward. Feels a lot like something is watching us watch them. Turtles all the way up.

[@garfunkle5447]

Wohw, deep dude.

[@tarlane]

As an 80s kid who grew up with depression, this movie meant a lot. Well into my teens my dad would ask 'How do we fight the nothing?' When I was losing myself in it.

[@cammybaby01]

The neverending aspect is because atreyu sees the story on the cave wall, and is part of the story. Bastian is reading atreyu's story, and that makes him part of the story. Shanelle watched Bastian's story, and that makes her part of his story. We are watching Shanelle's channel, which is her story, that makes us part of her story.

[@ShanelleRiccio]

Ohhhhh I loveeee this

[@MikeTaffet]

And I read this comment, which makes it part of my story

[@HH-hd7nd]

@@ShanelleRiccio This movie is actually based on the first half of the novel Die Unendliche Geschichte (=The Neverending Story) by German author Michael Ende. The novel touches on a lot of subjects, not just grief. I recommend reading the novel - as much as I like the movie, the book is so much better.

[@jackielarsen7862]

@@HH-hd7nd Also about the fear of losing your child-like imagination, and forgetting people you love, or being forgotten yourself. I never saw it as a movie about grief, more about the fear of being forgotten, or losing your child-like imagination/fantasy

[@dungeonsanddobbers2683]

Nah, it's called the Neverending Story because the book it's based on was 450 pages long and dealt with themes so heavy that it just felt like the trauma would _never end_

[@abaddon_the_annoyer3084]

That delivery from the Rockbiter of, "They look like big, good, strong hands, dont they" gets me everytime.

[@TheJuringramen]

When the child-like empress says that "As he is sharing your story, others are sharing his," she is breaking the Fourth Wall and talking about us watching Bastion in the movie. Very meta and hardly anyone ever catches it.

[@kriscynical]

I caught it as a kid in the late '80s and it blew my little frickin' mind. So very cool. I think more people would pick up on it now since the concept of media being "meta" has become more and more prevalent in the last 20 years or so.

[@flexableferret]

I knew when I was a kid but it took me til I was an adult to get the full effect of that revelation. Love it!❤

[@TomGallagherSuperboyBeyond]

I mean, technically we are watching Shanelle watching Bastion watching/reading Atreyu.. So there's a new level even the filmmakers didn't anticipate.

[@flexableferret]

@@TomGallagherSuperboyBeyond I'm gonna start a reaction series where I react to reactors. LEVEL UP! 🤣😂🤣

[@TomGallagherSuperboyBeyond]

​@@flexableferretLOL

[@sydhamelin1265]

I feel like this movie is about grief, but also about losing your childhood, the things that keep us young. Depression in the swamps of sadness, the 'nothing' being a disinterest in creativity, even the people who give advice, the turtle, and the oracles, have huge drawbacks to them. Bastian's dad is pushing him to give up, ignoring the depression (swamps of sadness), and ignoring his need for help (turtle in the swamp), by telling him to keep his head out of the clouds (the nothing).

[@toddjackson3136]

As a kid watching this, I only had a vague understanding of it being about grief. Later, as a teenager, I watched it with my little brother and realized that with a name like "Moon Child," his mom was a former hippy. That means his dad represents the no nonsense practical side, and his mom was the head in the clouds part of his life. There is a subtle unspoken idea that Bastian's mom had depression and ended herself. That's why neither the father nor the son are processing this well. Bastian is learning how to work through grief, depression, sadness...

[@Luciphell]

Interesting interpretation of the story at least.

[@sluglife9785]

In fact, we could propose that his mom had psychosis, and died in relation to it. Which is why dad is concerned about his son's imagination. He's afraid that the boy will slip into the same patterns of psychotic thinking.

[@toddjackson3136]

@sluglife9785 that is possible. Clearly, he was open-minded enough to fall in love with someone named Moon Child and married her. He seems to be trying really hard to be as mainstream "normal" as possible. Like if he's dominant enough he will magnetically pull Bastion away from day dreaming and be able to deal with reality

[@kelaarin]

Well, his father was kind of a major...dad.

[@Ezekielepharcelis]

No. Only partially true. The real Story is about how to use your Imagination, but then when you in your Fantasy World how to get out of it again. The Father was a Dentist and about the Mother it is only said that she died and the Father and Bastian isolated themselves from each other out of Grief. Sadly only half of the Book was shown in the Movie and the second Part not. In the End when Bastian gets out of Fantasia again he has mentally grown and both Father and Son find a Way to get together again. The Father also realized he could have lost his Son which woke him up. The Love for his Son triumphed over his Grief in the End.

[@themadness1925]

Artax's death still haunts 80's kids nightmares to this day. As someone who grew up facing loss, I related to this on so many levels.

[@teresaa96289]

In the book, Artax makes one request of Atreyu. To look away before his head goes under. 😭😭😭😭

[@melissas4874]

In the 80's we thought this was "creepy", but lots of popular fantasy movies were dark and creepy. Dark Crystal is an example and even Labyrinth has a creepy feel to me.

[@adrianhempfing2042]

Pete's dragon (original), Labyrinth and Neverending story , 3 of the best

[@emeraldcity_]

Krull was another great one

[@mrq1182]

Don’t forget The Secret of NIHM.

[@justin_ogre]

Not a kids movie but Conan the Barbarian was dark. "Infidel defilers. They shall all drown in lakes of blood. Now they will know why they are afraid of the dark. Now they will learn why they fear the night."

