The 1984 short film Quest was inspired by the classic Ray Bradbury story first published in 1946 as “The Creatures That Time Forgot” and collected in book form as “Frost and Fire.” It is so long it is more a novella than a short story.

There are more differences than similarities in this film to Bradbury’s original story. In the story, a boy named Sim is born into a cave-dwelling society in which people mature, grow old, and die in only eight days. The film begins with the birth of a boy referred to only as “The One.” He is treated as bound for a great destiny, unlike Sim who is almost killed at birth because his father considers life hopeless.

The cave dwellers of the story are descendants of people who arrived in spaceships, one of which is still visible during their brief excursions from the cave. Sim is told that reaching the spaceship is impossible because the sun would grow too hot during the long journey and destroy anyone attempting it.

In Quest, people do live only eight days, but spaceships are never mentioned and the goal is a mysterious gateway. “The One” is carefully trained to make the quest to reach and open it. In the story, Sim is given no training and no help or encouragement except from his love interest Lyte, one of the fairly rare portrayals of a strong, intelligent, and independent female in Bradbury’s work. Sim also has enemies and has to learn survival as he goes.

When “The One” leaves on his quest, he is played by Noah Hathaway of The Neverending Story, and ages into other actors as he goes. One of the older versions must win a bizarre game to continue. Although the film is only a half hour, the journey drags at times.

This film has good acting and decent special effects. It may be enjoyed but not considered an accurate adaptation of Bradbury’s story.