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.
"What's that book about?"
"Oh, this is something... special."
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.
The NeverEnding Story features some of the most memorable movie characters to come out
of the 1980s - what kid didn't want to take a magical ride on Falkor?
But not all the characters from the film look or act exactly as they're described in the
book.
Take Falkor, for instance.
In the film, the flying luck dragon resembles a charming white dog with floppy ears.
In the book, Falkor looks more like a lion with large fangs, a mane, and pointy ears.
Would Falkor be as cherished if he wasn't a happy-go-lucky dog with his tongue flopping
out of his mouth?
It's certainly up for debate.
"Could you get 'round, and scratch behind my right ear?"
Other examples include the appearances of Bastian and Atreyu.
In the book, Bastian is a pale, pudgy kid with glasses who's embarrassed by his looks.
But in the movie, he's slim, cute, and glasses-free.
Another slight change was that Atreyu had green skin in the book - not a big deal, right?
But making him look more human in the film made him a little more accessible to viewers.
But bodily characteristics aren't the only area where change is obvious.
One example of a significant character shift is with Artax, Atreyu's trusty horse, who
talks in the book but doesn't onscreen.
So that means that in the book, instead of silently sinking into the Swamps of Sadness,
Artax tells Atreyu to leave him behind rather than watch him die - but the end result is,
unfortunately, the same.
In the movie The NeverEnding Story, The Nothing that's swallowing up Fantasia is depicted
as a storm, with dark clouds swirling in the sky, sweeping up everything in its path.
According to the sinister wolf-like creature Gmork, who has been tasked with tracking down
and killing Atreyu, The Nothing was created from people in the human world who have no
hopes or dreams, no imagination, and that emptiness and despair is what's destroying
Fantasia, since the magical land was initially created from human fantasy.
But in the book, Gmork knows this because he is a servant of the power behind The Nothing:
a group of antagonists called The Manipulators who are unique to the source material.
And if Gmork succeeds in killing Atreyu, people will have no hope, and people with no hope
are easy to control - and The Manipulators are looking to control the human race.
The Nothing not only destroys Fantastica, but when it surrounds people who have lost
faith and given up hope, they surrender themselves into oblivion by jumping right into it.
Once they are swallowed up, they are reborn in the human world as lies, which creates
despair and gives The Manipulators more power.
Obviously, the main difference when it comes to the ending of The NeverEnding Story movie
versus the book is that the film effectively lops off half the story.
But within that truncated ending, there is still a slight difference as to how we get
to the film's conclusion.
The climax of the film comes when Bastion realizes he is part of the story that he's
reading - the characters are actually speaking directly to him through the pages - and Atreyu's
whole journey was a way to suck him into the book and fuel his imagination.
"What!?"
He soon finds out that he is the key to saving Fantasia, and all he has to do is give the
Childlike Empress a new name.
Until he does that, the all-consuming Nothing will swallow up the fanciful land that Bastian
has come to love until everything's gone.
Bastion realizes his purpose through a little coaxing from the empress, who makes it clear
that the boy reading the book is her savior.
In the book, however, it's a much more roundabout journey for Bastion and the empress.
She must go on her own expedition to find the Old Man of Wandering Mountain, who tells
her the story Bastian just read - and is now part of - will endlessly repeat until Bastian
understands his role.
Therefore, Bastian reads the same story over and over until he finally understands the
part he plays.
Both scenarios end with him saving the day.
The last scenes of the film are of Bastian using his imagination to rebuild Fantasia
- the land is lush again, Atreyu and Artax are reunited, and, most importantly, Bastian
gets to take a triumphant ride on Falkor.
As for what happens beyond this, you'll just have to watch The NeverEnding Story II to
find out!
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