[@IndyCrewInNYC]

​@@emeraldcity_I just read JJ Abrams is planning on directing a remake of Krull. 😢

[@AurigaLaShock]

As to why it's called the Neverending Story: I read the book a long time back, but iirc towards the end, the Empress is trying to appeal and push Bastion into giving her a name. She goes to this mountain where there is an old man writing in a book. He's writing the story of the Neverending story. To push Bastion into action, she tells the old man to tell her the story of the Neverending story. This causes a never ending loop because eventually the old man reaches the part in the story where the Empress asks him to tell her the story, which then causes him to have to tell the tale from the very beginning again. I.E. a never ending story. The loop goes on and on until Bastion finally gives her her name and breaks the cycle. There's more reasons/theories as to why it's called the Neverending Story, but here's one I wanted to share

[@andypham4216]

The book is so much more messed up.

[@Greenwood4727]

every Kid in the 80s who saw this movie KNOWS Artax and we still havent gotten over it. and you are an adult i was 11 when artax died

[@tamikelly504]

I was 11 too, I balled my little eyes out

[@AngieCarr]

I’m a 80s baby/90s kid, and since watching this movie in the 90s, I’ve NEVER gotten over this…ARTAX!!! 😭😭😭

[@Greenwood4727]

@@AngieCarr A collective trauma of a entire generation.

[@annalisamoretti271]

Can’t express the impact this movie had on my understanding of story as a child. I was obsessed with it, had it completely memorized before I even knew how to read, and used to act out whole scenes from it regularly

[@ktotheramer]

The horse drowning ABSOLUTELY traumatized me when I saw this as a 5 year on home video in 1986!

[@kriscynical]

Artax drowning traumatized an entire generation back in the '80s. It was like a right of passage. lol

[@jebVlogs556]

​@@kriscynicalI'm 36 now, 😢was reliving that scene with Atrau(,that kills every single time) the drowning of Artax. Depressed the da hell out of me 😭

[@kriscynical]

@@jebVlogs556 I'm going to be 39 this month and I _still_ hate watching that scene and will skip over it.

[@kevinramsey417]

You and the rest of us Gen Xers.

[@jesseslack2089]

Man ya got ya beat by an year cause I was born in 80!

[@kimwatchesstuff]

As a 14 yr old when it came out, I had no concept this was about grief. I hadn't lost anyone yet close enough to me to make such an impact. Even though I've been dealing with unimaginable grief after losing my baby hours before birth, you are the first reactor to put those pieces together for me. I think the renaming of the princess, now that I watch your reaction, is about saying their name. Talk about those you have lost and don't lock them away in your heart. All these years I have taken it at face value...of not forgetting things you liked as a child or using your imagination. To not grow up and be a cold "business man" like Bastions father. You giving me a new perspective of this movie will stay with me for a while I think. And I want to thank you very much for that.

[@John_Locke_108]

I started this movie in 1984 and it's still playing 😂

[@maxtew6521]

Such a simple yet effective comment. You got a chuckle outta me.

[@ElfLady]

I see what you did there.

[@DrCamf]

It still runs occasionally in my mind

[@LordVolkov]

I love the meta-narrative, that we are characters in the Neverending Story as well, right there with Bastion and Atreyu the whole time. Tami Stronach crushes her scenes as the Empress. Her plea to Bastion is heartbreaking. And that song will always be a classic.

[@Splurr]

I love the idea that the princess nows about the movie audience. She does! She said that we were following Bastian when he entered the bookstore.

[@jeffevans9853]

This movie was one of the profound films of my childhood. I was a book nerd kid and fantasy was one of my favorite genres. The whole thing about being a part of the story and the fantasy world needing the reader in order to avoid its destruction was just wonderful. The Empress was also my first major crush.

[@GuukanKitsune]

Artax drowning in the Swamp of Sadness is all the more heartbreaking in the book for one reason left out of the movie: In the book, _Artax could talk._ He knew the Swamp had him, he knew he was sinking and couldn't save himself, and spent the _entire time he was still above the surface_ quite literally _begging Atreyu to leave and not watch him perish._ He was convinced that if Atreyu had to watch him go, he would become more susceptible to the Swamp and sink himself, dooming all of Fantastica. Atreyu refused to go from Artax's side until long after the last bubbles in the mud stopped coming. And then afterwards... he walked across the mud of the Swamp like it was solid stone, because his heart was so full of sorrow at losing his friend there simply wasn't room for even a HINT of the Swamp's sadness to squeeze in.

[@khalillahgreen8776]

The death of Artex was easily my first, real, beyond traumatic experience with a death ---especially one of an animal, since I've always been an animal lover. It absolutely devastated me. I had dreams of that poor horse for a week. Nonetheless, the puppets and costumes of all the different creatures of Fantasia also intrigued me, and introduced me to special effects makeup, which I enjoy doing now as an adult every Halloween 🎃 lol. Thank you for your reaction. 😊🧡

[@johnbernhardtsen3008]

same, I joked about an older woman who died getting hit by a car, she helped my mother cleaning the place!one or 2 years later, this movie came out and then I felt sorrow a bit different!

[@marcmainville7873]

For kids of a certain age we still have ptsd from that scene.

[@bigl9478]

So you didn’t find it offensive when the reactor smiled excitedly and laughed when the horse died?!

