UPDATE: The answer is “Moon Child”. See @Uzetaab’s comment.
I watched The Neverending Story last night. I remembered it being a great movie when I was a kid. It’s actually still a decent movie, much better than Labyrinth!
We’ve been joking about how you can’t understand what the hell Bastian actually ends up naming the empress. Remember in the end, when it’s all stormy and Bastian calls out the empress’ new name? He shouts into the wind and rain, “BLAH BLACKAH BLIP THULE BLAH BLACKA BLAH!!”. Then they end up floating around in space looking for the Ivory Tower.
Well, my brother and I decide to turn on the DVD captions to see what the hell he actually says. And though the captions worked for the rest of the movie, at this point, there were no captions. That’s right. The captions didn’t read anything. We expected some kind of caption, even something like “[Incoherent Shouting]“. But nope. Nothing.
So the mystery continues. If anyone knows what the hell he says, I’d be very interested to know!
Josh
2008.11.13
all i can find is moon child watchin it tonight so i will see if i can help. by the way how have you been long time no see
Steve
2008.11.13
It looks like it is ‘Moon Child’. It doesn’t sound like that though. It sounds like he screams out 5 or 8 syllables.
Jim Jamesson
2008.11.13
Apparently, the name is “Moon Child” according to Wiki Answers and The Never Ending Story website:
Answers @ Yahoo The NeverEnding Story
So that means that someone actually named their daughter Moon Child. Ok.
Steve
2008.11.13
I still don’t believe it. I can swear he shouts at least 8 syllables. The kid seems to articulate well throughout the whole movie, so I have a hard time believing he says “Moon Child”. It just doesn’t seem right to me.
Sandy
2009.02.14
It’s totally Moonchild! This has been bothering me for a while. So, I put the movie on my instant watch list on Netflix, plugged my Turtle Beach headset into the Xbox360 and cranked up the volume for the last chapter of the movie. He says ‘Moooon-Chiii-Aaald!!’ His voice cracks at the very end. I guess I never paid attention or cared about what the name was the 36 times I watched the movie when I was a kid.
I am so much a geek because the reason I wanted to find out is because I named my son Bastian. I thought it might be cute to name a daughter after the name he chose for the empress. I may be a geek, but I will not name my child ‘Moonchild’! LOL
danielle
2009.03.12
i always thought it was his mothers name? ariel or something…
Kim
2009.04.01
is it Miii-sh-eeh-lle!!!? (Michelle)
Erica
2009.04.02
OMG!! I thought I was the only 1!!!lol I saw the movie when it came out in 1984 twice! Back in those days you could have stayed in the theatre and watched the movie again, but anyway I did the same as a couple of you guys and put the cc on to see if it would spell it out but nope. And I just put my ear to the speaker on my t.v and it is “Moon Child!” I can’t believe it after all these years. I always thought is was “Mosiah” or something. Kind of dissapointed with what it really is, I would have never guessed it. Anyway mystery finally solved!! I still love the movie as much as I did when I first saw it in the theatre!
Steve
2009.04.02
I’m pretty sure it is his mother’s name… Moonchild.
I also heard something about them remaking the movie… Not sure how I feel about that. Can’t find too much on it, though.
Cass
2009.06.10
seriously since i was child i thought it was 3 syllables also like cassandra or alexandra but hey if u say Moonchild all the time heck maybe it is
Elli
2009.10.03
Bastian says “Moon Child”. I know this because I read the English version of the book by Michael Ende and that is what he decides to rename her. In case you were wondering, the book is about four times longer than the movie – the movie is missing over half of what happens in the book! If you have not read the book, I think you should because a lot of unexplained things will start to make sense, just like when he renames the Childlike Empress.
Anjel
2009.10.27
I am still not convinced! I just watched it for the moillionth time and I know I heard Bastian say “MOOOSIAHOPE” So that is what I am calling her. Mosiahope til someone can convince me otherwise.
Jade
2009.11.07
I think he says vagina… haha but idk
betty
2010.02.03
dirty hippies..
Steve
2010.02.04
Mosiahope, vagina, dirty hippies… The hell with Bastian and his legless longdog.
Jim Jamesson
2010.02.04
hahahaha mosiahope vagina dirty hippy atreyu bastian moon kid legless longdong. This definitely modifies the childhood memories of this movie.
doug
2010.05.08
It’s moon child in German.
steph
2010.07.13
unfortunately you are all wrong…for people who believe it is moon child and watch it again, of course now they are going to hear moon child, all subliminal things come out the way someone says it does when they listen to it again. Plus why would a mother have the name moon child, what a stupid name!! I believe unless her parents were hippies, that maye the “most beautiful name” that bastian was talking about was montaria, THAT my friends makes more sense then MOOON CHILD
Steve
2010.07.14
Agreed. I’ve never heard that name, but it does sound much more like what he’s saying.
Amy
2010.08.03
I put this movie on for my kids today and thought, “I’m going see if I can find out what Batian calls out when he yells his mother’s name.” So I found your site and just have been laughing at the conversation til my sides hurt. I agree with Steph the Moon Child has to have a name, Moon Child is just synonymous with the title Empress of Fantasia. Any one ever seen the sequel? Does it say in that what her name is?
Amy
2010.08.03
I guess if anyone had, the above conversation would maybe not exist….mmmm
jon
2010.08.23
if you go to imdb the empress is listed as the moonchild empress
Tami Stronach … Moonchild – The Childlike Empress / Southern Oracle (voice)
hannah
2010.09.18
I always thought it sounded something like “Mariah” and his mothers name could not have been “moon child”!! He named her his mothers name remember? wow this is amazing so frustrating
Rish
2010.09.21
Meldiah, I’m pretty sure that’s it. Meeeldiiiiaaaaaah!!
