Ways The NeverEnding Story Is Different From The Book | Netflix

The 1984 fantasy film The NeverEnding Story is a beloved modern classic that's still used as a pop-culture touchstone to this day.

Based on the best-selling, critically-acclaimed 1979 novel of the same name by German author Michael Ende, The NeverEnding Story tells the tale of a shy, outcast boy named Bastian who finds himself immersed in a magical book about a fantasy land that's on the brink of destruction.

While the movie captures the essence of the book, there are some subtle differences. For starters, in the movie, the mythical land Bastian becomes engrossed in is called Fantasia, while in the book it's called Fantastica. But that's far from the only variation. Here are a few more ways The NeverEnding Story movie differs from the book.

The NeverEnding Story immortalized on screen only tells half of the story told in the book. When we first meet Bastian, both in the movie and on the page, he has taken refuge in a vintage bookstore after running away from some bullies. There, he stumbles upon an unusual book titled The NeverEnding Story that he's instantly drawn to.

After running off with it without paying, Bastian holes himself up in his school's attic to read the tale that follows a young warrior named Atreyu. Atreyu must undertake a treacherous journey to find a cure for the ill Childlike Empress, who rules over a fantastical land that's being destroyed by a malicious force called The Nothing.

In both the movie and the book, Bastian follows Atreyu's obstacle-filled odyssey until it becomes apparent that Bastian himself has also become part of the narrative. He must accept that he now plays a role in The NeverEnding Story - he is the one who can save the empress. All he has to do is actively join the adventure and give her a new name, which he does. Here's where the movie ends.

But the book continues on, with Bastian getting sucked into the pages and using his imagination to shape the world around him. But every time he makes a wish, he loses an earthly memory. This leads to him down a dark path as he slowly forgets who he is and where he came from.

Enter the 1990 film The NeverEnding Story II: The Next Chapter, which tackles the second half of the book. While none of the original NeverEnding Story movie cast returns, many of the same characters are featured. Meanwhile, a third film, The NeverEnding Story III: Escape From Fantasia, was released in 1994, but it follows a new story line that has nothing to do with the book.

Half the story | 0:00
A Talking Horse!?! | 2:35
Much ado about The Nothing | 4:02
Means to an ending | 5:11

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Kind: captions
Language: en-US

00:00:00.810 --> 00:00:06.640
The 1984 fantasy film The NeverEnding Story
is a beloved modern classic that's still used

00:00:06.640 --> 00:00:08.640
as a pop-culture touchstone to this day.

00:00:08.640 --> 00:00:14.660
Based on the best-selling, critically-acclaimed
1979 novel of the same name by German author

00:00:14.660 --> 00:00:20.080
Michael Ende, The NeverEnding Story tells
the tale of a shy, outcast boy named Bastian

00:00:20.080 --> 00:00:24.970
who finds himself immersed in a magical book
about a fantasy land that's on the brink of

00:00:24.970 --> 00:00:25.970
destruction.

00:00:25.970 --> 00:00:29.869
While the movie captures the essence of the
book, there are some subtle differences.

00:00:29.869 --> 00:00:35.520
For starters, in the movie, the mythical land
Bastian becomes engrossed in is called Fantasia,

00:00:35.520 --> 00:00:37.480
while in the book it's called Fantastica.

00:00:37.480 --> 00:00:40.720
But that's far from the only variation.

00:00:40.720 --> 00:00:45.710
Here are a few more ways The NeverEnding Story
movie differs from the book.

00:00:45.710 --> 00:00:50.910
The NeverEnding Story immortalized on screen
only tells half of the story told in the book.

00:00:50.910 --> 00:00:55.110
When we first meet Bastian, both in the movie
and on the page, he has taken refuge in a

00:00:55.110 --> 00:00:58.030
vintage bookstore after running away from
some bullies.

00:00:58.030 --> 00:01:03.360
There, he stumbles upon an unusual book titled
The NeverEnding Story that he's instantly

00:01:03.360 --> 00:01:04.370
drawn to.

00:01:04.370 --> 00:01:06.840
"What's that book about?"

00:01:06.840 --> 00:01:12.210
"Oh, this is something... special."

00:01:12.210 --> 00:01:16.490
After running off with it without paying,
Bastian holes himself up in his school's attic

00:01:16.490 --> 00:01:20.380
to read the tale that follows a young warrior
named Atreyu.

