Never Ending Story: The Childlike Empress

[Batmanmg]

moon child is the only conclusion... too bad he didn't got german with it... would have been more of a mystery then.

[jaguar4u2012]

MUUUUCHAAAATAYYYAAA!!!

Nice name ^_^

[PCCphoenix]

I had a chance to write a letter to Tami Stronach a few years ago and commend her on her performance in this film, and in this scene in particular. The sheer emotion and sense of urgency in her voice starting at 0:39 when she delivers the key line in the film are amazing, and the shot is an extreme close-up where all one can see of her is her face. The result was Tami Stronach's best scene ever.

[kclay90]

my names kyle, im so gay

[Lokeydin]

This is the part where Ray Stantz of the ghostbusters comes in and says "now that wasn't much of a chore now was it?" lol

[dkupke]

The name of his mother was "moochild?" Evidently Batsian's mom and dad were hippies

[HeadBangerAust]

One thing that is weird, when I saw this as a kid I seemed to hear him say something to himself about his moms name and always thought that's what he named the empress

[saltypork3]

For anyone that has or will ask, he says "moonchild".

[alincielo]

@saltypork3 in italian version Bastian says his mother's name.

[systris]

if you read the book, you'll find out what Bastian named her...

[jenybabe]

For the longest time I kept thinking he called her hope....... this is my favorite movie...

[visteannika]

I'm not crying if that's what you mean. I'm definitely not crying ...

[Goldminer2015]

This part scares me.

[Reinaatje]

Lol Moonchild is my nickname like, everywhere on the internet, just cause of this scene :p

[skiingbeerpig]

Say my name bastion please....ok MYAYAAAAAAHSAYAAAAAAAAAA!!!!! So um does anyone know what he said I mean when they made the never ending story 2 they just called her the childlike empress.

[xoxocafenoir]

@skiingbeerpig he said "moonchild"

[Sn0wk1tty]

@OneThousandTimeOver haha well the subs duped you. Even now after watching this clip i wonder what her name is

[garrettslc]

BASTIAN! PLEEEEEEEEEASE.

[HeeChulist]

"The most dramatic scene in cinema's history." ? lol i don't think so at all xDD

[ILoveMusicNaya]

tripppppin out lolololo

[drwaxmax]

I remember as a child every time i watched this movie ,when Bastian had the jelly sandwhich , i would eat one too, totally cool! haha

[1livingdeadgrl]

thank you for posting the name, as a child I loved this film, watched over and over and now after 26 years thanks to youtube and definately to those who posted it, i finally know what the name he gave is....i think im gonna go buy the movie and relieve the love i had for this film <3

[FreakinSweet1987]

After going back and watching this movie as an adult... It sucked... :( Bad acting, boring story... Not how I remembered it as a kid...

[Steksprut]

@FreakinSweet1987 Let the child in you come back my friend, don´t be an cold adult. ! :D

[EgagLatsev]

@orkneymist yeah but princess leia isnt a 9 year old girl

[OneThousandTimesOver]

When I got this film on DVD I put the subtitles on at this moment to see what the name was and the subtitles read: "YELLS NAME". What a joke...

[Mio248]

@OneThousandTimesOver LOL!

[pigeonbeatbox]

@OneThousandTimesOver hahaa that sucks

[wilsonjhenry]

@OneThousandTimesOver I did the same thing. But after I saw "Yells name." I realized it is up to us the viewer to fill in the name. That is the point of the Never ending story, to use our imagination to keep fantasia alive! It took me 25 years of wondering what the hell he yells into the strom to figure that out! KEEP FANTASIA ALIVE

[PCCphoenix]

@wilsonjhenry That's exactly how my mother explained it to me when I watched it with her last year.

[inamonianim]

@OneThousandTimesOver The name is Moonchild

[HarukoZ001]

@OneThousandTimesOver hahaha probably because the folks who did the captioning couldn't understand what his cracky-voice was screaming. He shouted "Moon Child" tho'.

[kidelloco]

my first love as a child....

[AssholeRick69]

Is it wrong that this gave me a boner? and I'm 58???

