The NeverEnding Story II: The Next Chapter
Encyclopedia
The NeverEnding Story II: The Next Chapter is a 1990 fantasy film
and sequel to The NeverEnding Story
. It was directed by George T. Miller
and starred 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 Mr. Koreander.
This 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 movie. This short was also included on the VHS
and Laserdisc
release later that year.
is hurting him on the swim team. Bastian flees from his problems to an old bookstore, when after picking up the NeverEnding Story book, he hears the Childlike Empress tell him that he is needed to save Fantasia.
Upon landing in Fantasia, he reunites with Atreyu and meets a new character, an anthropomorphic talking bird named Nimbly. Characters from the previous film, such as Falkor and Rock Biter, have minor roles in this film. Bastian now faces "the Emptiness", and he is soon manipulated by the evil sorceress Xayide and her magical army of mechanical giants. The sorceress has a sinister plan for Fantasia and the Childlike Empress, but much of the film involves her persuading Bastian to forget about his mission and instead make a series of silly wishes. Each wish that Bastian makes causes him to lose a memory, and when he loses all memories he will not remember Fantasia and the Emptiness will take over.
Meanwhile, Barney is out looking for his son, finding little help from the police or the bookstore owner, Mr. Koreander. He finds the NeverEnding Story book and is surprised to see his son's exploits unfolded on the page. As he follows Bastian's journey through the book, Atreyu conveys his concerns to Falkor and realizes he must stop Bastian before Xayide's hold over him becomes too strong to break. This leads to a fight between the two boys ending with Bastian accidentally sending Atreyu over the side of a small cliff.
As Atreyu's lifeless body lies at the bottom of the cliff, Bastian is momentarily shaken by the events, but then shouts to Atreyu that he brought his death on himself. He returns to Xayide, only to find the machine that has been collecting the orbs containing his memories and finally realizing the sorceress' evil intentions. Bastian then sees Falkor flying away with Atreyu's body. He eventually catches up to them and after expressing regret for inadvertently killing his friend, he sacrifices his memory of his beloved mother to wish Atreyu back to life.
Now Bastian has only one wish (and only one memory - his father) left. Xayide appears and urges him to use his final wish to return home, but instead he turns the tables on Xayide by wishing for her to have a heart. The overwhelming sense of suddenly being able to feel emotion proves to be too much for Xayide and the evil sorceress explodes in a blast of light, and with her destruction, Fantasia is restored in all its glory. After being thanked by the Childlike Empress and with the verbal encouragement of his father, Atreyu and Falkor, Bastian is able to face his fear of heights by jumping off a high cliff, thus returning home safely.
(IMDb). It has a 0% "rotten" rating on Rotten Tomatoes
.
Richard Harrington's review for the Washington Post was typical of the largely negative reaction to the film, "Unlike its predecessor, there are few effects in "II" worthy of being called special, and events unfold with uniform flatness. Silver City feels like Diet Oz, the sorceress's castle is more hinted at than realized and several new creatures are right out of late-night comedy sketches".
Chris Hicks, writing for the Deseret Morning News
, was more kind in his review, noting that it would be enjoyable to children, whereas the first film was enjoyable to the entire family.
Fantasy film
Fantasy films are films with fantastic themes, usually involving magic, supernatural events, make-believe creatures, or exotic fantasy worlds. The genre is considered to be distinct from science fiction film and horror film, although the genres do overlap...
and sequel to The NeverEnding Story
The NeverEnding Story (film)
The NeverEnding Story is a 1984 German-American epic fantasy film based on the novel of the same name written by Michael Ende. The film was directed and co-written by Wolfgang Petersen and starred Barret Oliver, Noah Hathaway and Tami Stronach. At the time of its release, it was the most...
. It was directed by George T. Miller
George T. Miller
George Trumbull Miller is a Scottish-born Australian film and television director and producer. He has directed The NeverEnding Story II: The Next Chapter, Journey to the Center of the Earth, The Man from Snowy River, Prey and Zeus and Roxanne.-External links:...
and starred Jonathan Brandis
Jonathan Brandis
Jonathan Gregory Brandis was an American actor, director, and screenwriter.-Early life and career:Brandis was born in Danbury, Connecticut, the only child of Mary, a teacher and personal manager, and Gregory Brandis, a food distributor and firefighter. He began his career as a child model and...
as Bastian Bux, Kenny Morrison
Kenny Morrison
Kenny Morrison is an American actor who was born in Los Angeles, California on December 31, 1974. He is of Spanish, Filipino, and Irish descent. He has a brother, Kai, and step sister, Alexandra. His father is Quinn, and mother, Kip....
as Atreyu, and Alexandra Johnes as the Childlike Empress. The only actor to return from the first film was Thomas Hill
Thomas Hill (actor)
Thomas Hill was an actor and director on stage for decades before starting in film in the mid 1960s and on television in the 1980s....
as Mr. Koreander.
This film used plot elements from Michael Ende
Michael Ende
Michael Andreas Helmuth Ende was a German author of fantasy and children's literature. He is best known for his epic fantasy work The Neverending Story; other famous works include Momo and Jim Button and Luke the Engine Driver...