[@krisfrederick5001]

The first time a movie made me cry, the second time was in Top Gun when Goose died.

[@adrianhempfing2042]

​@bigl9478 I wonder if Shanelle was trying to keep a brave face or was consumed in the how etc No one with a heart doesn't get hurt by Artax dying As a child Devastated

[@peartree8338]

It's not creepy. It's amazing. It will always be amazing. 😁 80's was the best time to be a kid.

[@envowedsyntropist2555]

It’s definitely a journey through Bastion’s grief process, but everyone’s also. I adore how they pull the viewer into the story as a character also, describing how each of us followed bastion just as he followed Atreyu. The experiences of grief and hope are universal.

[@mikekemph308]

In the book, artax's sinking was absolutely gut wrenching. Since he was able to talk and fully aware of everything happening while sinking.

[@vetarlittorf1807]

I actually prefer Artax not talking since that makes his experience more subtle.

[@heatherrose5594]

I showed this movie to my autistic six year old. Knowing how emotionally distraught he could get, I paused at the horse scene, and explained that the horse was going to sink under the mud, but at the end of the movie, he would be ok again. Felt like I was on top of this parenting thing! 💪 Then he freaked out with terror as Atreyu approached the first gate! There’s always something that I’m not expecting! Lol!

[@zammmerjammer]

Did you give him a heads-up about Gmork, the Creature of Darkness? And that he gets stabbed to death with lots of blood?

[@mikekay3313]

I am so happy you are aware of the risks vs rewards for him and let him go on these journeys. What a wild ride I'm sure.

[@heatherrose5594]

@@zammmerjammer He didn’t mind that one… maybe I should be concerned… 🤔😄

[@adrianhempfing2042]

Gmork is terrifying

[@pscar1]

​@@adrianhempfing2042I always had a hard time with his scenes.

[@golkeganac4339]

I really like how Shanelle spitballs theories and leaves them in the edit with subtitled commentary regardless of how correct they end up being. Really makes these feel more authentic to the experience and adds another unique aspect to her videos.

[@TheJamieRamone]

True. That and her thinking every city she sees in New York. 😂

[@shainewhite2781]

RIP, Wolfgang Petersen, for bringing us this amazing fantasy adventure film.

[@ReadingRambo152]

It's the called The Neverending Story because it implying that we are all part of grand story that someone else might be reading/watching. Bastian was reading the story of Atreyu and Fantasia, and like Bastian is watching the story ofAtreyu without him knowing, we are watching the story of Bastian. So someone, somewhere could be reading/watching our story. Verrrrrrry meta ❤️

[@MegaBollard]

"you know when they pushed it in the 80's" that sentiment sums up this entire film.

[@sivonni]

This is and was my favorite childhood story. It affected and inspired me to the point where, when I saw storm clouds (even to this day) instead of being afraid, I felt inspired to write.

[@richaelastaley8131]

I am always fascinated by how many of these movies people refer to as creepy. The only reason I can see them as being creepy now is because I have heard other people say so 🙃 I am definitely an 80s baby and grew up on all these fantasy movies and never once thought them weird, of course I guess I'm also pretty weird (maybe it's because I grew up in the 80s thinking none of this was weird 😁) I love how these stories aren't afraid to tackle the dark side of life through fantastical metaphor. Confidence, love, strength, the ability to pull through the darkness and get to the other side, understanding that there is beauty and ugliness in all things, that there is balance. I don't think it's one of those things that I consciously thought about when I was young watching these movies, but I'm so grateful I had stories like this when I was young that included these themes ❤ I'm so glad you enjoyed this one Shanelle! TFS

[@MrLivewire1970]

Too many people her age and younger describe so many things as creepy. Gimli asking for three strands of hair was creepy. It's like they think selfies and Instagram have been around forever. It might have been a good reaction but I lost interest right off the bat. I was curious if anyone else felt the same as me. I grew up in the 80s so I'm probably just old and creepy.

[@ChronosTachyon]

I think a major part of it was that we grew up with Muppets and Fraggles and Mister Rogers' Neighborhood, and younger generations didn't. Puppets, and mixed puppet/live-action actors, were everywhere in children's entertainment in our time. Today, since so much of children's entertainment is animated or rendered, the puppets - and the sort of set dressing and blocking you have to do to work with puppets - now feel uncanny.

[@ForEternia]

As a child of the 80s myself. I wholeheartedly agree 👍

[@rikk319]

If she thought some of this film was creepy, she shouldn't see some of the animated shorts from early Sesame Street I grew up on...

[@MrLivewire1970]

@@rikk319 just imagine her watching, Fraggle Rock. If I remember there was a old man in the show too. It would be creepy overload for her generation.

[@sallyh5413]

I was 8 when this was released, saw it in the theater, I feel lucky to have had that experience. If I had tattoos I would have one of the symbol on the the book cover. This movie is so special to me. I cry every time I see the swamp scene, without fail. Thanks for watching!

[@la_beatrice]

I say this to everyone who reacts to this movie. You have to read the book, it is brilliant!

[@donsimpsonshead8809]

Yes, the book is much longer and should be made into a series for streaming.

[@jenniferri7735]

the book is on my shelf right now and has been for a good 30 years

[@namelessjedi2242]

The version with red and green text if possible. It’s important to the story.

[@ChanceTroullier]

I’ve been listening to the audiobook and it is amazing

[@drivers99]

I bought the book with red and green text (the hardcover has that, but not the paperback), but I need to start reading it. Maybe I’ll start today.