[guyslovebj]

@AssholeRick69 Yes it is

[txl17]

@AssholeRick69 -Uh..............yeah !

[MyFeedbackID]

Call my name...bitch!

[cheynelawson]

I always thought he said martha. I mean really - what else would it be?

[deedy258]

MOONCHILD!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[MAXIMUMGODZILLA45]

Is is me or is her dress like so dang long I remember one time where I thought she didnt have any legs XD lol! I had a real crush on her when I was little so beautiful............. :D

[saquist]

I thought he said Fantasia

[davidls11]

Since she's only child "like" is it OK to jerk off while watching her?

[deedy258]

@davidls11 nope she was 11 when this was shot

[davidls11]

@deedy258 Maybe the laws are different in Fantasia.

[harkar75]

what the hell did he just say

[dxjrules5]

Powerful and all, but I crack up everytime he screams her name lol

[ValisHD]

Funny how we learned what he really said today instead of back when this movie was new lol? Also the close caption thing for the deaf people didn't help either.

[KillerWulf777]

Now I'm wondering if this had any influence on the song "moonchild" by fields of the nephilim. Probably little to no connection there...

[KeithWasHere1]

god this scene was so powerful,such great acting...brings a tear to ones eye to see it now.

[zazdy]

daamnit i hate knowing this now

[airboy90]

Shes actually a dancer now

[yeaps300]

@airboy90 what type of dancer???????

[airboy90]

@yeaps300. Idk what it's called. Some kind of expressional dancing ig? In one of her vids she swingin her arms and rollin around on the ground and stuff

[FreeEcon]

Wow, talk about breaking the fourth wall

[debonnaireguy]

now that i know the name (moonchild) i can hear it perfectly 

[airboy90]

WTF Happened After THAT!? God I can't remember. That movie was EPIC. Am I the only dude who was Crushin on her when I was a Kid??

[aznpinoy357]

@airboy90 i was there with you brotha!!!

[Jobbeybob]

Rihanna: Ooh na na.  What's my name?

Bastian: MAAAAAAAAAAAAAA-CCHYYYYYYYYYYY­YYYYYYYYY-YAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA­AAAAAAAAAAAAAA!

[LegitCritic]

What amazing acting for a little child

[dilcofilms]

She kind of reminds me of Bjork....a little.

[shackle5]

this film isn't for kids. It's really dark.

[TheSisterbutters]

@shackle5 It may not be for little kids but for older ones I think it's perfect. It doesn't sugar coat the story and it doesn't treat kids stupid. I watch it as a kid loved it for it's dark story.

[gypsygurla]

I always thought it was Mariah

[Grimgorus]

"Maughhh-chaaaahhhh-uhghhhhhhh­!"

[Yoder23m]

wait why in gods name was his moms name moonchild like wtf kinda hippie mom did he have

[KibleKat]

I'd love to call out her name ;D

[MrDarling1502]

Moonchild.

[Kittywhiskers1000]

The childlike empress is so beautiful and a wonderful actress. I always wished I looked like her when I was little XD

[DragonOfBlueFire]

Can anyone tell me what name Bastian gives her? No matter how many times I've seen this movie I can't understand Bastian when he calls her new name.

[cris8472]

@DragonOfBlueFire Moon Child :-)

[Kittywhiskers1000]

@cris8472 Seriously? That sounds like a name one of the care bears had :/

[cris8472]

@Kittywhiskers1000 LOL I never thought of that! It does rather...but that's the name he gives her and calls her throughout the book.  Moon Child the Care Bear hahaha!

[WyattWhiteberry]

So I thought he named the Empress after his mom... (that's a weird sentence to say right there...)

Moonchild?

Epic name for a mom Bastian.

[1DreamImmortal]

She's supposed to be named after his mum i always thought he shouted Madea, guess i was wrong :)

[AlanSessler]

After 20 or so years I looked up wikipedia to find out what the heck Bastian was screaming. All these years me and my friends made fun of that line. Her name is "BLAH-BLAH-BLAH!" Thanks wikipedia.

