The NeverEnding Story (film) facts for kids

Quick facts for kids The NeverEnding Story
Theatrical release poster
Directed by	Wolfgang Petersen
Produced by	Bernd Eichinger Dieter Geissler
Screenplay by	Wolfgang Petersen Herman Weigel
Starring	Noah Hathaway Barret Oliver Tami Stronach Patricia Hayes Sydney Bromley Gerald McRaney Moses Gunn
Music by	Klaus Doldinger Giorgio Moroder
Cinematography	Jost Vacano
Editing by	Jane Seitz
Studio	Neue Constantin Film Bavaria Film Producers Sales Organization
Distributed by	Warner Bros.
Release date(s)	April 6, 1984 (1984-04-06) (West Germany) July 20, 1984 (1984-07-20) (USA)
Running time	94 minutes
Country	West Germany United States
Language	English
Budget	DM 60 million (~US$25–27 million)
Money made	US$100 million

The NeverEnding Story (German: Die Unendliche Geschichte) is a 1984 fantasy film co-written and directed by Wolfgang Petersen (in his first English-language film), and based on the 1979 novel The Neverending Story by Michael Ende. The film was produced by Bernd Eichinger and Dieter Giessler. It stars Noah Hathaway, Barret Oliver, Tami Stronach, Patricia Hayes, Sydney Bromley, Gerald McRaney, Moses Gunn, and Alan Oppenheimer as the voices of both Falkor and Gmork (as well as other characters). The film follows a boy who happens upon a magical book that tells of a young warrior who is given the task of stopping the Nothing, a dark force, from engulfing the wonderland world of Fantasia.

At the time of its release, it was the most expensive film produced outside the United States or the Soviet Union. The film was the first in The NeverEnding Story film series. The film adapts only the first half of the book, and consequently does not convey the message of the title as it was portrayed in the novel. The second half of the book was subsequently used as a rough basis for the second film, The NeverEnding Story II: The Next Chapter (1990). The third film, The NeverEnding Story III: Escape from Fantasia (1994), has an original plot not based on the book.

Plot

Ten-year-old Bastian Bux is a shy and outcast bibliophile who lives with his widowed father. One day on his way to school, Bastian is chased by bullies but escapes by hiding in a bookstore, annoying the bookseller, Mr. Koreander. Bastian's interest in books leads him to ask about the one Koreander is reading, but the bookseller advises against reading it, saying that it is not a "safe" story like regular books. With his curiosity piqued, Bastian secretly takes the book, titled The Neverending Story, leaving a note promising to return it, and hides in the school's attic to read.

The book describes the fantasy world of Fantasia slowly being devoured by a malevolent force called "The Nothing." The Childlike Empress who rules Fantasia has fallen ill, and the young warrior Atreyu is tasked to discover a cure, believing that once the Empress is well, the Nothing will no longer be a threat. Atreyu is given a medallion called the Auryn that can guide and protect him in the quest. As Atreyu sets out, the Nothing summons a vicious and highly intelligent wolf-like creature named Gmork to kill Atreyu.

Atreyu's quest directs him to the giant, turtle-like adviser Morla the Ancient One in the Swamps of Sadness. Though the Auryn protects Atreyu, his beloved horse Artax is lost to the swamp, and he continues alone. Morla does not have the answers Atreyu seeks, but directs him to the Southern Oracle, ten thousand miles distant. Gmork closes in as Atreyu succumbs to exhaustion trying to escape the Swamps, but is narrowly saved by the luck dragon Falkor. Falkor takes him to the home of two gnomes that live near the gates to the Southern Oracle. Atreyu crosses the first gate, but is perplexed when the second gate—a mirror that shows the viewer's true self—reveals a boy which Bastian recognizes as himself. Atreyu eventually meets the Southern Oracle, who tells him the only way to save the Empress is to find a human child who lives beyond the boundaries of Fantasia to give her a new name. Atreyu and Falkor flee as the Nothing consumes the Southern Oracle.

