The NeverEnding Story (film)
A boy enters a book and saves a fantasy world.
The NeverEnding Story is a 1984 fantasy film co-written and directed by Wolfgang Petersen, based on the first half of the 1979 novel by Michael Ende. It follows Bastian Balthazar Bux, a boy who discovers a magical book that transports him into the world of Fantasia, where a young warrior named Atreyu must stop the destructive force known as the Nothing. The film was a major international success and became the first installment in a film series.
- release_year
- 1984
- director
- Wolfgang Petersen
- country
- West Germany
- budget
- 60 million Deutsche Mark
- box_office
- US$100 million worldwide
- based_on
- First half of the 1979 novel The Neverending Story by Michael Ende
Lore & Background
The film was produced by Bernd Eichinger and Dieter Geissler, with Eichinger initially reluctant until his children urged him to make it. The bulk of filming took place at Bavaria Studios in Munich, with real-world scenes shot in Vancouver, Canada, and the beach sequence filmed in Almería, Spain. Author Michael Ende initially supported the adaptation but later sued the producers after claiming the script deviated too far from his book, calling the film a 'gigantic melodrama of kitsch, commerce, plush, and plastic.' The film only covers the first half of the novel, adding an original ending that Ende criticized.
Reader's Guide
The NeverEnding Story remains a landmark in fantasy cinema, notable for its ambitious visual effects and its exploration of imagination and loss. It was the most expensive European film at the time, with a budget of 60 million Deutsche Mark, and grossed US$100 million worldwide. In Germany, nearly 5 million people saw it, making it the highest-grossing German film of its era. The film's theme song, performed by Limahl, became a hit, reaching No. 4 on the UK singles chart. Despite mixed reactions from the author, the film has maintained a positive critical reception, with an 84% Rotten Tomatoes score. It launched a film series, with two sequels following in 1990 and 1994, though only the first was directly based on Ende's work.
Did You Know?
- The film was Wolfgang Petersen's first English-language film.
- Author Michael Ende sued the producers over script changes and lost the case.
- The theme song was performed by Limahl, former lead singer of Kajagoogoo.
- The film was shot in Munich, Vancouver, and Almería, Spain.
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