[ApolloAlonzo]

"Moonchild!"

[murfreesboroman]

what the fuck is he say is still don't know her name

[IchFresseTitanJa]

She's prett. 

[0incorporeal]

Wow. soooo cute. Doe-eyed and soulful never fails to be nausea-enducingly cute.

[Elprede]

I always thought he said something garbled too when i was young.

I remember this movie being like 4 hours when I was young. A decade later i watch it agian and its like...90 minutes. But i REMEMBER it feeling SO DAMN LONG.

And yes, I had a crush on the damn childlike empress too. They did a damn good job casting her.

[charger619c]

if you didn't have a crush on her when you first saw this, you were either too young, a girl, or a heterophobe

[700gsteak]

She was hot, when I was a kid.

[nutz4jazz]

still hot to me... just too much eye make up

;-)

[winec00ler]

I thought it was Mariah?

[shantrues]

Why Moon child? I always figured it should be his mom's name cuz of the comment he makes earlier in the movie

[KaraLVRogueLZ]

she was so cute. she is not a bad actor either i must say.

[AVGN4life1]

ohhhhh he is saying moonchild......i always thought it was MOORAMJBXFGMNGDX.....silly me.

[ChristaLovesDrama]

@AVGN4life1 You aren't alone. Watching this video reminded me of how I'd always rewind and ended up hearing the same wrong thing over again. I'm glad we the true definition of what was said.

[theshakl]

@AVGN4life1 omg that cracked me up haha

[IndigoCat17]

she is an ugly bitch

[Bunzypoo]

Such a cute movie. They just can't seem to make them like this anymore. Are there no good writers anymore?

[daftvampire16]

@Bunzypoo Wo wo wo wow... wow... there're still writers?

[Bunzypoo]

@daftvampire16 Obviously there are not. No good childrens movies have been made in years. Although I did like The Princess and the Frog. That is a must see.

[daftvampire16]

@Bunzypoo I guess the reason behind it is that simply the real good stories are used up. Think of it, once a good story is used and a great movie is made, they can't repeat. All the good idea's are used up. That's propably why they made so many remakes these last years, wich usualy just rape the originals. Praise they will not try it with this movie.

[frogclaire1979]

Watched it before reading here, and still couldn't hear the name. Then I read that her name was Moonchild, and yeah, it totally sounds like that now when I go back to this scene. Wow, that was about 20 years if unknown useless knowledge answered. Thank you!

[frogclaire1979]

Watched it before reading here, and still couldn't hear the name. Then I read that her name was Moonchild, and yeah, it totally sounds like that now when I go back to this scene. Wow, that was about 20 years if unknown useless knowledge answered. Thank you!

[frogclaire1979]

Oh, wow. It was still bugging me recently when someone mentioned this movie that I could not figure out the name he yells out the window. was going to buy the DVD just to read the subtitles for this scene. Moonchild?? Would have never guessed. I was in love with this movie when I was a kid. Atrayu was so hot! Ha ha ha!

[gqmighty]

so..she was childlike...does that mean she wasnt really a child...just like one?

[Khronnus]

@gqmighty Maybe she's really old and its an ironic name,

[gqmighty]

@Khronnus yeah i guess...like she is 300 years old but is child like.

[BadulaJohnson]

I have always wondered,what was the name he called out to the empress?

[Kachukeland]

wow, I've been watching this movie for 20 years, and all my life I've never been able to understand what Bastian yells. Only now did I think to look it up on the internet. Moonchild, eh? I always pronounced it, "AAAAohlllmmaaaaaiiiiiiaaaaaaa­aaaaaahhhhooooooooh!"

[lyricalstyles]

yo this scene used to scare the shit outta me when i was young...the girl looks creepy...and now looking back...im baked as hell right now and its still scary lol

[settings99]

This girl would have gone on to be one of the greatest actresses if her parents didn't get her out of the movie Biz.

[fireoutlaw23]

Moonchild is pretty much a hippie name : )

[JacobDeadman]

MOLEST HER!!!!!