In flight, Atreyu is knocked from Falkor's back into the Sea of Possibilities, losing the Auryn in the process. He wakes on the shore of some abandoned ruins where he finds several murals depicting his adventure, including one of Gmork. Gmork then reveals himself, and explains that Fantasia represents humanity's imagination and is thus without boundaries, while the Nothing is a manifestation of the loss of hopes and dreams. Atreyu battles and kills Gmork as the Nothing begins to consume the ruins.

Falkor manages to retrieve the Auryn and rescue Atreyu. The two find themselves in a void with only small fragments of Fantasia remaining, fearing they have failed until they spot the Empress' Ivory Tower among the fragments. Inside, Atreyu apologizes for failing the Empress, but she assures him he has succeeded in bringing to her a human child who has been following his quest: Bastian. She further explains that, just as Bastian is following Atreyu's story, "others" are following Bastian's, making this part of the Neverending Story. As the Nothing begins to consume the Tower, the Empress explains that Bastian must call out her new name to save Fantasia. However, Bastian, in disbelief that he himself has been incorporated into the story, denies these events as just being a story. He eventually gives in after the Empress pleads directly to Bastian to call out her new name and runs to the window of the attic to call out the name he has chosen: "Moon Child."

Bastian awakes with the Empress, who presents him with a grain of sand: the sole remnant of Fantasia. The Empress tells Bastian that he has the power to bring Fantasia back with his imagination. Bastian re-creates Fantasia, and flies on Falkor's back to see the land and its inhabitants restored, including Atreyu and Artax. When Falkor asks what his next wish will be, Bastian brings Falkor to the real world to chase down the school bullies. In a cliffhanger ending, the film narrates that Bastian had many more wishes and adventures "But that's another story".

Cast

Music

The film score of The NeverEnding Story was composed by Klaus Doldinger of the German jazz group Passport. The theme song of the English version of the film was composed by Giorgio Moroder with lyrics by Keith Forsey, and performed by Christopher "Limahl" Hamill, once the lead singer of Kajagoogoo, and Beth Anderson. Released as a single in 1984, it peaked at No. 4 on the UK singles chart, No. 6 on the US Billboard Adult Contemporary chart, and No. 17 on the Billboard Hot 100. The song has been covered by Armonite, The Birthday Massacre, Creamy, Dragonland, Kenji Haga and New Found Glory. More recent covers were done by Norwegian synthpop group Echo Image on their 2001 maxi-single Skulk and by German techno group Scooter on their 2007 album Jumping All Over the World. This Limahl song, along with other "techno-pop" treatments to the soundtrack, is not present in the German version of the film, which features Doldinger's orchestral score exclusively. It was also performed by Dustin and Suzie from the television series Stranger Things.

In 1994, Italian house music group Club House released the song "Nowhere Land," featuring Carl, which combines the melody of the tune "Bastian's Happy Flight" with original lyrics.

An official soundtrack album was released featuring Doldinger's score and Moroder's theme tune (Moroder also rescored several scenes for the version released outside Germany). The track listing (Doldinger is responsible for everything from track 6 onwards) is as follows:

In Germany, an album featuring Doldinger's score was released.

Charts

In popular culture

• In The Simpsons episode "New Kid on the Block", Lionel Hutz claims to have filed a suit against the film for fraudulent advertising.
• Korn's album The Nothing is named directly in reference to the Nothing in the film. Korn frontman Jonathan Davis chose the title as he was still struggling with the death of his estranged wife Deven Davis. Jonathan had said: "I was struggling with the thing that’s chasing me – that’s always freaking with me. I tried to give it a name and it just fit."
• In 2019, the theme song for the film was incorporated into the final episode of the third season of the science fiction thriller show Stranger Things, which takes place in 1985, furthering its status as a staple of 1980s pop culture.

Possible remake

In 2009, Warner Bros., The Kennedy/Marshall Company and Leonardo DiCaprio's Appian Way Productions were in the early stages of creating another adaptation of Ende's novel. They intended to "examine the more nuanced details of the book" rather than remake the original film by Petersen. In 2011, producer Kathleen Kennedy said that problems securing the rights to the story may mean a second adaptation is "not meant to be".

See also

In Spanish: The NeverEnding Story (película) para niños