This year marks the 35th anniversary of '80s classic The Neverending Story. I've somehow managed to avoid watching this movie that has been deeply embedded in pop culture and was shown frequently in schools. It's the TV/VCR combo on a rolling cart go-to movie and I still fell through the viewing cracks. I never sought it out either because of the Luckdragon kind of freaking me out when I was younger. Something about the furry salamander with a dog head combo wasn't at all appealing to me. So, here I am some twenty-something years later finally watching The Neverending Story and sharing my first time viewing thoughts with you all.
1. The opening theme song is a BOP! '80s synth-pop for the win!

Giphy/Trimm Cars That Go Boom (1988)
2. Bastian's mom died and apparently so did a decent breakfast. The dad is drinking a blended egg yolk smoothie, while poor Bastian is eating some brick-hard butter on untoasted bread.
3. They are going through it.

The Neverending Story/Warner Brothers
4. “Stop daydreaming and start facing your problems."
5. Damn bullies. Why can't they ever just let people be?

The Neverending Story/Warner Brothers
6. OK, but even if all 186 books he had at home were comic books those are still books.
7. "Your books are safe."

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8. So he stole the book and left a note. A polite thief.
9. Bastian finally makes it to school but still manages to ditch school while in school. He locks himself in a room so he can get a jumpstart on reading. Relatable.

Megan Thee Stallion
10. My blood pressure went up because I thought everyone was about to get smashed by this giant wheelbarrow-pushing ogre!

The Neverending Story/Warner Brothers
11. That really is a racing snail.

The Neverending Story/Warner Brothers
12. All I know is that when “The Nothing” appeared, I have never seen a Rock Biter move so fast.
13. Woah, where did this Black man come from?

The Neverending Story/Warner Brothers
14. "The Nothing " sounds like bills and responsibilities, Atreyu is on a quest to prevent adulthood.
15. All that mud.
16. Not the Artax! Please, not the horse!

The Neverending Story/Warner Brothers
17. Nothing like a book that makes you weep.

The Neverending Story/Warner Brothers
18. I have the urge to wash clothes thanks to all this mud.
17. I stan Morla aka the ancient one.

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18. Allergic to youth.
19. All I know is that it better not be as muddy where the Southern Oracle is.
20. 10,000 miles away???

Housewives of Atlanta/Bravo
21. He read through the entire school. LOL.
22. Oh okay, he is just going to spend the night at school? Where is his daddy?

Edward Scissorhands/20th Century Fox
23. Atreyu almost got GOT.
24. He got saved and cleaned. You love to see it.

The Neverending Story/Warner Brothers
25. The Falkor the luckdragon: "I like children.".
26. “Never give up, good luck will find you."

Everything is Love/Tidal
27. A bickering old couple. Science and magic.

The Neverending Story/Warner Brothers
28. Surprise, they’re tiny.
29. Engywook and Urgl.
30. DAMN, WHAT KIND OF ADT HOME DEFENSE ARE THE SPHINXES???

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31. The t*tties on the sphinx are out.

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32. Damn, the knight was cooked.

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33. OH, SNAPS! The next gate is real life.
34. Bruh, I would've thrown that book too!
35. Fantasia is the name of the world and now I’m thinking of Fantasia Barrino being the cure against "The Nothing".
36. The sphinxes are having a Hot Girl Summer but know the secret to save Fantasia Barrino land.
37. A human child. Wait. Atreyu isn’t human?

ANTM/CW
38. What in the greenback drop hell?

The Neverending Story/Warner Brothers
39. The rest of Fantasia looks surprisingly scenic.
40. How many frequent flyer miles can you rack up on a luckdragon?
41. How long has he been at this school and why has no one started looking for him yet?
42. OOOOOOH, The Nothing is the result of people losing their hopes and dreams. ADULTHOOD, like I said earlier.

Oprah Winfrey Show/ABC
43. “People who have no hope are easier to control."

Don't Be a Menace to South Central While Drinking Your Orange Juice in the Hood/Miramax Film
44. Damn, Atreyu is a cash money soldier.

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45. I did not know the Luckdragon could swim too.
46. This boy has been reading all day. He hasn't had a sip of water, all he's eaten is a peanut-butter-and-jelly sandwich and an apple.
47. The Ivory tower is there? Bless!

The Neverending Story/Warner Brothers
48. He’s reading his own story???
49. Am I high?
50. His first wish was to ride the Luckdragon.
51. WAIT. A multiverse?

The Neverending Story/Warner Brothers
The views and opinions expressed in this article are the author's, and do not necessarily reflect those of SYFY WIRE, SYFY, or NBC Universal.