[j24800]

eat my shit childlike empress

[frodobaggins115]

that is so amazing! love this movie. :)

[Tuilelen]

Actually, when I was little, I was always under the impression that the filmmakers purposely made it impossible to hear what Bastian screamed out the window. You know, I thought it was supposed to be a mystery, because the important thing was the significance of the name (and of Fantasia) to Bastian as an individual, and also to each of us in the audience. I know -a precocious child, wasn't I? lol

[VelanasGhost]

agreed, is this the actual scene from the movie or a different cut? i've been wondering for years what he named her, and once i read that her name is moonchild, i heard him say it perfectly when i watched it here.

[Turdfergazin]

@Tuilelen I thought it was inaudible as well

[fireoutlaw23]

@Tuilelen Actually, that's what I thought too as a child :)

[PhantasmagoriaTheate]

@Tuilelen

the reason they didn't say her name is because her real name is STUPID! its MOONCHILD, i guess it sounds alot better in German from which the book is originally written in but his full name is Bastian Balthazar Bux. And if you listen closely he does say it, but you wouldn't be able to tell not even subtitled is it revealed, you have to go read the book, also this movie is the first half of the book.

[pigeonbeatbox]

@Tuilelen I figured it was his Mums name cos he dreamt about her after recently passing. But I could never hear it either, but looking back Moon Child is quite clear!

[brosam1234]

When I was young well about 13 as I am 17 now I think the childlike empress was fit does any 1 agree?

have I got bad taste well did I?

[milewide]

tw1stedgrudge has it bang on, The nothing exists and grows becasue of sebastions lack to dream thus giving the nothing it's power. The bullies in his world are his nothing as is his father as he lets them have power over him (more the bullies on that one) but his father trys to stop him dreaming since his mother died.

[superdani152003]

OMG,that movie marked my childhood!And I still cry everytime I watch this scene!

[bubblemum]

I think that in the original book he calls her by his dead mothers name, doesn't he? Also in the original book, this part of the story is barely 11/4 of the way through- everything looks like a happy ending here, but there he goes on to imagine and wish for more and more, building Fantasia with his dreams while it slowly kills him by taking all his memories, like some great evil parasite.

[tw1stedgrudge]

I've been going through all my life really wondering just WHAT the fuck Bastian screams at that window. And now I realise it makes even less sense than simply not knowing what he said to begin with.

I dont have a clue where "Moonchild" comes from. Its pretty random, if I do say so myself. Other than that simple disappointment, this scene was fucking epic.

[AudioInklined]

tw1, i think u are just looking at it the wrong way.

i think that this is part of the story; part of Bastians contribution to the never ending story. this is Bastians imagination at work. This is him, naming the child like empress, because without saying it, the story tells us before this moment, she has no name, & perhaps. This is why The Nothing is destroying their world? because nobody's taken the time to notice, or care about something seemingly so insignificant, but in fact, is everything.

[tw1stedgrudge]

Correct. Theres many other interpretations to this scene, but I'm sure thats one of them. : )

The nothing is destroying their world because there is a lack of inspiration for it. Noone wants to read their story, and so it is slowly fading away. Her lack of a name is another symptom of that, yes.I do still believe though, that the Nothing is interpreted more as a "reallife"problem than it is basedin Fantasia. Simply put, it is the lack of inspiration, or hope, and without that theres nothing.

[MeredithVictoria]

Best scene ever! I love this movie, and The Childlike Empress was one of my favorite characters for years. I just adore her. As for the Moonchild name... well, it's a very fantastical name, and that's the point right? 'Sarah' or 'Julie' wouldn't cut it, it had to be a name no one but the empress of a fantasy realm would have.

[FantasmaLuna]

It makes more sense in the book.

[jesusisscene]

*VAAAAAAAAAAGGGINNNNNAAAAAAAAA­*

[seenaroxon]

That made me laugh out loud.

[JBHutto]

Cmon people that was pretty funny. Makes about as much sense as what he actual says.