[@andreasbenning]

This was probably the first movie that made this man, or then little boy, openly weep. Heckadoodles, I even shed a tear now, watching this reaction! The scene with Artax sinking in the swamp of sadness always gets me. Also big rock guy sitting grieving that his good strong hands couldn't save his little friends, so emotional!! One of my favourite movies as a kid, and I still think it's great! Thanks for uploading! Greetings from Sweden

[@believer773]

As a GenXer I can say that for me this is absolutely a classic, so imaginative and heartwarming. The nostalgia blast is real

[@michaelh3299]

I was in 4th grade when this came out. I LOVE this movie, it’s ultimately a movie of hope. “The people who have no hope are easy to control” Its EXACTLY what we have going on today. So the message is, don’t ever give up hoping for things to get better. Great reaction as always.

[@rikk319]

"Its EXACTLY what we have going on today." No, it's exactly what the human condition has been throughout history. Don't fall for the "we're unique special flowers living in a unique special time" bullshit.

[@kriscynical]

That ending blew my mind as a Xennial in the late '80s. Bastian was watching Atreu, and everyone watching the movie was watching Bastian, so who is watching all of us?

[@StarkRG]

I am.

[@kriscynical]

@@StarkRG And Santa.

[@StarkRG]

@@kriscynical Apparently he got bored of watching people and outsourced it to a bunch of cloned elves who like to sit on shelves.

[@kriscynical]

@@StarkRG Oh really? Back in my day it was St. Nick himself instead of Elf on the Shelf. The modern economy, man. smh 😩

[@alexandergibbs6950]

The NeverEnding Story was my first fandom. First saw it when I was very, very young. My family was on vacation in some random remote location (think a cabin in the woods), I had stomach flu, and there was a violent electrical storm raging outside. To calm me down, my parents turned on the TV, and this movie was playing. It was the mid-late 1980s so it might have been its first broadcast. A few years later the sequel was announced, and for my birthday I was given a film tie-in copy of the original book. I vanished into it. I rented the movie, saw the sequel at the theatre, and became obsessed. I spent hours staring up at the sky hoping Falkor would fly through the clouds and rescue me. As an adult I reconnected with the film when I visited Bavaria Filmstadt in 2016... and I got to ride the original Falkor. Dream come true. I also now own AURYN. (Trivia note: other films shot there include Das Boot, Cabaret and Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory... and the ridiculous "Samuel L Jackson plays the President who parachutes out of Air Force One and gets hunted through the Finnish wilderness" classic, Big Game.) When my first short story got published a few years later, I used my pay check to have a copy of the novel specially made to match the book in the movie by an artist on Etsy. Soooooo, yeah. This movie had quite an affect on me.

[@van8ryan]

Apparently, director Wolfgang Peterson asked Steven Spielberg about editing, as American distributors refused to release the original German cut (as this was an European production). Spielberg gave him some good notes and to repay him, he was given the original book prop (which apparently Spielberg still owns to this day). I watched this when I was in the hospital as a kid and it continues to be one of my favorites, although I was amazed to find out the voice of Falkor (played by Alan Oppenheimer) was not only the voice of the Gworg (the Wolf demon thing), but also the voice of Skeletor, the villain from one of my favorite 80s cartoons, HE MAN & THE MASTERS OF THE UNIVERSE. The guy is over 90 and still doing voices today.

[@adrianhempfing2042]

He man and masters of the universe was an okay fun action film

[@StarkRG]

Oppenheimer was also the voice of the Rock Biter, probably others too.

[@van8ryan]

@@StarkRG Yep. he was originally there just for Falkor and Peterson just kept asking him to do one voice after another. I think he overall did five or six (as well as the narrator that ends the movie)

[@anumeon]

The Arthax scene still makes me cry to this day. I am not ashamed to admit it.. (Nor am i afraid to admit the sheer happiness when Falcor's theme plays)

[@lafelong]

Shan: "Fingers crossed quicksand. hee hee" The rest of us: 😭

[@huskon88]

Those statues awakened something in me when I first saw this film at a young age.

[@flexableferret]

I never knew his mother’s name until I watched it a few years back with subtitles FINALLY! I had to wait 30 flippin years😂 Love this movie so much and of course, there is the swamp scene that wrecked us all as kids. LoL

[@jamesleblanc7437]

Neverending Story, Goonies, Back to the Future, Labyrinth, Explorers and Flight of the Navigator all had a profound effect on my childhood imagination. They all feature ordinary kids being pulled into extraordinary circumstances and they all came out within 1984-86.

[@razorfett147]

Its definitely an allegory for grief/mental health. You nailed it. It went over my head as a kid but watching it as an adult yrs later (after my father passed), it hit like a ton of bricks. And whats amazing is how well it lands without EVER being heavy handed Wonderful childhood film

[@HH-hd7nd]

That's only one of many aspects of the novel. Another aspect is for example the Nothing - a shadowy force that tries to control through lies, manipulation and deceit. Sounds so familiar from the real world. In the book phantasians who are sucked into the Nothing come to the human world in the form of lies, thus speeding up the desctruction of people having imaginations and inspiration...this book is about so much more than just grief.

