The NeverEnding Story | |
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Directed by |
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Based on | The Neverending Story by Michael Ende |
Produced by |
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Production companies | |
Distributed by |
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Release date | 1984–1994 |
Running time | 279 minutes |
Countries |
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Language | English |
The NeverEnding Story (German: Die unendliche Geschichte) is a West German-produced English language epic fantasy film series based on the 1979 novel of the same name by Michael Ende.
The original 1984 film, The NeverEnding Story , was directed and co-written by Wolfgang Petersen and was later followed by two sequels. [1]
The first film adapted the first half of the original novel, while the second half of the novel was used as the rough basis for the second film, The NeverEnding Story II: The Next Chapter . [2]
The third film in the series, The NeverEnding Story III , has an original plot. [3]
Film | U.S. release date | Director(s) | Screenwriter(s) | Story by | Producer(s) |
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The NeverEnding Story | April 6, 1984 | Wolfgang Petersen | Wolfgang Petersen and Herman Weigel | Bernd Eichinger and Dieter Geissler | |
The NeverEnding Story II: The Next Chapter | February 8, 1991 | George T. Miller | Karin Howard | Dieter Geissler | |
The NeverEnding Story III | April 2, 1996 | Peter MacDonald | Jeff Lieberman | Karin Howard | Heinz Bibo, Dieter Geissler, Tim Hampton, Klaus Kaehler, Harry Nap and Harold Lee Tichenor |
This section includes characters who will appear or have appeared in more than two films in the series.
Character | The NeverEnding Story | The NeverEnding Story II: The Next Chapter | The NeverEnding Story III |
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1984 | 1990 | 1994 | |
Bastian Balthazar Bux | Barret Oliver | Jonathan Brandis J. Michael Haney Y | Jason James Richter |
Atreyu | Noah Hathaway | Kenny Morrison Noah Hathaway A U | |
Carl Conrad Coreander | Thomas Hill | Freddie Jones | |
The Childlike Empress | Tami Stronach | Alexandra Johnes | Julie Cox |
Engywook | Sydney Bromley | Tony Robinson | |
Urgl | Patricia Hayes | Moya Brady | |
Falkor the Luckdragon | Alan Oppenheimer V | Donald Arthur V | William Hootkins V |
Mr. Rockbiter Sr. | Dan Fincher V | Frederick Warder V | |
Gmork | |||
Barney Bux | Gerald McRaney | John Wesley Shipp | Kevin McNulty |
Cairon | Moses Gunn | ||
Teeny Weeny | Deep Roy | ||
Night Hob | Tilo Prückner | ||
Ethan | Darryl Cooksey | ||
Todd | Drum Garrett | ||
Lucas | Nicholas Gilbert | ||
Morla | Robert Easton V U | ||
Mr. Rockbiter Jr. | Colin Gilder V | David Forman V | |
Xayide | Clarissa Burt | ||
Nimbly | Martin Umbach | ||
Tri-Face | Christopher Burton | ||
Mrs. Bux | Helena Michell | ||
Nicole Baxter | Melody Kay | ||
Slip | Jack Black | ||
Jane Bux | Tracey Ellis | ||
Mrs. Rockbiter | Mac McDonald V | ||
Bark Troll | William Hootkins V | ||
The Janitor | Mark Acheson | ||
Dog | Ryan Bollman | ||
Mookie | Carole Finn | ||
Coil | Nicole Parker | ||
Rage | Adrien Dorval |
Film/Television | Crew/detail | |||||
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Composer(s) | Cinematographer(s) | Editor(s) | Production companies | Distributing company | Running time | |
The NeverEnding Story | Klaus Doldinger and Giorgio Moroder | Jost Vacano | Jane Seitz | Neue Constantin Film, Bavaria Film, and Producers Sales Organization | Warner Bros. Pictures | 94 minutes |
The NeverEnding Story II: The Next Chapter | Robert Folk | David Connell | Chris Blunden and Peter Hollywood | CineVox Filmproduktion | 90 minutes | |
The NeverEnding Story III | Peter Wolf | Robin Vidgeon | Michael Bradsell and Jim Roddan | Miramax Films | 95 minutes |
Film | Rotten Tomatoes | Metacritic |
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The NeverEnding Story | 81% (42 reviews) [4] | 46 (10 reviews) [5] |
The NeverEnding Story II: The Next Chapter | 14% (7 reviews) [6] | 30 (13 reviews) [7] |
The NeverEnding Story III | N/A (3 reviews) [8] | — |
Wolfgang Petersen was a German filmmaker. He was nominated for two Academy Awards for the World War II submarine warfare film Das Boot (1981). His other films include The NeverEnding Story (1984), Enemy Mine (1985), In the Line of Fire (1993), Outbreak (1995), Air Force One (1997), The Perfect Storm (2000), Troy (2004), and Poseidon (2006).
The Neverending Story is a fantasy novel by German writer Michael Ende, published in 1979. The first English translation, by Ralph Manheim, was published in 1983. It was later adapted into a film series.
The NeverEnding Story is a 1984 fantasy film, co-written and directed by Wolfgang Petersen, based on the 1979 novel The Neverending Story by Michael Ende. It was produced by Bernd Eichinger and Dieter Giessler, and stars Noah Hathaway, Barret Oliver, Tami Stronach, Patricia Hayes, Sydney Bromley, Gerald McRaney and Moses Gunn, with Alan Oppenheimer providing the voices of Falkor, Gmork, and others. It follows a boy who finds a magical book that tells of a young warrior who is given the task of stopping the Nothing, a dark force, from engulfing the wonderland world of Fantasia.
The NeverEnding Story II: The Next Chapter is a 1990 fantasy film and a sequel to The NeverEnding Story. It was directed by George T. Miller and stars Jonathan Brandis as Bastian Bux, Kenny Morrison as Atreyu, and Alexandra Johnes as the Childlike Empress. The only actor to return from the first film was Thomas Hill as Carl Conrad Coreander. The film used plot elements from Michael Ende's novel The Neverending Story but introduced a new storyline. Upon its American theatrical release in 1991, the Bugs Bunny animated short Box-Office Bunny was shown before the film. This short was also included on the VHS and LaserDisc release later that year.
The NeverEnding Story III: Escape from Fantasia is a 1994 fantasy-adventure film. It is the third and final film in the franchise. It stars Jason James Richter as Bastian Balthazar Bux, and Jack Black in an early role as school bully Slip. This film primarily used the characters from Michael Ende's novel The Neverending Story (1979), with the exception of Atreyu, who is absent from the film, and introduced a new storyline. It was an international co-production between the United States and Germany. It was a critical and commercial failure.
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