Official script finder
2010.11.15
Official script of the movie:
Childlike Empress: Call my name ! Bastian, please ! Save us ! Bastian: All right, I’ll do it. I’ll save you. I will do what I dream!
He climbs up to the window and opens it. He leans out into the storm and calls out the name he had chosen for her.
Bastian: MOONCHILD!
hale
2010.11.27
Thanks for clarifying. I didn’t believe it was moonchild until I read official script finder’s post and checked out imdb… this whole time… my whole life since second grade I SWARE her name was RROOOSSSAAARRRIIIIIOOOO (Rosario)…! my husband and I were cracking up when we watched it again. moon child. NFW.
tessa bianca
2011.02.24
His mom has just died at the begining of the movie. I’m pretty sure her name was Evelyn … which means Moonchild. I remember him calling out the name Evelyn possibly more than once in that scene.
Steve
2011.02.24
Evelyn makes the most sense… It’s got three syllables, and Bastian definitely calls out more than two syllables as in Moonchild.
I think you’ve pegged it, Tessa.
keith
2011.03.03
i found out that moon child was bastian mothers book series. his mother wrote the series. in the tales of the never ending story this was said. so moon child was not his mothers name but the books she wrote and it was the neverending story. his mother crated the neverending story caricatures
Margaret
2011.03.20
My mother is arguing with me saying and screaming that her name is “margaret” (mine) i do not here that boy say margaret! moonchild, is what everyone even wikki (and they never lie:p) is saying.. but i still have my doubts on both.. but if u think of it, mar-ga-ret!!! lol not sure thiugh….
Brandi
2011.05.17
he does say moon child.. Look at his mouth when he says it.. You can only see about half of the time but what you see only makes sense with callin out moon child.. Just sayin, its really creepy that she (moonchild) never blinks!!
Brandi
2011.05.17
At least she doesnt blink much wen she’ yellin at bastian.. N she’s got the really wide eyes n aut not.. Just creepy!!!!!!
Nesta
2011.05.31
You silly people. He’s saying Mothra. From the Japanese sci-fi movie. You know, the one with the tiny singing twins in the bird cage. Godzilla destroys Japan again. Imagine that?
JediNige
2011.07.21
Maybe when they finally release it on BlueRay they should add subtitles and a making of… Maybe they should interview Barrett Oliver and ask him what he said.
bonnie
2011.07.25
To me is sounds like, “Marshia Hope, or Marsha Hope” his mother’s name. Duh, his mother just died… NOT Moon Child, wtf, where did that come from ?
bonnie
2011.07.25
Doesn’t the book tell the answer ? I did not read the book, sorry
bonnie
2011.07.25
it is NOT freackin Moonchild”
Morgan: #1 FAN
2011.07.25
I think he says “Maltraya Hope” or something with hope in it. Its not Moon Child, that was not his mother’s name.
Morgan: #1 FAN
2011.07.25
Moon Child? what the heck, you guys! that name is so stupid
Morgan: #1 FAN
2011.07.26
*i meant hell
morgan
2011.07.26
yeah, what the hell is moon child.
Scott
2011.07.31
There is a reason you cannot understand clearly and the light goes out on his face in the middle of the scene . The director does not want you to know unless you have understanding the hidden message of the movie HE IS SAYING MOUNT ZION . If you knew the true meaning of this name the movie would make allot more sense to you .
Scott
2011.07.31
just kidding
Jennifer
2011.09.10
just watched that bit now and yep it sounds like moon child
been wondering this since i saw it when i was like 4 or 5! am now 20 hahahahaha!!!!
Gabriela
2011.09.11
jajajaja I would never imagine that other people would be asking the same thing!! So, “Moon child” is his mother’s name???
Martin
2011.09.17
I’ve literally JUST finished watching this again, and he definitely says Moonchild. He lengthens the syllables, and says chi-ald (given that two syllables), but there is zero doubt this is what’s said. To those that think they hear otherwise, go back and watch it again.
Ending
2011.09.18
It IS moonchild!! There was never any suggestion he was goin to give her his mothers name….but 10000000000000% MOONCHILD….which yes, he does stretch it out into several sylabells, which is why people wud think its something else
)
Uzetaab
2011.10.09
There most certainly was that suggestion Ending. When Atreyu is at the Southern Oracle and finds out the Empress needs a new name, Bastian says to himself that if they ask him he would give the empress his mothers name (I’m paraphrasing, but that’s the gist of it).
I just watched this on Blu-ray and couldn’t understand him either, so I thought I would look it up, never imagining there to be so much debate over it. So I went back and watched the scene again with sub titles on and sure enough it said “Moon Child!” including the exclamation mark.
I can only assume that his mother was a hippy and re-named herself Moon Child. The time frame is about right for that, and for all we know, Bastian’s full name is Bastian Of Love, or something equally hippy-ish.
On a side note, if anyone was trying to place the father, he’s also the father in the TV show Jericho. At least that’s where I know him from.
Steve Jamesson
2011.10.09
I think that settles it, then! If the BluRay’s captions read “Moon Child”, then I think we’ve reached the conclusion. Only took, well, exactly two years to figure out.
Rhey
2011.11.27
yeah, its Moonchild and it took not 2 but 3 years to finally figure it out
Steve Jamesson
2011.11.27
Oh you’re right, must’ve looked at the wrong date. Took over 3 years…
Anarkyll
2011.11.29
” MADELEIN !!!!! “
WhiteFalcon
2011.12.16
So finally I know the name! It took me over 20 years of wondering.. well there was more stuff in those years, but this kept coming back to me.
In Czech localized version it was replaced with “Mommy!” giving the scene a bit different feel. Never felt right though.
731uvp
2011.12.28
actually I just watched it and the answer is clearly ‘mooch me a nug’