The Neverending Story
Blu-ray Edition
Directed by Wolfgang Petersen
Starring Noah Hathaway, Barret Oliver, Tami Stronach, Moses Gunn, Thomas Hill
Warner Bros Home Entertainment
Release date: March 2, 2010

The Neverending Story was one of the movies that was constantly playing in the background of my childhood. I was 2-years-old when it was released in 1984 and I had no idea I would be referencing it way off into the year 2000 and beyond. Something about the film has always been magical to me and appealed to my inner child ever since my initial viewing.

Based on the German novel of the same name by Michael Ende, the film was directed by Wolfgang Petersen and centers around a boy named Bastian (Barret Oliver) from our world and a boy named Atreyu (Noah Hathaway) from the fantasy world of Fantasia. Bastian is a troubled young boy who is reeling from the recent loss of his mother. He’s not like the other kids who are more likely to frequent the local video arcade than the library. Bastian is a bookworm who often uses literature to escape his real life sorrows. One day while being accosted by bullies on his way to school, he hides in a bookstore, where he finds Mr. Koreander (Thomas Hill), a grumpy bookseller. Bastian is curious about one of the books he sees, but Mr. Koreander warns him it’s “not safe.” Unafraid, Bastian steals the book and races towards school where he proceeds to hide in the school’s attic and begins his journey into “The Neverending Story.”