[@arthurclifford8290]

I like your grief persepective on The Never Ending Story. The movie covers the first half of the book. And the continued adventures of Bastian in Fantasia/Fantastica involve using imagination. But it is a cautionary tale about escaping reality and getting lost in the imagination to the point you/he risks forgetting himself. So the challenge of not losing your imagination amid grief and not getting lost in imagination as an escape from grief. I'm pretty sure I saw this in the theaters when I was about Bastian's age. It was pretty magical for the time.

[@xstatixtribalelectronicmus2787]

You had so many emotional connections throughout this entire movie. I saw this movie in the theater when I was 5 years old. I was an abused child. This one movie was so comforting to me like a warm blanket. I know it’s 80s, but this movie’s soul is timeless💙

[@TheJamieRamone]

1:39 - One of the leads, Barret Oliver, was also in an episode of the Twilight Zone (1985) called Gramma. Just some extra trivia you won't notice later @Shanelle Riccio. 😉

[@JDP5127]

Losing Artax in the swamp always hurts, but the line that has stuck with me is the Rock Bro saying "They look like big strong hands." That cuts me to the bone every time. Really glad you seemed to catch it there too.

[@jimrobbins3971]

The movie is essentially about grief and recovery with other existential themes throughout. The nothing represents apathy and cynicism. The swamps of sadness represent what happens when we allow our sad feelings to fester. Gmork represents depression. Atreyu killing Gmork metaphorically kills Bastains depression and gives him the courage to face his final mission. When he completes his final mission and gives the Childlike Empress her name he comes to terms with his mother death, while also ensuring that her memory lives on.

[@CrownlessKing88]

I was SHOOK when the Empress referred to US watching the movie. Also his mother’s name was Moonchild. Haha

[@HenrikAskestad]

”Fingers crossed it’s quicksand…”

[@van8ryan]

The original book could always be a good trilogy, as it's really like a 3 part series in one book (this film is literally just the first third of the story, which amazed me when I finally read the book)

[@rhysproudmourne1646]

"It has to hurt if it's to heal." It's a movie about a great many things including grief. The Neverending story is about stories in general. One story effects someone who makes a new story that effects someone else. Each story has similar themes, similar ideas that are built up from the last one, and they teach a myriad of lessons. This is why they are neverending. Names have power including the name of Bastian's mother and the names the bullies call Bastian. And it isn't terribly clear in the film, as the father has one solitary scene, but the book, the father is incredibly neglectful. He doesn't understand why his son is coping through his imagination through grief and why he isn't able to move on as fast as he himself does. - In ancient mystical and magical understanding, naming something gave you power over it. A lot of people in Hollywood and politics still change their names for this or related reasons. You see this idea in the Adam and Eve story with naming of animals and you see this in the summoning of otherworldly beings. But you also see this in giving nicknames even now; again, what the bullies certainly are meant to represent. Taking power or stealing power through naming something. The power of names can be used to build or belittle. It also puts a spin on other ideas, like judging a book by its cover. The Rockbiter should be a scary creature, except he isn't. And the snail should be slow except he isn't. The Hob and Bat should be dumb or useless, except they aren't. "Confronted with your true self, most men run away screaming." Carl Jung whom Joseph Campbell read before constructing the Heroes Journey, talks about the shadow self. All of us have the capacity to be evil, to do evil, and we all do so in some capacity. I think it's very interesting in several layers to have the dual leads be the shadow selves of each other. One is a brave warrior, one is bullied. One is looked at as a doer, and one can't complete his schoolwork. One has an abundance of friends to help him, one suffers in silence absent friends or a father to help. - By the end of the film, Atreyu would rather not be on this quest when he feels that its hopeless and would rather be Bastian. And Bastian would rather be in another world in Atreyu's shoes than face reality. And both are better for looking into that mirror afterwards and facing that reality. In the book, this makes a lot more sense, although this adaptation is excellent. Bastian is overweight, and is at best average in everything. His interests are childish as he's still a child, so his very serious father who has lost his hopes, dreams and wife, doesn't connect with him in any meaningful way. And Bastian can't connect with any of the children around him as he's overweight and middling or worse at everything but imagination, so he has no friends. Atreyu loses those close to him while Bastian had less close to him and already lost them before the story begins. I hadn't watched this for 30 years, and rewatched it a couple days ago, and it holds up very well. I decided to look up what others who had never seen the movie thought. Thanks for the video.

[@pebblesanddirt]

This movie came out when i was 9, and i LOVED it. It did have a creepy, scary, exciting vibe even then.

[@texashookem22]

I am 46 years old now, and this is still a favorite movie of mine!

[@jrobwoo688]

A classic of my childhood. Thanks Shanelle! Please watch Don’t Tell Mom the Babysitter’s Dead.

[@TheJamieRamone]

Didn't she add that to the list? I know it was mentioned in the last live stream.

[@adrianhempfing2042]

Don't tell mom the babysitters dead is a fun film

[@AlleyKatPr0]

Moonchild = by giving the Empress his mother's name, she will never die in memory, so long as he continues to imagine The nothing = his grief over the loss of his mother and, therefore the thing which can destroy your hope Atreyu = his personification in Fantasia, and his own reflection that disappears once he names the Empress The bullies = what he is doing to himself and the thing that is an omnipresent representation of his fear, lurking around every corner You were correct, this movie is about the importance of cathartic experiences so as to understand pain and to understand that it is an important part of you. There are many aspects to this story (it is a classic German fairy tale btw) which were replicated in the movie 'inside out' regarding cathartic emotions.

