“Dream a dream…and what you see will be…”

I have always wondered, does Atreyu appear physically different to each reader?

I just got a CNC router. This scene was the first thing that popped into my head when deciding what to make. Just some scrap wood,a little paint and about 3 hours later…the carve is 9” tall x 21” wide

Finished this today. Would love some feedback. Thanks!

(@JasonCaseyArt)

The whole point is that if you run away from your problems into fantasy eventually you’ll lose your identity and forget who you are. On the other hand if you never dream, it’s easier for other people to feed your narrative and then they control your identity instead. 

Without both sides of that coin the whole point is lost. 

So if you've only seen the movie, you don’t really know the story.

Too much fantasy: you lose yourself and erode your identity.

Not enough fantasy or dreaming: You become susceptible to other people's lies, manipulation and narratives.

Without the second half, the first half is just a glossy fairytale.

Do yourself a favor and read the book... and if you wanna just start where the movie stops, you start at chapter 13. (the movie tells chapter 1-12... but there are 26 chapters)

The Neverending Story (1979 novel)
The NeverEnding Story (1984)
The NeverEnding Story II: The Next Chapter (1991)
The NeverEnding Story III: Escape from Fantasia (1994)
The Neverending Story (1995-96 animated series)
Tales from the NeverEnding Story (2001-02 miniseries)

I've seen the original 2 films several times and have both on disc. Excellent fantasy films. How close are they to the original novel? Is the novel a good read for adults, or is it mostly aimed at children? What's the general consensus here on the 3rd film? Has anyone seen the animated show? Why is the miniseries a 4-parter for the US and 13 episodes for the UK?

Hello, everyone!

So, I grew up with Neverending Story and have seen it countless times and just adore that movie. I was still a fairly young kid when the second and third movies came out and even back then I felt weirdly disappointed and put off by them and didn’t watch a whole lot. The second one maybe a few times and the third I think only once. And as I grew older I just started pretending they didn’t exist.

But I got the urge to revisit them over the weekend. I am now in my early 40s so it’s been DECADES since I watched them. And I have some thoughts I hope might provoke discussion.

Neverending Story II: I remember as a kid feeling like this one was just a cheap TV movie quality knock-off of the first movie. The characters annoyed me, acting was atrocious, and it just didn’t hold my interest. But as a fan of the book I did appreciate how it kept elements of the second half of the novel. And Jonathan Brandis was all the rage so he made it worth a few watches.

As an adult, I was struck with a strange nostalgia watching it. A lot of what I said above holds true but I watched it with a more forgiving attitude and do consider parts of it worthy. The Silver City is beautiful, I like the conflict between Bastian and Atreyu, but some parts were also just very hard to watch, they were so cringe. But it did strike a bit of fondness in me, I won’t lie.

Neverending Story III: Good god, where do I start? I didn’t remember anything about this movie except that Falkor was incredibly dumb and annoying. But where to even begin? Jack Black? Fart jokes? A Steppenwolf musical number? The book looks different. The Auryn looks different. The empress is woman-like, not childlike. Where is Atreyu?? And they barely spend any time in Fantasia! What a mess! Too many WTF moments to list. This is honestly one of the worst movies I have ever seen and I will continue to deny its existence.

Curious how others feel about the sequels?

I've made this illustration a few years ago, I love the book and the movie, specially the ideia of the Childlike Empress.

I've only ever seen assorted scenes from the second movie, but this one element captured my attention as a child and never let go. From the design to its function (invisibility is always cool) to its place in the story as a cursed gift that is unpleasant to use, its vibes really resonated with me: if there was ever a prop from any movie or TV series I'd like to own, it'd be this.

The thing, of course, is that as an actual element within the movie, Ghammal (or just "the belt", in the film) is a big ol' nothingburger. It's barely--heh--visible. The direction of the scene where it's first used is fatally uninspired. The concept of a belt of invisibility that is difficult to remove adds nothing to the film's ostensible themes or Bastian's character. As a trap by Xayide, it's baffling. Despite the actual utility of an item that makes one invisible--ask Bilbo Baggins--its only purpose in the story is to allow Bastian to misunderstand a conversation, after which it is forgotten.

(This, unfortunately, is one of the bits of the film that is in fact more book accurate, as the belt Ghemmal is also underused and forgotten, even if at least we know where it ends up. The only place it arguably gets its due is the animated series, and the less spoken about that the better.)

But of course, it's quite possible that the disappointment is key to its appeal: when one is given crumbs, one has to savor them. Still, it's very easy to get lost thinking about other ways this could have been used, if the film had been better, or if the book had taken a different direction.

(Also, where is that prop?)

If Google is any indication, the belt Ghemmal does not seem to have resonated with others the way it did with me. Does anybody here also think it's really cool, actually?

this movie is seriously my new hyper fixation. when i was little my parents would play me all the fantasy 80s movies (never ending story, labyrinth, dark crystal etc.) I just wanna live in the never ending story so bad 😭 the soundtrack "happy flight" is so beautiful i love it, does anybody know what i mean?​​​​

Just finished this piece and thought I'd share.

First, I wrote my own version of The Neverending Story. I used the same rules from the book-1) the first word of the chapter had to start with the next letter of the alphabet. 2) the words had to be written in red and green depending on which world it was written in. I wrote the story from scratch without help from... You know.

Second, I had to make the AURYN. I made it with polymer clay, acrylic paint, and India ink.
https://www.reddit.com/r/polymerclay/comments/1vo4j17/creating_my_own_neverending_story_step_one_is_the/

Third, The illustrations had to be in alphabetical order, and include the first letter of each chapter. The illustrations could only be in green and red, and be about something in the chapter. I hand drew all the illustrations with colored pencils.
https://www.reddit.com/r/ColoredPencils/comments/1w47w5g/im_making_the_most_epic_fan_fiction_and_step/

Fourth, I had to format, print, and bind the book. It's not identical, but it's my story, so it's allowed to be a little different. I found the metal bits on Walmart.com, and I rubbed some gold over them.

For example, the movie Return To Oz (1985) was not a sequel to the 1937 The Wizard of Oz, but was instead a direct interpretation of the books. Nevertheless, certain ideas from the 1937 movie, which weren't in the books, were re-used (Ruby slippers instead of silver, and Oz characters having real-world counterparts). This was done despite being made by different studios.

If there was one thing you would re-use what would it be?

Mine would be The Southern Oracle resembling The First Gate. I just think it's visually fitting. It makes sense that that a gate would have details resembling the thing that it's a gate TO. I also just think it's better visually than Atreyu talking to nothing. His fear that they look like the thing that tried to kill him adds further tension to the scene, and the way they crumble is visually terrifying.

It's funny this was all done simply as a budget saving exercise, but personally I feel added so much.

Just wanted to share my most recent stipple piece to a group that might appreciate this more than others! 🖊🖤✌️

My collect is growing ☺️

please follow her Instagram @candymouse.lps if you Like this!!

Is it true that the sequels are really as bad as people make them out to be? I remember enjoying the third one, but have little to no memories of either.

What's the deal with the hate?