Customer Reviews

Tales From The Neverending Story - The Beginning [VHS]

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(5)

 

 

Michael Ende would be outright ashamed if he had lived to see his novel slaughtered like this. The movies were one thing... but "Tales From The Neverending Story" is several notches below. Everything about it is bad... the costumes are laughable, the script is a joke, and the special effects make me want to gag. But tops are the characters. I must commend the makers of "Tales From The Neverending Story" for one thing - not only did they manage to destroy Ende's wonderful characters, but in some cases they actually managed to make them complete opposites! Take Bastian for example - the poor little boy, teased by his peers and ignored by his father, who finds his only refuge in books. "Tales'" Bastian seemingly hates books, and is content to walk around with his face in a Gameboy! Apparently the makers of "Tales" did not have their hopes very high, and had to stoop to adding "subtle" references to Harry Potter to draw fans. I actually laughed when I realized that red-haired Bastian's two scheming best friends were a boy with black hair and glasses, and a girl with long brown hair! Oh, but it's a VERY subtle reference, especially when the black-haired boy makes a joke about magic wands! In closing, I should note that Michael Ende tried for the last years of his life to take the rights to his book away from the man who has brought you "Tales From The Neverending Story." Please, read Michael Ende's book "The Neverending Story," and do not see this movie!

This is by far the worst rendition of The Neverending Story ever produced. This statement includes the dreadful Neverending Story 3. The screenwriting is so bland as to narratively explain every step of the story, not allowing any personal interpretation to enter. The story is manipulated to the point that names and places become merely references to objects, and not the rich allegorical themes that Ende originally intended them to be. Unlike the cartoon series, which I recommend for its attempt to visualize people and places from the book not covered by the Warner Bros. movies, this movie repeatedly copies the first two movies without any inventions of its own (except a cute character named Flygirl, but that's another story, and shall be told another time...) The majority of this movie is spent in tight, confined spaces when they would do better to reflect the broadness and grandeur of Fantastica. I most definitely would not recommend this movie.

Do not get this movie!! I repeat do not get this movie!! This movie was so bad that I had to take action. I have never written a review for anything until now!

This movie exposes the major problem with movies nowadays. The movie makers give too much time and money for special effects, digital graphics and animations, flamboyant sets and gaudy costumes, but not any money or time towards developing a story, editing, setting up atmospheres and staying with them, flow of story, development of relationships true to character, a psychology of good and evil, or even a good music score that follows the movie (instead of being off in its own universe). A movie doesn't have to have a blockbuster budget in order to accomplish these things.

Also, sci-fi fantasy movies generally don't look right with the high tech film of today. If one looks at fantasy movies from the 80's the film itself is grainy which gives the film an air already of being not from our world. Too clear and life-imitating film just makes the characters look out of place, and out of time. Furthermore, it must be difficult trying to act in a scene with a green screen behind you instead of actually being in that place, or some natural environment for that matter.

First of all (if I haven't already begun) I have a problem with movies being under 80 minutes (actual movie time, excluding credits), unless they are a comedy. Can one truly develop a plot in under 80 minutes that really brings to light human subjects and matters? hmm...

Second of all, I don't even care that it didn't follow the original movie storyline, or Ende's wonderful book (which I recommend that you read). The movie itself is bad!! Bad acting, portrayal of evil is silly (watch Willow to see a good portrayal of evil for all ages); too many scene jumps not allowing one to absorb the scene itself (why continue to go from real life to fantasy story to real life to fantasy story so quickly, it chops up the fantasy story and doesn't allow one to immerse themselves in it); stupid decisions made by the characters themselves; horrible costumes that take away emphasis from the acting (the costumes looked more like an Elementary School play being done to out-do itself); bad one-liners and even worse delivery of potent messages and normal dialogue between characters on the actors part (which should have been noticed by the producers and directors).

Oh yeah, Tell Atreyu to get that stupid look of confusion and disbelief off his face. If he was a fierce warrior he would be more confident in himself and his ability to handle situations that he has no direct control of.

Thirdly, your children should also feel as though there are being dumbed-down, taken for idiots, fooled, scammed, swindled, cheated of what could possibly be some very important life lessons (that were well told in the original movie). Do directors and producers honestly think that children can't handle more grown up storylines? I remember watching movies such as The Princess Bride and The Neverending Story when I was young and loving them, even though things went over my head. Now as a young adult I have noticed the very grown up material in them, how it was wonderfully presented with a passion (not for money or profit, but purpose), and have fully come to appreciate those movies even more.

And a movie can be fun and an educational experience (for life lessons more importantly) at the same time. There is no reason to chose one over the other. One lesson taught from this movie is how not to make a movie.

If you have already bought it, such as myself, then I feel sorry for you too. If you haven't bought it then don't even buy it used, unless you want to treat yourself to a painful experience. Don't show any support for this movie. Send it back to the studio with a letter stating your disapproval, or whatever you would like to show, if you can. I feel sorry for the actors of this film, but, hey, every actor needs a couple skeletons in their closet. And shame on the executives, the directors, the producers and the editors. You should have understood better.

