The Neverending Story (novel)/Heartwarming

The book

 * The final chapter is a chain of Heartwarming Moments that make up just about the most truly satisfying end to any book this troper has ever read.
 * It all begins with the start of the final chapter. has lost everything: his power, all of his memories, and his own name. All he wants now is to find a MacGuffin, , and go home, a goal that he had thrown away in favor of remaining in Fantastica and making more wishes. The image of his forgotten dream, the one that was to guide him to the MacGuffin, has been shattered. As he kneels in the snow, utterly defeated and hopeless, he sees two figures  friends that he betrayed. He moves toward them and, without a word, divests himself of  his only remaining tie to the world and his sanity. In that instant,  glows brighter then the sun, and the three find themselves at the   vaulted chamber. However, the MacGuffin cannot let in one who does not tell it their name, and he,, has lost his. But  , the friend he betrayed and nearly killed, vouches for him, giving the MacGuffin  name and naming himself his friend.
 * After drinks of the Water, he wants to take some of the liquid joy back to his grieving father, and tries to go home through the other gate in the vault. But he cannot go through, because he has not completed the stories he started in Fantastica through his adventures.  has lost his newfound strength, his memories, and has used his final wish. He has no way of finishing the countless stories he left in his wake, and he knows that he's doomed. As he sits on the brink of despair, his betrayed friend again vouches for him, promising that he will complete  stories, no matter how long it takes.  is so moved by his friend's kindness that he bows himself down to the ground and weeps tears of joy, promising to never forget  and his kindness, as long as he lives.
 * Earlier in the story, discovers that only those who have drank from the  have the capacity to love, and only few creatures in Fantastica/Fantasia have ever done so. This means that few Fantasticans truly love. However, when he invites  into the  with him, they say something to the effect of "Not this time." When he asks about their wording, they reveal that, though they hadn't remembered until just now, each had been to (and implicitly had drank) the . If the reader gives this some thought, the purpose of this is clearly to assure the reader that  are truly capable of loving, and that their friendship with  and each other was and is totally real and sincere.]]
 * Bastian's last words in Fantastica




 * The chain of Crowning Moments doesn't stop there, though. The conversation between Bastian and the antiquarian at the very end, while not as much of a Tear Jerker, still manages to be very touching, essentially turning the nasty old bookseller into a sympathetic character.

The first film
"Falcor: Having a luck dragon with you is the only way to go on a quest."
 * Falcor, the Reliable.

The second film
"Bastian: (looks at Xayide) I wish."
 * The end of the (otherwise dodgy) film, in which the protagonist has been unwittingly sacrificing his memories of his life on Earth in order to use godlike wishes. He is confronted by the Big Bad, the land is in ruins in spite of his wasted wishes, and he has only one memory left. What does he wish for?


 * I like the part where he has only two memories left -- his much-mourned mother and his grieving, impatient father -- and he chooses to remember his father.