Barret Oliver
Bastien
Movie
The NeverEnding Story
A boy who needs a friend finds a world that needs a hero in a land beyond imagination!
While hiding from bullies in his school's attic, a young boy discovers the extraordinary land of Fantasia, through a magical book called The Neverending Story. The book tells the tale of Atreyu, a young warrior who, with the help of a luck dragon named Falkor, must save Fantasia from the destruction of The Nothing.
Why it's in the Vault
Few fantasy films understand childhood imagination quite like The NeverEnding Story. Its creatures may belong unmistakably to the 1980s, but the wonder, melancholy and strange little pockets of darkness have barely aged. It belongs in the Vault because it remembers something adults easily forget: sometimes believing in the story is part of the story.
— Matty, Curator of the Vault
Atmosphere
Dreamlike, wondrous, melancholic, mythic, uncanny
Wonder
Melancholy
Adventure
Dark fantasy
Contains mild fantasy violence, threatening creatures and emotionally intense scenes of danger and loss that may upset younger viewers.
Cast
The Faces of The NeverEnding Story
Noah Hathaway
Atreyu
Gerald McRaney
Bastien's Father
Tami Stronach
The Childlike Empress
Thomas Hill
Carl Conrad Coreander
Moses Gunn
Cairon
Patricia Hayes
Urgl
Sydney Bromley
Engywook
Deep Roy
Teeny Weeny
Tilo pruckner
Night Hob
Behind the camera
The Crew
Wolfgang Petersen
Director
Dans les coulisses
Ce qu'on ne voit pas à l'écran
A giant production
With a budget reported at $25 million, the production was described by cinematographer Jost Vacano as the largest in German film history at the time.
Building Fantasia
Around 200 specialists worked at Bavaria Studios, combining elaborate sets, creatures, miniatures, matte paintings and roughly 300 bluescreen shots.
Making Falkor fly
Falkor's head and neck required 18 operators, while camera movement was used to create the illusion that the creature itself was flying.
Melting magic
Vacano recalled that an expensive Ivory Tower model actually melted during one effects take.
Atreyu Was Supposed to Be Green
In Michael Ende's novel, Atreyu belongs to the Greenskins and has olive-green skin. The production experimented with green makeup on Noah Hathaway, but the idea was abandoned when it failed to look convincing on camera. Hathaway later recalled that the test looked so bad that the filmmakers ultimately kept his natural appearance.
Two Versions, Two Moods
The original German cut and the international version are not quite the same film. The German version is longer and retains shots and moments shortened or removed internationally. The most immediate difference is musical: the German opening presents simple white titles against black accompanied by Klaus Doldinger's score, while the colorful clouds and Limahl's unforgettable The NeverEnding Story belong to the international version.
Aux origines
The Neverending Story
Wolfgang Petersen's film adapts roughly the first half of Ende's German fantasy novel, following Bastian, Atreyu and the struggle to save Fantasia. Ende saw the finished film at a private screening shortly before its release and was deeply unhappy with the adaptation. Believing that it betrayed the spirit of his novel, he publicly distanced himself from the film and withdrew his name from the production.
Palette
Les couleurs du film
Ivory Mist#E8DFCB
Auryn Gold#C69A3B
Fantasia Green#596B46
Storm Blue#445467
Swamp Brown#5A4635
Nothing Black#17191C
Images
