Of all the films that were in constant rotation during my childhood, The NeverEnding Story is probably the one that had the most impact. Sure, Tron had lightcycles and Jeff Bridges. Labyrinth had a young Jennifer Connelly, who inspired strange and confusing new feelings. And The Quest had the uber-creepy mystery of Donkegin Hole, (and seriously, am I the only person in North America who actually saw that movie?). But The NeverEnding Story reigned over them all, because there were just so many moments that burned into my adolescent brain and never let go.
The curmudgeonly old bookstore owner's irresistible warning that "This book is not for you." The giant sphinxes guarding the Southern Oracle, and the way I'd always hide my eyes when the dead knight's visor flipped open. The way I would have given my left arm for a luck dragon. The Gmork, who scared the ever-loving piss out of me. The death of Artax, which I still, to this day, cannot watch without weeping like a sad little baby-man. And surrounding it all, the simple notion that even the quietest of us, the least popular and the least important, can change the world with our dreams.
Is it a safe bet that I'll be picking up The NeverEnding Story when it hits DVD March 2nd? It is indeed. Is it a safe bet that I'm posting that Artax clip down below without actually watching it? Man, look at the time, I've got to go...
"The Orin"
"The Sphinxes"
"Artax"
"Sadness"
"Morla"