00:01:20.380 --> 00:01:25.009
Atreyu must undertake a treacherous journey
to find a cure for the ill Childlike Empress,

00:01:25.009 --> 00:01:30.079
who rules over a fantastical land that's being
destroyed by a malicious force called The

00:01:30.079 --> 00:01:31.249
Nothing.

00:01:31.249 --> 00:01:36.369
In both the movie and the book, Bastian follows
Atreyu's obstacle-filled odyssey until it

00:01:36.369 --> 00:01:40.729
becomes apparent that Bastian himself has
also become part of the narrative.

00:01:40.729 --> 00:01:45.759
He must accept that he now plays a role in
The NeverEnding Story - he is the one who

00:01:45.759 --> 00:01:47.329
can save the empress.

00:01:47.329 --> 00:01:52.960
All he has to do is actively join the adventure
and give her a new name, which he does.

00:01:52.960 --> 00:01:54.780
Here's where the movie ends.

00:01:54.780 --> 00:02:00.119
But the book continues on, with Bastian getting
sucked into the pages and using his imagination

00:02:00.119 --> 00:02:02.429
to shape the world around him.

00:02:02.429 --> 00:02:06.189
But every time he makes a wish, he loses an
earthly memory.

00:02:06.189 --> 00:02:11.620
This leads to him down a dark path as he slowly
forgets who he is and where he came from.

00:02:11.620 --> 00:02:17.380
Enter the 1990 film The NeverEnding Story
II: The Next Chapter, which tackles the second

00:02:17.380 --> 00:02:18.750
half of the book.

00:02:18.750 --> 00:02:23.290
While none of the original NeverEnding Story
movie cast returns, many of the same characters

00:02:23.290 --> 00:02:24.290
are featured.

00:02:24.290 --> 00:02:29.470
Meanwhile, a third film, The NeverEnding Story
III: Escape From Fantasia, was released in

00:02:29.470 --> 00:02:35.010
1994, but it follows a new story line that
has nothing to do with the book.

00:02:35.010 --> 00:02:39.049
The NeverEnding Story features some of the
most memorable movie characters to come out

00:02:39.049 --> 00:02:44.379
of the 1980s - what kid didn't want to take
a magical ride on Falkor?

00:02:44.379 --> 00:02:48.690
But not all the characters from the film look
or act exactly as they're described in the

00:02:48.690 --> 00:02:49.769
book.

00:02:49.769 --> 00:02:51.550
Take Falkor, for instance.

00:02:51.550 --> 00:02:56.470
In the film, the flying luck dragon resembles
a charming white dog with floppy ears.

00:02:56.470 --> 00:03:01.890
In the book, Falkor looks more like a lion
with large fangs, a mane, and pointy ears.

00:03:01.890 --> 00:03:06.159
Would Falkor be as cherished if he wasn't
a happy-go-lucky dog with his tongue flopping

00:03:06.159 --> 00:03:07.250
out of his mouth?

00:03:07.250 --> 00:03:08.890
It's certainly up for debate.

00:03:08.890 --> 00:03:16.680
"Could you get 'round, and scratch behind
my right ear?"

00:03:16.680 --> 00:03:20.540
Other examples include the appearances of
Bastian and Atreyu.

00:03:20.540 --> 00:03:25.280
In the book, Bastian is a pale, pudgy kid
with glasses who's embarrassed by his looks.

00:03:25.280 --> 00:03:28.400
But in the movie, he's slim, cute, and glasses-free.

00:03:28.400 --> 00:03:33.079
Another slight change was that Atreyu had
green skin in the book - not a big deal, right?

00:03:33.079 --> 00:03:37.599
But making him look more human in the film
made him a little more accessible to viewers.

00:03:37.599 --> 00:03:41.890
But bodily characteristics aren't the only
area where change is obvious.

00:03:41.890 --> 00:03:46.550
One example of a significant character shift
is with Artax, Atreyu's trusty horse, who

00:03:46.550 --> 00:03:49.129
talks in the book but doesn't onscreen.

00:03:49.129 --> 00:03:53.870
So that means that in the book, instead of
silently sinking into the Swamps of Sadness,

00:03:53.870 --> 00:03:59.780
Artax tells Atreyu to leave him behind rather
than watch him die - but the end result is,

00:03:59.780 --> 00:04:02.299
unfortunately, the same.