[@RushfanDave]

Thank you for your perspective on this movie. In 1984, I was 10 years old. Needless to say, i related to The Neverending Story. It holds a special place in my heart. It was magical at the time. An emotional rollercoaster. I showed it to my children, and to my grandchildren. It loses some of the magic for them as the effects haven't aged well, but it fuels their imagination all the same. For me, having left the imaginative behind, it touches me on a deeper level in the same way you discussed (depression, grief, dreams vs practicality). So many great messages. I have read the book several times over the years. Only half the book was made into the movie. The second half of the book is Bastian's wishes and the rebuilding of Fantasia. It was also made into a movie, but it wasn't very good (IMO). I need to reread it again as it has been about 10 years.

[@GeoffreyToday]

The Neverending Story is one of those rare movies that grows with you. The childhood experience of it is different than the adolescent, which is different than the early adult, middle aged, etc. It's pretty amazing. The city shots were filmed in Vancouver, around Gastown.

[@VengefulPurity]

My parents rented this on VHS from the library and recorded it. This movie is 5 years older than me, so I’ve been watching since I could crawl. The scene with Artax was always heartbreaking, as was the grieving rock biter’s. This movie is on my top favorite fantasy films. Now you just need to add Hook, Legend and Willow to your watchlist. :) so glad you enjoyed this, I knew you would.

[@TheJamieRamone]

Yeah, the rock-biter scene's the one that really gets me.

[@joeblankenship377]

The old 2 VCR home bootleg thing. I miss those days. Crates and crates of movies to watch over and over again.

[@ceejay6553]

And now you know why GenX is the way they are...if you were so moved by this as an adult imagine as a kid. We all watched Artax die and it still hurts us to this day.

[@frankhassle9366]

Seeing this movie in the theatre as a nine year old was AMAZING! What a great decade of movies!

[@RazorwireReviews]

Going back to this after decades, a few years ago, I was really stunned by how well it held up. A masterpiece of imagination.

[@HaughtBreakerNic]

Welcome to being a part of the Neverending Story. As you're enjoying Bastian's adventure, we're enjoying your reaction to it. Also this movie def traumatized an entire generation of us 80s kids. The loss of Artax is pretty much one of the most significant trigger scenes for a lot of us. The part that still kills me to this day, however, is the Rockeater reflecting about no matter how strong he thought he was, he wasn't strong enough to save his friends and saying "they look like big, strong hands, don't they?" Having seen it in the 80s, it wasn't creepy at all. Considering all the things that were thrown at us via puppetry/animatronics, this was pretty mild. It wasn't until like 10 years ago that I learned Moonchild because the original subtitles just say "yelling" or something like that.

[@kevinramsey417]

The Oracle scene was creepy too with the giant statues that shoot lasers.

[@madtown99980]

Ok, ok Shanelle just cracks me up with my favorite childhood films 😂😂

[@mikereacts7304]

as a kid of course i didnt notice its about grief and depression,, watching it with you made me realize it.. it makes sense tho.. the boys mom passed away.. so hes trying to deal with it.. the book helps him.... damn... thanks great reaction.. now i have to watch the second one over

[@Deathbird_Mitch]

Books will do that...

[@shanehebert396]

A few years ago, a young guy cosplayed at DragonCon dressed as Atreyu and had a horse head with a bridle in it. He'd go around putting the head on the ground acting like he was pulling on it and yelling the lines from the movie. It was great (especially in the hotel where the carpet was brown).

[@mkaplan1383]

I saw that floating on Facebook last year.

[@josedecasas6652]

Forty years and that damn horse scene still gets me 🤣

[@bekindandrewind1422]

14:06 - yes.. Grief, struggle, luck, overcoming the odds...

[@TheJuringramen]

Fun true story: when I was a kid, my 2 sisters and I always thought this was the longest movie ever (when i was around 4-6 years old) and we would measure time with it. When on a road trip, we'd ask our mom where we'd be at in the movie so that we'd know how much longer before we got to where we were going. Lol

[@melanie62954]

That's awesome. Last year I started my sister measuring time for my nieces by saying "two Avatar episodes long" or "one Bluey"

[@manuelvillacana9284]

And yes, that would be me too. My mother died at a early age in 1985 when I was 6 years old.

[@kennethstevenson4817]

The creatures/puppets were all done by Jim Henson, that's why everything looks so good.

[@Sir_Gerald_Nosehairs.]

I remember sobbing my eyes out over the scene with the horse in the quicksand as a child. I won't watch it even now!

[@smavtmb2196]

This brings back memories. I remember going to see it in 1984. I was 9. It was definitely creepy yet emotionally moving. I especially remember the creepy Gmork werewolf. I still live just outside Vancouver BC were parts of this were filmed. Info on filming locations I found: The bulk of the film was shot at Stage 1 of the Bavaria Studios in Munich, Germany. The street scenes and the school interior in the real world shot in Vancouver, Canada. The Gastown area of Vancouver is shown at the beginning and the Gastown (steam Clock) can be seen in the bully chase scene at the end of the film, as the three bullies are chased down Cambie Street past the steam clock at the intersection of Water Street and then on down Blood Alley, and the beach where Atreyu falls, which was filmed at Playa de Mónsul in San Jose, Almería, Spain

[@lordmortarius538]

Man, Atreyu losing Artax to the despair of the Swamps of Sadness was traumatizing to an entire generation of children. I saw this when I was 6 or 7 (in 1987) and I'm now 43 and have still not gotten over it :(

[@orbislame]

Omg I am so happy for this. My all time favorite movie. Can’t wait to watch your reaction.

