Thought the 80s film version of The Neverending Story was traumatizing? Then dress warmly for the remake, because the original book is even darker.
The Neverending Story by director Wolfgang Petersen is an official 80s fantasy film classic. However, at least one person doesn’t see it that way: Michael Ende, the author of the original book. On the official website he is quoted under the heading The Infinite Movie Debacle as follows: “A gigantic melodrama of kitsch, commerce, plush and plastic”. Ouch!
The spirit of Ende, who sadly died in 1995, and hardcore fans who see it the same way should therefore welcome the planned remake. Not just because it could possibly be done better than Petersen, but because the remake is a fantastic opportunity to tackle the second half of the book. Movie-only fans have no idea what dark developments they missed in the later pages of the original novel. It has virtually nothing to do with the lousy sequels.
The Neverending Story: Once More With Dark Fantasy Feelings
Spoilers for The Neverending Story: The 80s movie ends with the young bookworm Bastian Balthazar Bux (Barret Oliver) saving the fictional world of Phantásia through an act of creativity to conquer the all-devouring Nothingness: He gives the Childlike Empress (Tami Stronach) a new name, namely that of his deceased mother. A touching plea against apathy in the face of grief and for the power of a child’s imagination. Spoiler end
(Childhood trauma: Depri-horse Artax in the swamps of sadness)
Spoiler for the book The Neverending Story: In the original story, Bastian must recreate each element of Phantásia individually using his imagination and the Auryn Amulet. However, each wish costs him a memory of the real world. When the boy then transforms himself into the beautiful, clever, strong savior of Phantásia, who does not want to return to reality, he turns against Atréju in order to oust the Childlike Empress from her throne. Ende apparently missed this urgent warning against escapism in the movie. Spoiler ending
The Neverending Story: Finally Done Right?
If the author of the original already found the (for what it is) well-performing 1984 movie classic unacceptable, you can guess what he thought of the two sequels, The Neverending Story II – In Search of Phantásia and The Neverending Story III – Rescuing Fantasies. Let alone what he would have had to say about the other interpretations, such as the cheap cartoon or the Canadian miniseries.
But who will dare to make the new version? Apart from the producers of the remake, no one has yet been appointed. Iain Canning from See-Saw Films told Variety: “It’s wonderful that we have the opportunity to take on a new perspective that has new layers and meanings. We simply believe that every generation deserves its own journey to Phantásia. “
(Books as Encounters: The Childlike Empress and Bastian Bux)
No matter how profound, multi-layered and faithful to the source material the new Neverending Story is supposed to be, there is one thing you can rely on, regardless of the creative team chosen: The filmmakers will hardly miss the opportunity to stage the great conflict from the second half of the book as an epic Lord of the Rings-like fantasy battle. FSK 6 is then not to be expected again.
For this, however, one should neither fall back on obvious candidates, such as Peter Jackson, nor on generic franchise burnouts like J.J. Abrams. A courageous adaptation of The Neverending Story, which doesn’t shy away from any aspect of the original, would at best involve the courage of a team that brings its own perspectives to the larger topic of fiction. And perhaps even poses the question of what the relationship between reader and book in the context of an adaptation means for the relationship between viewer and film.
