The Neverending Story III (1994)

Director:

Peter MacDonald

Writers (WGA):

Michael Ende (characters)
Karin Howard (story)

Release Date:

27 October 1994 (Germany)

Genre:

Adventure | Family | Fantasy

Plot:

A young boy must restore order when a group of bullies steal the magical book that acts as a portal between Earth and the imaginary world of Fantasia.

Plot Keywords:

Book | Bully | School Library | Telescope | Shopping Mall

Awards:

1 nomination

Cast

Jason James Richter	...	Bastian Bux
Melody Kay	...	Nicole, Bastian's Stepsister
Jack Black	...	Slip, Leader of The Nasties
Carole Finn	...	Mookie - The Nasties
Ryan Bollman	...	Dog - The Nasties
Freddie Jones	...	Koreander, the Librarian
Julie Cox	...	The Childlike Empress
Moya Brady	...	Urgl, Female Gnome
Tony Robinson	...	Engywook, Male Gnome
Thomas Petruo	...	Bighead - Großkopf
Tracey Ellis	...	Jane Bux, Bastian's Stepmother
Kevin McNulty	...	Barney Bux, Bastian's Father
Nicole Parker	...	Coil - The Nasties
Adrien Dorval	...	Rage - The Nasties
Kaefan Shaw	...	Bark Troll - Borkentroll

Also Known As:

Die unendliche Geschichte III - Rettung aus Phantasien (Germany)
Neverending Story III: Return to Fantasia (UK)
The Neverending Story III: Escape from Fantasia

Runtime:

Germany:95 min | UK:100 min | USA:95 min

Country:

Germany | USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby SR

Certification:

Iceland:L | South Korea:12 | Australia:G | Germany:6 | Portugal:M/12 | Spain:T | UK:U | USA:G | Canada:PG (Manitoba/Ontario) | Canada:G (Nova Scotia/Quebec)

Filming Locations:

Berlin, Germany

Company:

Cinevox Filmproduktion GmbH

Goofs:

Continuity: The size of the gnomes in comparison to Bastian.

Quotes:

Urgl: Your body's gone.
Engywook, Male Gnome: Well, your body went years ago.

Movie Connections:

References Easy Rider (1969)

Soundtrack:

Crash! Boom! Bang!

do not ever watch this horrible film

In the beginning, there was The Neverending Story. It is the best film ever made.

Then, there was The Neverending Story II. I'll vent my spleen over that mess later.

And then, there came this waste of film and effort. Hold on a minute while I go throw up.

While it is a clean, safe film in terms of subject matter, the third NES should never have been made. And I mean NEVER. The first two movies covered all the wondrous things within the original book, so I don't understand why this film was made at all. It is just cheesy, stupid, abysmal, and an absolute disgrace to the idea of The Neverending Story.

First of all, what's going on with this stepsister of Bastian's that has somehow appeared? Wrong, wrong. . . Then, what happened to good old Falkor? And most of all, where is Atreyu? If you are bold enough to see this film, that is the one thing you will distinctly notice if you've seen the other two- no Atreyu.The boy who played Bastian was not nearly as obnoxious as the actor from the second film, but he just doesn't hold a candle to the original actor, Barret Oliver.

I have only seen this movie once, because I was informed of how awful it was, and just had to see for myself. It was a waste of my precious time. I hardly remember the plot line or anything important like that because it just didn't stick with me. One gets the impression that this was made as a sort of kid/family-friendly approach to The Neverending Story, because it is just so simplistic, and sacrifices the charm of the original characters and settings for the sake of being funny and entertaining. But trust me, it is NOT funny and it is NOT entertaining. Any NES fan worth their salt would be appalled by this film. If however you are not familiar with the Neverending Story, see the original 1984 movie and read the book and be contented with that.

Do not subject yourself to the torturous nightmare that is the Neverending Story 3, I implore you.

As for a star rating out of ten, I give this film nothing. Nil. Zip. Nichts.