[@loltubelvr007]

27:11 ... Just wait until The Child-like Empress talks DIRECTLY to Bastion! goosebumps are gonna triple!

[@garygreenfield9738]

Easily My Favorite Childhood Film!!

[@geraldsarrells7961]

One of the many reasons I watch reaction movies is because of the insight you guys give. I grew up loving this movie and the idea that it's about grief and getting past it ties the whole film together, which never occurred to me after seeing it more than fifty times. Cinema Rules, another reactor channel, didn't understand why he didn't wish his mother back to life in the end but, after hearing what you said, that was not the point of the movie. It was learning how to deal with her death and stand up for yourself. You don't get past grief, you are stronger to deal with it, which is the true form of maturity. Loved your reaction. Glad it still affects adults as well as kids. Can't wait to show it to my daughter when she's older.

[@willowbeederouaux4750]

I was 7 years old when this movie came out. It def terrified me! And Artax (the horse) dying put me into hysterics :( But it was also wonderful. Lots of kids movies were frightening in the '80's! You should check out 'The Last Unicorn' (animated movie). It gave me nightmares!

[@MaikKellerhals]

To me there are 3 great fantasy movies: LOTR (all 3), Conan The Barbarian, and this. Each for completely different reasons.

[@calebmorrow96]

The empress straight up broke the 4th wall twice. She knows about Bastion, but she also mentioned us. "Just as he is sharing your story, others are sharing his." Also, he named her Moon Child

[@jaxonsjerseys]

I'm 43 now, can't tell you how traumatic the death of artax was as a kid, still gets me right in the feels 😭

[@daniellanctot6548]

*_In late 70s, early 80s, there was this fad where people believe that eating raw eggs was the best way to do because they claimed one would get a lot more nutrients out of them (Sylvester Stallone also eats raw eggs in Rocky). On top of it proven to be untrue, there is no significant benefit to it, it has also been shown to be risky in cases where the eggs might be contaminated_* *_I believe that the reason why Atreyu and the Empress are children is only because the reader, Bastien, is a child. So probably, when the old librarian read the book, Atreyu and the Empress would’ve described as older people; the book adapts to the reader (Hence, if an fat person read the book, both of them would also be fat and if the reader were physically or mentally disabled, so would they be and so on_* *_Loved you pointing out how the whole movie is about grief and having to work beyond it: While I always thought it was one of the elements the movie talked about, I never realized how much it is there in nearly every scene: Bastien’s dad starts the movie with how one can’t let it dominate one’s life, the Nothing is the embodiment of it, the swamp is the depression that lets it take over, Morla is coping (or AVOIDING to cope with it) by way of apathy, the first Oracle gate is the obstacle the confidence/belief in one’s own capacity to move on from grief, the Rock Biter Atreyu encounters is the abandonment to grief (He literally plans his own suicide over his grief of losing the bat and snail guys) and even the Empress needing a new name as the solution to the story is the idea of “a new beginning”, a new chapter being named so that the story may continue (so that it may be Never Ending...!)_*

[@nicholasregan6526]

someone probably mentioned this already but in the book that dad was different, he was in deep grief that the dad in the movie version. Great reaction!

[@christophermitchell6307]

Glad you enjoyed the neverending story shanelle because it is an enchanting film. The rockman and giant tortoise scared me the most the first time I saw this as a 4yo. This film is one of the best nostalgic kids films of the 80's and it has the type of song that when you hear it for the first time you can't stop singing it.

[@jebVlogs556]

*christophermitchell6307* You saw this 4yrs old, I was 8 when I saw it with my father(a few days before he passed) he explained everything to me about how "Life" is never ending,exactly how this storybook Intel. Some people were scared of the giant rock creature,falcore the Chinese luck dragon and the Island turtle(they looked alright for "Wrong sounding Puppets😅") But I loved the Servant of the Nothing, I don't know if it was giant Wolf or Werewolf but that thing 😲 saw freighting to me 😢as a kid(and the fact both Atrau and the Servant were Equals) bro that's 😅insane revelations. The dark moving clouds and lightning(great exposure therapy) love how the Nothing is a Physical and Mental Personafication of "Moving Clouds Strong Loud Noises" wasn't suppose to be but that's what it ended as 😅 And Shanelle, you are right most of these things were "Motion Capture" or in today's world called "MOCAP" or stop motion. I love practical effects,as a born 80s kid(this is what I like the most) and the costumes were practical too. Love the trolls,goblins,imps,the walking giant Faces,etc etc all practical and No CGI on this planet can replicate the physical demand(that's why it's labor enducing) If you watch eventually"WereWolf in London" that movie was motion,stop-motion with advance legendary applications(everything is precise)

[@christophermitchell6307]

​​@@jebVlogs556 I completely agree with all that you've said and I forgot about the wolf making me scared. Also sorry to hear your dad passed away not long after watching the neverending story with you. I have seen "an American werewolf in London" a few times now and I was in my late teens to early 20's (late 90's to early 00's) when I first saw "an American werewolf in London" and the practical effects of the guy transforming into the werewolf in the house/flat are absolutely astonishingly excellent especially for the year it was released

[@salyx]

As a kid in the 80s, the concept of nothing scared the crap out of me. Still kind of does.

