Wolfgang Petersen adapted Michael Ende's children's story for this
charming fantasy film that spawned several sequels. Bastian (Barret
Oliver) is dealing with his mother's recent death. His father (Gerald
McRaney) is an imperious sort who continually lambastes Bastian for
daydreaming and falling behind in school. On top of his father's
badgering, he has to contend with a bunch of school bullies waiting for
him in the schoolyard. One day he decides to play hooky and walks into a
strange bookstore, where in the attic, he discovers a book called "The
Neverending Story". As Bastian reads the book, he's enveloped in the
unfolding tale. A sickly child-like empress (Tami Stronach) from a land
called Fantasia is concerned about who will take over the land if she
dies. She decides it is best for Fantasia if she remains alive, so she
dispatches a young warrior named Atreju (Noah Hathaway) to find a cure
for the empress's malady. It turns out the land is consumed with a
plague called The Nothing, generated by blighted dreams and hopeless
fantasies. As Atreju continues onward to search for a cure for The
Nothing, he encounters an assortment of strange creatures. Bastian is so
consumed with the tale that he finds himself catapulted into the land
of Fantasia himself. Atreju realizes that the only way to save the land
from its blight is with the help of this strange earth boy, Bastian.