[PCCphoenix]

I actually wrote a letter last year to Tami Stronach and commented on how good a job she did in this film, particularly with this scene. It is the Empress who says the key line in this film, which sums up the theme of the fantasy world calling out to the human world to save it, which is between 0:39 and 0:46.

[CARPExNOCTURNUM]

"I will do what I dream"

[gushmikae]

"Dream"

[dragoon650]

love this film and this is one of the best scenes!! LOL drove me nuts to what he called her till i read the book lol

[ThrobertMcGee]

It sounds to me as if Bastian yells "Moonchild," but kind of "slurs" it to "moan - chi - yuld," with three syllables.

Since this was a West German production based on a German book, but filmed with English-speaking actors, having Bastian say the name with three syllables would've made it easier to dub the movie into German -- since the name "Moonchild" in the original German is "Mondenkind," also with three syllables.

[TazCO1]

when the whole of fantasia was in the palm of one of the kids hands (the speck of sand) what were they standing on? and he names her after his mother uh.... his mothers name was Moon Child??? LOL i never got the first part as a kid

[SimonB198207]

TazCO1 - yeah, i wondered about that. later on, i thought maybe it'd been a Summer of Love thing - her hippy parent's could've named her that. but since learning the book was published in '79, that theory doesn't really work. i suppose her parents could've been freaky beatniks in black polo necks and berets....

i always fancied The Childlike Empress when i was little but now... nah

[TazCO1]

Maybe at a naming ceromony someone yelled out Moon Child as a joke and the parents decided to keep the name. Thanks for the reply :-)

[SimonB198207]

hmmm... not sure.

mind you, the original novel IS german so maybe that's got something to do with it.

Greetings to you from Pomland. : )

[TazCO1]

yeah it's probably a german thing

Gday from Australia :-)

[captinnintendo]

wait, what did he name her?

[sjaok]

In the book and in the first movie, she's quite the goddess figure. My favourite movie as a kid, but Ende's book is better...full of alchemical themes. Joseph Campbel would have had a field day with it.

[cell718]

This KICKS Harry Potter ASS!!!!

[midknight9000]

yea, this makes harry potter look like what it really is: a bunch of fuckin teenagers runnin around with sticks haha

[mooooose]

Yeah... she has an ethereal glow about her and an entrancing, angelic voice... she moves with such grace.

[TheChriscrowder]

@ComplexedSociety Yeah, I had the same crush. In watching the video again now that I'm older, I'm impressed with her acting. Her pleading is very convincing, good acting for such a young age. Bastian's acting isn't as good, but it's not bad.

[frogclaire1979]

Crush, hell. I wanted to BE her! LMAO!

[IndigoCat17]

@ComplexedSociety eeeeeeew she is ugly

[braxfax]

@ComplexedSociety me too :)

[nyr1994]

@ComplexedSociety hahahah me to... I think I was 4 when this movie came out

[USAForLife2057]

@ComplexedSociety Creepy

[derpenstein]

Whoops I mean "moon child" haha.

[derpenstein]

Hmm I could never understand what the kid said for her name, but just now I was looking away from the screen for a second and heard it clear as day... "Star Child."

[boiaphrodite]

Though I realize an individual's appreciation of beauty is as unique as his or her own self, I find Ms. Stronach's face to be quite haunting, perhaps due to the juxtaposition between the adultness of her makeup and the youthfulness of her natural structure...

[stealthboy19]

She's beautiful!

[Stromjir]

Oh, and I so think they should pull some quotes off of this scene and add it to AFI's list of best lines from movies.

[Stromjir]

Awesome. I can just watch this over and over again and not get sick of it. Tami Stronach was brilliant. I mean that pleading scene! Just an amazing talent. If they ever remake this, the person in her role will have HUGE shoes to fill. Too bad the scene with Atreyu isn't on here as well. Thanks for this!

[7Write4This9Heart7]

I definitely agree: THE most dramatic scene in cinema's history. The rest of the scene's pretty darn awesome, too(the part that comes before this, with Atreyu). Absolutely beautiful scene. Tami Stronach did the Golden-Eyed Commander of Wishes (a.k.a. the Childlike Empress) sweet justice! ^_^