[@JoshRead1]

Great film. This womans voice is beautiful. Hopefully, one day, she will narrate audio books 😊

[@manuelvillacana9284]

A child friendly movie that I would like to recommend. Would be little monsters with Fred Savage and Howie Mandell.

[@crpgdungeonsdragonsnight]

Artex, the horse that sent an entire generation to therapy. In the original novel by Micheal Ende the horse was able to speak as well and is in several chapters before this moment. I think if they went with that route for the movie things would have been ten times worse.

[@martinaloeffelmann9093]

yes - in the book artax asks atreyu for “one last favor”, which is to walk away and let him perish alone. i mean 😭

[@BADDEC101]

I just gotta say this. PG doesn't mean "children's movie." As a matter of fact, the book this movie is based off of is meant for adults. PG literally means Parental Guidance, so, it's not for kids to watch without an adult present to explain what's happening.

[@jenniferri7735]

my mom used to rent this for me every dang weekend, back when for whatever reason VHS tapes were like $100 and regular people couldn't own them, just rich folks and video rental stores? anyway, i have seen it at least 300 times and i ADORE reactions to it ❤❤❤

[@kriscynical]

I think it was licensing...? 🤔 Movie studios didn't want piracy and shit like that, and they didn't like the concept of home viewing in general because they didn't have the foresight to see what a money maker that would end up being. I don't think they were quite $100 for individuals, but they absolutely were for video rental stores just because they were making money off of renting it out once it was purchased. VCRs were pretty expensive at first, too, kind of like the first DVD players. You know, there are some places that still sell basic little VCRs. And they're seriously only like $20-25.😂

[@jenniferri7735]

@@kriscynical i remember how much my life changed when i figured out how to copy films on VHS onto blank tapes by hooking up two VCRs. i had dozens and dozens, i was a preteen criminal. muahahaha.

[@kriscynical]

@@jenniferri7735 Same, except it was via my Dad (I was born in '84). I had sooooo many tapes of things recorded off of HBO and Payperview, too. My dad was an electronics dealer and tech nut from the late '70s until retiring in the late '00s, so he had all of that figured out. I had a bunch of Betamax tapes because of that, too!

[@jebVlogs556]

​@@kriscynicalthe VCR's right now in 2023, aren't the same models or production lines from the 60-90s models. That's why they are only 25$. A classical one is easy $100. And if you get one that doesn't read the tapes(again that's a later edition) As for the rental companies,yes I agree they were Heavy handed on piracing. Some of those VHS 📼 tapes had trackers hidden on them if you tried to copy one data film to another one was blank(my uncle was a tinker, he could take things apart like these things, but wouldn't touch one with an odd security tracker on them) experience taught him something.. In the 70-90s blockbuster(had expensive taste each game and VHS was easy $50-$100 depending on the ones you wanted from classic to new releases) heck an unopened original box with the lion king videos,coloring books,video games and sega Genesis console,and Snes cost me recently $800 usd,with the cds and song album books. Some rare collectibles

[@DavidGowers]

I was 8 when this hit cinemas near me, and I LOVED it at first sight. I then proceeded to tell my grandmother the entire story, in detail, with "and then"s everywhere, when we got home. Artax's death broke my little heart back then but these days it's the Rock Biter that does me in. "They look like good, strong hands. Don't they?" kills me every damn time...

[@craigperry4214]

The movie that traumatized a generation. If you make it through the Swamp Of Sadness scene without inner turmoil, you are a heartless robot. I highly suggest “Time Bandits” if you enjoyed this.

[@TerbInYourFace]

Love Time Bandits. Villain is underrated af

[@stephaniecasey9100]

This is one of my favorite childhood movies, only 2nd to Labyrinth which I saw when I was a few years older. Since you love our 80's fantasy movies, you really need to watch "Legend" It's from 1985 and stars Tim Curry and a really young Tom Cruise. I actually didn't watch that one until I was an adult but it is really good. Another recommendation from 1985 is LadyHawke with Michelle Pffeifer, Rutger Hauer, and Matthew Broderick. I think you would enjoy both of those movies.

[@CrimsonStone3]

I loved this film as a kid. I saw this movie on opening night at the first showing.

[@greenleader138]

This is first movie I ever saw in theaters.

[@ErikIversen]

The opening and closing exteriors were filmed in Vancouver, British Columbia. Specifically the tourist area called Gastown, the oldest part of the city. Its my hometown, and I recognized the streets and buildings right away.

[@ToABrighterFuture]

Limahl, who performed the title track, was also a member of Kajagoogoo at one point. Noah Hathaway (Atreu) almost got seriously hurt in that infamous swamp scene. It was shot on a wet stage, with a platform that could be raised or lowered. The story goes that part of Hathaway's costume got caught in the machinery, and Noah almost drowned for real. So a good portion of the panic was genuine, and Petersen was like, ah, why not, print that. Hathaway's gone on to live quite a life in the years since. He ought to write an autobiography. Speaking of books, Barret Oliver (Bastian) already is a published author. "A History of the Woodburytype" is indeed by that very Barret Oliver. He's a bit of an expert at nineteenth century photography techniques: he's had museum exhibits, the whole thing. Bastian's father was played by Gerald McRaney, who would be notable years later for "Major Dad." He visited my ship on a USO tour once, back in my Navy days...but that's another story.

[@bekindandrewind1422]

11:50 -- Artax in the swamp and the aftermath... Is what someone who can't go on looks like from both sides... The one who checks out.. And the one left behind in their own grief..