The Neverending Story

Enter a fantastic world where the strongest power is the power of the imagination. When he comes across a book that can project the reader into its story, a young boy becomes part of a wondrous adventure in a land of flying dragons, evil wolves, gnomes, and a warrior-child who must fight to save it from destruction. Barret Oliver, Noah Hathaway, Tami Stronach, Gerald McRaney star. 92 min. Standard and Widescreen (Enhanced); Soundtracks: English Dolby Digital Surround stereo, French Dolby Digital Surround stereo; Subtitles: English, French, Spanish; theatrical trailer.

Wolfgang Petersen (In the Line of Fire) made his first English-language film with this 1984 fantasy about a boy (Barret Oliver) visualizing the stories of a book he's reading. The imagined tale involves another boy, a warrior (Noah Hathaway), and his efforts to save the empire of Fantasia from a nemesis called the Nothing. Whether or not the scenario sticks in the memory, what does linger are the unique effects, which are not quite like anything else. Plenty of good fairy-tale characters and memorable scenes, and the film even encourages kids to read. --Tom Keogh