Plot summary

Bastian (Barret Oliver) is a young boy and a frequent daydreamer, much to the dismay of his father (Gerald McRaney). Bastian's mother died early in his youth; his father is now raising Bastian alone. On his way to school he is spotted by three bullies, who throw him in a dumpster in an alley. When he emerges from the container, the bullies chase him again and he hides in a bookstore. He meets an old man, Mr. Koreander, reading a book. When Bastian asks to read the book ("The Neverending Story"), the man replies that the book is "not safe." Ignoring his warnings, Bastian borrows the book when Mr. Koreander is distracted by a telephone call - he does, however, leave a note promising to return it. He then heads for school, only to realize he is late for class. He heads upstairs to the school's attic, where he starts to read the book.

Two beings of FantasiaThe story of the book starts with fantastic creatures in the world of Fantasia discovering that a strange force called "The Nothing" is starting to take over their world and make things disappear. The group consists of Teeny Weeny and his racing snail, a Nighthob and his "stupid" bat, and a stone giant named Rockbiter. They make their way to see the Empress of Fantasia at the Ivory Tower and ask her for help. Unfortunately, the Empress is deathly ill. The Empress has summoned a great warrior from a tribe of the Plains People named "Atreyu." Atreyu (Noah Hathaway) arrives, and is given a magical medallion called the Auryn, which acts as both a guide and a symbol of the Empress' authority in requesting assistance. Atreyu begins his journey with his horse, Artax.

The Nothing has summoned a wolf-like creature called the G'mork to kill Atreyu during his journey. Atreyu is trudging through the Swamps of Sadness in an effort to find Morla, a wise being who can assist him. On his way through the swamps, Artax is overcome by depression and sadness, and begins to sink to his doom. Artax drowns in the swamps, leaving Atreyu heartbroken and alone. He finds Morla, a giant turtle-like creature. After reading a description of Morla in the book, Bastian screams - a scream which is then heard quite clearly by both Morla and Atreyu, who look around the swamp in confusion.

Morla claims not to know how to help the Empress, but to know who would know: The Southern Oracle. Atreyu leaves Morla and continues through the swamps. He lets the sadness take him and starts to sink. The G'mork is nearly upon him at this point, but Atreyu escapes when a flying white creature swoops down from the sky and picks him up just before he drowns in the mud like Atrax. Atreyu awakens and finds his life was saved by Falkor, a flying luckdragon who resembles a dragon but has a canine head. Falkor has flown Atreyu almost all of the way to the Southern Oracle. Falkor's caretakers - two old gnomes named Engywook and Urgl - give Atreyu advice on crossing the last lengths to the Southern Oracle.

Falkor the luckdragonAtreyu must first pass by the Sphinxes. Those who cross with fear at heart will be killed by the Sphinxes. He makes a mad dash for the other side and avoids the Sphinxes' attacks. He then trudges through a snowstorm to the Magic Mirror Gate, where he sees a true version of himself in the reflection - a version of himself designed to terrify him. When Atreyu looks into the mirror, he actually sees a young boy reading a book in a school.

Bastian reads this and realizes the book is describing himself. He chucks the book away from him and is in disbelief, he soon becomes interested again if the people in Fantasia actually knew him. When Bastian picks up the book continues reading, Atreyu walks into the mirror and crosses through. Finally, Atreyu reaches the Southern Oracle, whose two faces begin to crumble as they tell Atreyu what he must do: To save the Childlike Empress, he must give her a new name. The only person who can tell him this new name is a human child, who can only be found outside the boundaries of Fantasia. Atreyu runs back to Falkor, who then flies him around Fantasia looking for its boundaries so he can find a human child.

Unfortunately, after flying around for a while, they run straight into the Nothing. After being pounded and thrown about, Atreyu falls off Falkor and into the Sea of Possibilities, where he loses the Auryn. He awakens on a beach with the Nothing not far away. Atreyu walks in sorrow to a stone garden not far away. He briefly encounters the Rockbiter, who reveals his friends were taken by the Nothing and decides he will be taken too. On the walls, Atreyu sees a pictorial story of himself, from his moments at the Ivory Tower to the present. Atreyu then meets the G'mork, who explains that he is the "servant of the power behind the Nothing." The G'mork does not recognize Atreyu, as he never saw the boy up close, and Atreyu is no longer wearing the Auryn. G'mork tells him that Fantasia is actually the dream world of human beings. Because thoughts and dreams have no boundaries, neither does Fantasia. The Nothing is a by-product of human apathy and despair, which "eat away" the dreams and goals of humanity. Only one brave young boy could have saved Fantasia - a warrior named Atreyu, whom G'mork lost after tracking him to the Swamps of Sadness. Atreyu reveals his identity and picks up a sharp slab of stone, challenging G'mork to a battle. G'mork charges Atreyu and slashes him, but is impaled on the stone. Back at the Sea of Possibilities, Falkor dives into the water and picks up the Auryn. Meanwhile, the Nothing comes down full force on the area and violently tears the world apart as Atreyu clings to a tree. Falkor arrives at the last moment and saves Atreyu with the Auryn.

The Childlike Empress and AtreyuFalkor and Atreyu are flying around the emptiness of space, as the rest of Fantasia is gone, leaving only an asteroid field. With the guide of the Auryn, they fly back to the Ivory Tower, which is the only intact structure left in the remains of Fantasia. Atreyu goes inside the tower and comes face to face with The Childlike Empress (Tami Stronach). The Empress tells him that he has not failed, and has indeed brought a human child with him. The Empress begins to tell of the human child, who escaped bullies in a bookstore, then accompanied Atreyu on his journey all along.

As Bastian reads the story of Atreyu's journey, he realizes the book is aware of his presence. The Empress reiterates that all Fantasia needs is for the human child to give her a new name. As the Nothing begins attacking the Ivory Tower, causing it to start falling apart, Atreyu is knocked out in the ensuing chaos, the Empress tearfully addresses Bastian by name in the book's text. Torn between his father's insistence that he must live in the real world and the Empress's plea, Bastian finally runs to the nearest open window, and screams the name "Moonchild" out into the night.

Bastian then appears standing with the Empress, who says that all of Fantasia was destroyed by The Nothing, whereas Bastian's bravery helped one grain of sand from the dream survive. With this one grain of sand, Bastian can rebuild the entire world through wishes and imagination. Bastian wishes for Fantasia's restoration, and for a ride on the back of Falkor. He flies over the land, finding all its citizens alive and well, including Atreyu and Artax. As he and Falkor fly into the city, they successfully scare the bullies from the beginning into falling in a pile of garbage and the other two into a dumpster.

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

source: youtube.com

Publié par zestory