's novel The NeverEnding Story
The Neverending Story
The Neverending Story is a German fantasy novel by Michael Ende, first published in 1979. The standard English translation, by Ralph Manheim, was first published in 1983...
, but introduced a new storyline.
Upon its American theatrical release in 1991, the Bugs Bunny
Bugs Bunny
Bugs Bunny is a animated character created in 1938 at Leon Schlesinger Productions, later Warner Bros. Cartoons. Bugs is an anthropomorphic gray rabbit and is famous for his flippant, insouciant personality and his portrayal as a trickster. He has primarily appeared in animated cartoons, most...
animated short "Box-Office Bunny" was shown before the movie. This short was also included on the VHS
VHS
The Video Home System is a consumer-level analog recording videocassette standard developed by Victor Company of Japan ....
and Laserdisc
Laserdisc
LaserDisc was a home video format and the first commercial optical disc storage medium. Initially licensed, sold, and marketed as MCA DiscoVision in North America in 1978, the technology was previously referred to interally as Optical Videodisc System, Reflective Optical Videodisc, Laser Optical...
release later that year.
Storyline
Bastian Bux is having troubles at home: his father, Barney, cannot relate to him—his busy workload is keeping him from spending time with his son and Bastian's fear of heightsAcrophobia
Acrophobia is an extreme or irrational fear of heights. It belongs to a category of specific phobias, called space and motion discomfort that share both similar etiology and options for treatment.Most people experience a degree of natural fear when exposed to heights, especially if there is little...
is hurting him on the swim team. Bastian flees from his problems to an old bookstore, when after picking up the NeverEnding Story book, he hears the Childlike Empress tell him that he is needed to save Fantasia.
Upon landing in Fantasia, he reunites with Atreyu and meets a new character, an anthropomorphic talking bird named Nimbly. Characters from the previous film, such as Falkor and Rock Biter, have minor roles in this film. Bastian now faces "the Emptiness", and he is soon manipulated by the evil sorceress Xayide and her magical army of mechanical giants. The sorceress has a sinister plan for Fantasia and the Childlike Empress, but much of the film involves her persuading Bastian to forget about his mission and instead make a series of silly wishes. Each wish that Bastian makes causes him to lose a memory, and when he loses all memories he will not remember Fantasia and the Emptiness will take over.
Meanwhile, Barney is out looking for his son, finding little help from the police or the bookstore owner, Mr. Koreander. He finds the NeverEnding Story book and is surprised to see his son's exploits unfolded on the page. As he follows Bastian's journey through the book, Atreyu conveys his concerns to Falkor and realizes he must stop Bastian before Xayide's hold over him becomes too strong to break. This leads to a fight between the two boys ending with Bastian accidentally sending Atreyu over the side of a small cliff.
As Atreyu's lifeless body lies at the bottom of the cliff, Bastian is momentarily shaken by the events, but then shouts to Atreyu that he brought his death on himself. He returns to Xayide, only to find the machine that has been collecting the orbs containing his memories and finally realizing the sorceress' evil intentions. Bastian then sees Falkor flying away with Atreyu's body. He eventually catches up to them and after expressing regret for inadvertently killing his friend, he sacrifices his memory of his beloved mother to wish Atreyu back to life.
Now Bastian has only one wish (and only one memory - his father) left. Xayide appears and urges him to use his final wish to return home, but instead he turns the tables on Xayide by wishing for her to have a heart. The overwhelming sense of suddenly being able to feel emotion proves to be too much for Xayide and the evil sorceress explodes in a blast of light, and with her destruction, Fantasia is restored in all its glory. After being thanked by the Childlike Empress and with the verbal encouragement of his father, Atreyu and Falkor, Bastian is able to face his fear of heights by jumping off a high cliff, thus returning home safely.
Reception
The sequel received mostly negative reviews from critics and currently holds a 4.4 out of 10 on Internet Movie DatabaseInternet Movie Database
Internet Movie Database is an online database of information related to movies, television shows, actors, production crew personnel, video games and fictional characters featured in visual entertainment media. It is one of the most popular online entertainment destinations, with over 100 million...
(IMDb). It has a 0% "rotten" rating on Rotten Tomatoes
Rotten Tomatoes
Rotten Tomatoes is a website devoted to reviews, information, and news of films—widely known as a film review aggregator. Its name derives from the cliché of audiences throwing tomatoes and other vegetables at a poor stage performance...
.
Richard Harrington's review for the Washington Post was typical of the largely negative reaction to the film, "Unlike its predecessor, there are few effects in "II" worthy of being called special, and events unfold with uniform flatness. Silver City feels like Diet Oz, the sorceress's castle is more hinted at than realized and several new creatures are right out of late-night comedy sketches".
Chris Hicks, writing for the Deseret Morning News
Deseret Morning News
The Deseret News is a newspaper published in Salt Lake City, Utah, and is Utah's oldest continuously published daily newspaper. It has the second largest daily circulation in the state behind The Salt Lake Tribune. The Deseret News is owned by Deseret News Publishing Company, a subsidiary of...
, was more kind in his review, noting that it would be enjoyable to children, whereas the first film was enjoyable to the entire family.