Chased by school bullies, reprimanded by his father for daydreaming too much Bastian is lost in his own world. Bastian escapes school bullies one rainy day by hiding in an old used book store. After explaining his predicament to the old clerk Bastian notices a large leather bound book with a symbol of two snakes intertwined into an emblem. Soon after the clerk warns Bastian that this book is not for him Bastian, rushes away with it "borrowing" it, while the clerk is in another room. Taking refuge in the attic of his school Bastian opens the book, and a world of fantasy. Learning that the wonderous, beautiful land of Fantasia is being destroyed by a terrible "Nothing" Bastian is taken deeper into the story. Soon discovering the ChildLike Empress is deathly ill, the cause; she needs a new name. A young warrior named Atreyu is called and Bastian follows his adventures, unknowing that he, himself is slowly being written into the mysterious book. Soon realizing that he is now written in the book Bastian realizes that the only one who can save Fantasia is him
The Never Ending Story
Noah Hathaway played the role of Atreyu, is the secondary protagonist of the story. He is the protagonist of the mysterious book that Bastian reads. To the audience, Atreyu is a metafictional character, existing fictionally and within the reality of the book itself.He is summoned by the Childlike Empress to embark on a "Great Quest" to save the land of Fantasia by finding a cure for her illness. He is given AURYN, an amulet that makes whoever wears it the Childlike Empress' herald, and he sets out on his mission with his horse, Artax.
The Childlike Empress is the monarch of Fantasia, who resides in the Ivory Tower palace in the heart of the realm. Although she is nominally the ruler of Fantasia, she does not command a political system nor does she enforce her authority, and in fact rarely interacts with the outside world. In actuality, she is the living embodiment of Fantasia's life force; should she die, Fantasia and all Fantasians would cease to exist.Her description is that of an indescribably beautiful young girl, appearing no older than ten, yet known to be much older than the oldest Fantasians. Her hair is snow-white, as is her gown, and her eyes are the color of gold, earning her the official title Golden-Eyed Commander of Wishes
The neverending story always used to be on during my early childhood. I always remembered the poor digital effects of the flying dragon/dog they used, close ups were amazing of the animatronic characters among other practical effects.
I always remembered the puppeteers used and the practical prosthetics within the film, with very little CGI. Looking back at the film now, technology has improved vastly, and the usage of practical effects within these types of films are not really needed unless it's a horror genre. The wolf animatronic was always my favourite, and the character was always hidden as he played the villian in the film that wanted to attack Atreyu.
Great research material for creatures that are make believe and how they are demonstrated through practical application, which will help me through my project.