Screen Junkies’ The NeverEnding Story Honest Trailer hilariously details how depressing the movie actually is. Released in 1984, the English-language German film was directed by Wolfgang Petersen. Based on the 1979 novel of the same name by Michael Ende, The NeverEnding Story follows a boy who stumbles upon a magical book which tells the story of a young warrior who has to stop a dark force from conquering the world of Fantasia. The most expensive film to be produced outside the U.S. or the Soviet Union at the time, The NeverEnding Story was the first installment in a franchise. The NeverEnding Story II: The Next Chapter came out in 1990. A third movie, Escape from Fantasia, concluded the saga in 1994.
The NeverEnding Story was a success at the box office, reaching $100 million worldwide against a production budget which approximated to $27 million. Critically, the response was more mixed. While the movie’s visual effects were typically a source of praise, some found that the narrative was lacking. In particular, The NeverEnding Story was dinged by reviewers for lacking in the humor and the energy necessary for a children’s film. It’s precisely the film’s divisive and strange qualities which make it the perfect candidate for an Honest Trailer.
As part of their series on summer blockbusters, which has examined contemporary classics like Twister and The Fifth Element, the Honest Trailer for The NeverEnding Story has arrived. The video provides plenty of examples of the movie’s weirdness and gloomy tone, including a few lines of dialogue that probably should have excised from the script, but it also serves as proof why the feature has remained in the public consciousness more than three decades after its initial premiere. Check out the trailer, from Screen Junkies, below.
References to The NeverEnding Story have endured in pop culture. It’s been cited in Family Guy and The Simpsons. More recently, Stranger Things included a tribute to the seminal film. There have even been attempts to secure the rights for a remake, which date back to 2009. The intention would have been to zero in on the more nuanced aspects of Ende’s novel, rather than simply deliver a second straightforward adaptation. Though rumors of a remake have persisted, it appears highly unlikely.
That might be for the best. Partly because of its flaws and jarring tone, Petersen’s film stands out as a wonderfully peculiar artifact of the past. It’s easy to see how a well-intentioned update might chip away at the uniqueness of the original. The blockbusters of today are far more likely to be produced under strict guidelines and, because of that, a modern iteration of The NeverEnding Story may end up being woefully generic.
Source: Screen Junkies