Lesson from Neverending Story
I practically know this film by heart from my Gen X childhood, but I just now realized the true lesson. You have to speak your dreams for Fantasia to become real.
So in the movie, Fantasia is disappearing because people are losing their dreams and imagination. Cute.
And then they send this warrior on a quest for how to save the dying Empress, which will also save Fantasia. Bad special effects ensue. Horse dies in swamp. (Was that really necessary?) Big talking turtle, and the Nothing only gets bigger.
Fantasia is completely swept away. Bastien finds himself in the tower with the princess and it turns out she has known all along what will save her and Fantasia. (and she didn’t just SAY this before, but whatever. A HORSE DIED, LADY. But OK.)
Bastien has to give her a new name. That’s it. But he also has to speak it out loud. It is not enough to KNOW the name he will give her, he has to yell it into the void.
(Aside - it is his dead mother’s name and is unintelligible in the film over the noise of the storm. Maybe that’s intentional.)
Once he screams the name, the storm quiets. The Empress is saved, and he begins to rebuild Fantasia by making wishes. More bad special effects and oh, look! The horse is back. Good.
This is actually more powerful than you think.
You DO have to name your dreams, your goals, in life. It is not enough to ruminate on them. You must speak them. Just that makes them real. Just that grows Fantasia.
The people around you are going to be the ones to help you achieve your dreams. They can’t read your mind. And you have to organize your goals into steps and strategies. Once you speak your dreams, give them a name, they can begin to take shape and come true.
Anyway. I just figured this out. Took me a while. But at least no horses were harmed along my quest. So that’s good.