00:04:02.299 --> 00:04:06.860
In the movie The NeverEnding Story, The Nothing
that's swallowing up Fantasia is depicted

00:04:06.860 --> 00:04:12.459
as a storm, with dark clouds swirling in the
sky, sweeping up everything in its path.

00:04:12.459 --> 00:04:17.000
According to the sinister wolf-like creature
Gmork, who has been tasked with tracking down

00:04:17.000 --> 00:04:21.690
and killing Atreyu, The Nothing was created
from people in the human world who have no

00:04:21.690 --> 00:04:26.740
hopes or dreams, no imagination, and that
emptiness and despair is what's destroying

00:04:26.740 --> 00:04:32.039
Fantasia, since the magical land was initially
created from human fantasy.

00:04:32.039 --> 00:04:36.520
But in the book, Gmork knows this because
he is a servant of the power behind The Nothing:

00:04:36.520 --> 00:04:42.139
a group of antagonists called The Manipulators
who are unique to the source material.

00:04:42.139 --> 00:04:47.520
And if Gmork succeeds in killing Atreyu, people
will have no hope, and people with no hope

00:04:47.520 --> 00:04:52.830
are easy to control - and The Manipulators
are looking to control the human race.

00:04:52.830 --> 00:04:57.069
The Nothing not only destroys Fantastica,
but when it surrounds people who have lost

00:04:57.069 --> 00:05:03.070
faith and given up hope, they surrender themselves
into oblivion by jumping right into it.

00:05:03.070 --> 00:05:07.099
Once they are swallowed up, they are reborn
in the human world as lies, which creates

00:05:07.099 --> 00:05:10.690
despair and gives The Manipulators more power.

00:05:10.690 --> 00:05:15.430
Obviously, the main difference when it comes
to the ending of The NeverEnding Story movie

00:05:15.430 --> 00:05:19.960
versus the book is that the film effectively
lops off half the story.

00:05:19.960 --> 00:05:23.720
But within that truncated ending, there is
still a slight difference as to how we get

00:05:23.720 --> 00:05:25.770
to the film's conclusion.

00:05:25.770 --> 00:05:29.810
The climax of the film comes when Bastion
realizes he is part of the story that he's

00:05:29.810 --> 00:05:35.210
reading - the characters are actually speaking
directly to him through the pages - and Atreyu's

00:05:35.210 --> 00:05:39.160
whole journey was a way to suck him into the
book and fuel his imagination.

00:05:39.800 --> 00:05:40.460
"What!?"

00:05:41.420 --> 00:05:46.120
He soon finds out that he is the key to saving
Fantasia, and all he has to do is give the

00:05:46.120 --> 00:05:48.639
Childlike Empress a new name.

00:05:48.639 --> 00:05:53.100
Until he does that, the all-consuming Nothing
will swallow up the fanciful land that Bastian

00:05:53.100 --> 00:05:56.430
has come to love until everything's gone.

00:05:56.430 --> 00:06:00.190
Bastion realizes his purpose through a little
coaxing from the empress, who makes it clear

00:06:00.190 --> 00:06:02.800
that the boy reading the book is her savior.

00:06:02.800 --> 00:06:07.050
In the book, however, it's a much more roundabout
journey for Bastion and the empress.

00:06:07.050 --> 00:06:11.819
She must go on her own expedition to find
the Old Man of Wandering Mountain, who tells

00:06:11.819 --> 00:06:16.810
her the story Bastian just read - and is now
part of - will endlessly repeat until Bastian

00:06:16.810 --> 00:06:18.590
understands his role.

00:06:18.590 --> 00:06:23.220
Therefore, Bastian reads the same story over
and over until he finally understands the

00:06:23.220 --> 00:06:24.610
part he plays.

00:06:24.610 --> 00:06:27.419
Both scenarios end with him saving the day.

00:06:27.419 --> 00:06:32.270
The last scenes of the film are of Bastian
using his imagination to rebuild Fantasia

00:06:32.270 --> 00:06:38.710
- the land is lush again, Atreyu and Artax
are reunited, and, most importantly, Bastian

00:06:38.710 --> 00:06:41.400
gets to take a triumphant ride on Falkor.

00:06:41.400 --> 00:06:45.180
As for what happens beyond this, you'll just
have to watch The NeverEnding Story II to

00:06:45.180 --> 00:06:46.250
find out!

00:06:46.250 --> 00:06:47.520
Thanks for watching.

00:06:47.520 --> 00:06:50.740
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