The Neverending Story
1984
The Nothing. Rock Biters. Luck Dragons. Anyone in their mid thirties should know exactly what those are. Maybe younger (especially if it is a kid with awesome parents). The subject of this movie resonated with kids, because it dealt directly with imagination.
For those of you who might not be familiar with this movie, it is about a little boy named Bastion. He is bullied at school, and one day while running from the little jerks, he ducks into a bookstore. There, he swipes The Neverending Story from the shopkeeper, who warned him against reading the story. He ends up cutting classes and hiding up in the attic/storage area in his school to read the story. While reading, he finds himself engrossed in the tale about saving Fantasia and the Childlike Empress.
Don't take that the wrong way though, because it isn't all sunshine and rainbows Spongebob style imagination. The movie has some very dark moments. It deals with fear, loss, sadness, and growing up. The scene with Artax (the horse) sinking away in the Swamp of Sadness was one of the saddest scenes I remember from my childhood, ranking right up there with E.T. going home and Optimus Prime dying.
The best scene in the movie is when Bastion gets to ride Falkor in the real world. It is something that I, along with almost every kid who saw this movie, wished for. I know this because Falkor makes appearances in Family Guy, Robot Chicken, South Park, Code Monkeys, and The Aquabats! wrote a song about him going on a date. And The Lonely Island did a disturbing skit on one of their albums.
This is a fantastical movie that should absolutely be watched with your kids, but be prepared for some tears. You can always watch it without kids too. That is perfectly okay.
It's also okay to check out these Gifs Without Context.
