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If there is one movie that became a staple of fantasy films in the ’80s and remains relevant today, it is The NeverEnding Story. Many of us who watched it remember Atreyu’s journey fondly as he tried to save a fantastical realm. However, many of us didn’t realize the dark, deep topics it hid behind that mythical coat of paint. Loss, depression, and alienation are just a few of the themes that this marvel of a film hides behind the world of Fantasia.
Loss Is The Main and Darkest Topic of the Film
It might not have been obvious when we were kids, but the first few minutes of the movie already touch upon a complex topic: loss. We learn that Bastian, our alienated protagonist, has no mother. From there, we keep learning that Bastian’s way of dealing with loss is to escape to these fantasy realms, mainly Fantasia, where the titular The NeverEnding Story takes place.
This coping mechanism isn’t welcomed by everyone, however, as it doesn’t take long for Bastian’s father to tell him how he needs to stop daydreaming, hit the brakes on whatever his imagination is cooking, and “don’t let his mom’s death be an excuse for not getting the job done.”
When he finds The NeverEnding Story novel, one would think it’d be the escape poor Bastian needs, but here’s where the actual existential dread kicks in. See, Fantasia is facing a threat called “The Nothing.” In fantasy genre terms, it is the big calamity that our hero needs to beat. Yet, what this hazard hides is an even more depressing message: “We come from nothing and return to nothing.”
But that isn’t all “The Nothing” brings; it also serves as a metaphor for what Bastian is facing. When Rockbiter talks about his lost friends, he claims he’ll wait there just for “The Nothing” to take him away, too, which is the hopelessness that Bastian faces when dealing with his bullies. He doesn’t even have the strength to fight back after they throw him in the garbage container. At the same time, it mirrors what the father is trying to do: get Bastian to stop imagining and put both feet on the ground.
The Forced Loss of Innocence
On the other side of the coin, we have Atreyu. Our hero goes on a seemingly epic adventure to rescue Fantasia. In the eyes of a child, this is just another heroic tale. But the truth is that it hides another important theme, and one that hits us without even realizing it: the loss of innocence.
Atreyu drives this theme throughout the movie, mirroring what Bastian is going through in the real world. Atreyu is basically forced to go on the quest to find the Empress. As he embarks on the voyage, he faces despair embodied by Gmork, the reality of losing a loved one (his horse), and the weight of saving a whole world. At the same time, we see how Bastian is losing that innocence as well, realizing that his actions have consequences in the real world, and despite being able to imagine things, escaping to Fantasia or any other fantasy setting isn’t always the right choice.
There is also another bittersweet part to this tale that hits right at the end. After “The Nothing” razes Fantasia, we see how the Childlike Empress is calling out for Bastian, claiming he is the one who has the power to save the world. Yet, Bastian doesn’t believe it, as he has to “keep his feet on the ground,” just like his father said. Eventually, The NeverEnding Story ends on a hopeful note, but the truth is that it is far from hopeful; it is a struggle between hope and despair.
On the one hand, Bastian is able to believe in himself and accept who he truly is. We can even see how he supposedly gets back at his bullies by scaring them with the dragon. Yet that’s only a symbol of how Bastian was able to stand up to them, without leaving his fantasy ideals behind. On the other hand, the Empress gives Bastian this enormous responsibility of keeping Fantasia alive, which might not seem like a big deal at the time, but let’s remember that Gmork says that humans’ hopes and dreams create this world; without them, there’s nothing.
Two Sides of the Same Coin
In the end, The NeverEnding Story teaches us about how hope and despair go hand in hand. We see it through the tale of Bastian and Atreyu. One is forced to leave his hopes behind and embrace despair, and the other fights against despair and embraces hope. It is something that painfully reminds us of the harsh reality. When hopes stop existing, there’s nothing else for us to believe in. Yet, it is up to us to keep that hopefulness alive, just as Bastian is now in charge of helping Fantasia exist.
In truth, The NeverEnding Story is a brilliant film that weaves in so many dark, difficult, and shocking topics without us even realizing. Beyond that, it does so masterfully by showing them through the eyes of a struggling kid and an unlikely hero. Despite its depressing undertones and dose of realism, it’s still an ’80s classic that either traumatized us as children or fueled our love for fantasy.
