26) Neverending Story - Digital Polyphony
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Liquid Nostalgia #16
The NeverEnding Story: A Look Back
Before I was ever exposed to the likes of Tolkien, Lewis, Dark Crystals or, from my rather fuzzy recollection, a lot of Disney animation, my first foray into anything "fantasy" related was the German film, The NeverEnding Story. Of course I didn't know it was German at the time which might explain the odd spelling of NeverEnding with a capital "E," all I knew is it was about a kid, an adventure and a horse dies in a swamp that made me cry.
A horse in a kid's movie is killed off? Yes. In the first half-hour no less.
As it turns out, The NeverEnding Story was a dark and strange fantasy film that didn't attempt to pander to children by making everything "safe" (in other words, bright and cheery). In fact, it was a pretty unsafe film across the board: death, despair, a slight hint of nihilism and over-the-top imagination that can be frightening in its design all could have easily just been a bunch of stuff thrown together and never quite coming working or finding a heart because it wants to "wow" us with wonder.
Well, it did "wow" us as kids, and it "wows" us still as adults because the film and its darkness is able to balance the love, charm and imagination of childhood (you know, the good things you remember) with a darker tone that doesn't insult you making for a strangely re-watchable and entertaining film. Kids can take a bit of maturity and darkness in their entertainment, as it turns out. Not everything has to be full of bright colors and musical and full of dancing sidekicks. A lot of the most memorable children's films I remember as a child dealt with more mature themes, and The NeverEnding Story is certainly one of those.