Fantasia Hurt So Good 🐉 Why We’ll Always Go Back
Photo Credit: Warner Brothers
Let’s be honest with each other.
The NeverEnding Story messed us up a little.
And somehow, that’s exactly why we love it.
Photo Credit: Warner Bros. Pictures
This movie didn’t tiptoe around hard feelings. It walked straight into them, sat down, and asked us to stay awhile. As kids. With no warning. And no emotional safety net. Yet we went back again and again, because buried inside the sadness was something genuinely beautiful.
💔 The Trauma Was the Point 💔
Let’s start with the obvious emotional landmine: Artax.
That scene wasn’t sad in a gentle way. It was slow. Heavy. Hopeless. Watching Artax sink while Atreyu begged him to keep going taught kids a brutal truth very early on. Sometimes love isn’t enough. Sometimes sadness wins. Sometimes you can’t save everyone.
Photo Credit: Warner Bros. Pictures
That was shocking, but it was also honest. The Swamp of Sadness gave shape to emotions most kids already felt but didn’t have words for. Grief. Depression. Giving up. It didn’t sugarcoat them, and that stuck.
The Nothing worked the same way. It wasn’t loud or flashy. It erased things quietly. It represented what happens when people stop caring, dreaming, and believing. That idea was terrifying then. It’s still unsettling now.
🌈 Why It Was Still Wonderful 🌈
Here’s the thing. The movie didn’t leave us in the dark.
For every heartbreaking moment, there was wonder. Falkor floating in with that smile. Fantasia bursting with strange, gentle, and deeply weird creatures. The Childlike Empress calmly holding hope when everything else was falling apart.
Photo Credit: Warner Bros. Pictures
The movie made space for pain without letting it be the final word. It showed that sadness exists, but imagination can move through it. Not erase it. Move through it.
That balance is rare. Especially in a kids’ movie.
🐍✨ The Auryn Explained (And Why It Matters So Much) ✨🐍
Now let’s talk about the Auryn, because this symbol deserves real attention.
In the film, the Auryn is given to Atreyu by the Childlike Empress. It is not a weapon. It does not give strength or skill. It offers protection and guidance. The Auryn represents authority without domination. It allows its bearer to act freely, but it does not remove consequences. Every wish reshapes Fantasia. Every choice carries weight.
Photo Credit: Warner Bros. Pictures
Visually, the two serpents represent balance. Light and dark. Creation and destruction. Beginning and continuation. Neither serpent wins. The story never closes into a final ending.
That’s why the Auryn endures. It symbolizes imagination as responsibility. Belief as an active force. It reminds us that stories survive only if we participate in them.
As kids, we saw magic. As adults, we see meaning.
📼 A Movie That Trusted Kids With Too Much (In a Good Way) 📼
The NeverEnding Story trusted children with grief, fear, and moral weight. It didn’t rush past uncomfortable moments. It let silence sit. It allowed confusion. It expected us to grow into its meaning over time.
That’s why so many of us carry it differently now. The movie didn’t change. We did.
Every rewatch reveals something new, because the story was never just for one age.
🖤 A Very On-Theme Aside 🖤
Being part of this fandom means carrying symbols with you. That’s why creating a Stories Never End pendant inspired by the Auryn felt less like making something and more like continuing something!
There’s a giveaway for this pendant I'm offering, happening right now, closing February 10 at 7:00 PM EST!
👉 ENTER THE STORIES NEVER END PENDANT GIVEAWAY HERE
I'll be going live on Facebook to pick the winner on the 10th of February at 8pm EST right before your eyes! Come join me for a brief hang out to see if you're the lucky one!
👉 JOIN ME LIVE ON FACEBOOK HERE
✨ Why We Still Talk About It ✨
This movie hurt. It also helped.
It taught us that sadness doesn’t mean failure. That imagination has power. That stories need readers to survive. That believing is an act, not a feeling.
Photo Credit: Everett Collection
Fantasia still exists because we remember it.
The Auryn still matters because we understand it now.
And the story never ended because it was never meant to.
Thanks for reading,