Please heed my words and avoid this movie! Michael Ende's novel "The Neverending Story" is my all-time favorite book, and I believe to be one of the most original and inspiring fantasies ever written. But this... THIS adaptation of it is an outrage! "They" have altered Ende's ideals to appeal to a brain-washed Potter-crazed society! For example, the befreckled redhead, Bastian, has two close friends - a black-haired bespectacled boy, and a frizzy-haired brunette girl. Together, they engage in outrageous and downright ridiculous escapades between classes at their middle school... how much lower can you get? Ende set out to write a story which could stand by itself as a completely original story. And now it has been raped and twisted into this abomination! Please - PLEASE - do not support it by purchasing it! If you do, trust me, it will only end up on eBay. READ THE BOOK... thanks.

I'm a true NES fan and I found Tales From a lot of fun. They seemed to take elements from the book, take them apart, and put them together in new ways. I kept finding myself thinking... well, for an example, "you can't map Fantasia!" and then a minute later, "But if you could, that's EXACTLY how it'd work." Fans should definitely see it.

That said, they did reinterpret some of the core elements of the Neverending Story that they shouldn't have messed with. There were plenty of times I cringed and wanted to throw things at the screen.

NES-purity aside, there were magical moments, some really clever writing, a few characters I wanted to strangle just to shut them up, and a lot of plain old cheesy writing. Better than the general run of kid fantasy, fun stuff, rent it. =)

"Tales From The NeverEnding Story" is a series of Canadian TV specials re-imagining Michael Ende's novel. I'd seen it around for a while, thinking it was perhaps a more accurate, fuller interpretation of the book (especially seeing as though there are more of these specials than there are the original movies). Checking it out, here on amazon, I found out it wasn't like that at all. Still, I decided to give it a try. For the most part, it's not that great, and I really feel bad saying that, being a fan of both Ende's concepts and the films they inspired.

Bastian is a big reader, but he's a bigger player of video games. All that changes when he bumps into a Mr Coreander, and drops his gameboy, smashing on the pavement. Mr Coreander, though he thinks its better smashed up, offers to pay for the game with a book, and shows Bastian back to his store. He hasn't any money, so a book will have to do. Bastian ends up borrowing the NeverEnding Story, a book which ends up changing his life forever, and a book who he changes forever by reading.

It's lower budget than the films, I could handle that, and the actors do the best with what they're given, I think. (The trouble is, what they're given doesn't work that well. The directing could have been a bit tighter in places too. The original 1984 film had an atmospheric mystery around everything that happened, The Nothing, the Child-Like Empress, even around real-life characters like Mr Coreander. Here, everything is very clear and all too well explained, leaving very little of that mystery that makes fantasies so interesting to watch (for me, anyway). The concepts draw you in, they always did, so do the new costumes, but here they draw you into a place that leaves a bad taste in the mouth, a place that doesn't feel right. Also a lot of the more famous characters aren't in this one, which was a shame. (No Rockbiter, practically no Luck Dragon, etc.)

Even with everything against it, the last half hour of this 87 minute special is fairly entertaining. It's not what I'd call The NeverEnding Story, but it's a lot more watchable than the start. It could get better, this series, there is definitely a chance, and I'll probably check out the next special to see if it does. As for this one, two and half stars, I think.

First off, the only reason I'm giving this "movie" more than one star is because, in the deep recesses of my mind, i still find it impossible that it could have been this bad. I mean, it remains one of my favorite novels. I even loved the first two movies. When I saw the cover of the dvd, I had to get it. In my life, I now regret few things more. If the attention and effort put into the cover of this "movie" had been half that of the "movie" itself, I wouldn't feel this deep sadness that now sweeps over me. There should be a disclaimer somewhere on the box that says "WARNING! This "movie" is NOT as good as it looks! Buy the original and for God's sake, read the book!" Bottom line: the production quality is questionable, the dialogue is deplorable (the WB would have rejected this!), and the plot couldn't be farther from that of Michael Ende's novel. A new spin is one thing, a desecration is another.
Wait! I've got an idea! What if they made this movie so bad so people WOULD go and read the book? I don't know...I'm searching for explanations here.

You know you're in trouble when you constantly can't help saying to yourself: "I could act better than him, I could act better than her!" After a while I realized I could act better than any character in the entire film! The acting is that unconvincing and poor - it's beyond belief. Some other words to describe the acting talent of the performers is - cardboard, camp, dopey and annoying!

If the acting was not bad enough, the story was even worse! This film was totally devoid of any entertainment value, whatsoever, for the mind of an adult! Personally, I think most children, and certainly teens, would be bored to tears!

It's obvious to me that Tales from the NeverEnding Story - The Beginning is an attempt to make a quick buck off of The NeverEnding Story. To essentially turn a wonderful story into a commodity, like toothpaste or underarm deodorant. If you must see this godforsaken film out of curiosity, at least buy it used so you won't encourage a sequel!

For a MUCH more entertaining approach to Science Fiction/Fantasy see:Zardoz and Enemy Mine and Fantastic Planet and A.I. - Artificial Intelligence (Widescreen Two-Disc Special Edition) and Bicentennial Man and Galaxy Quest (Deluxe Edition)

Tales From The Neverending Story - The Beginning is a mediocre adaption of Never Ending story. The acting is wodden and the dialogue feels stilted. The costuming and the music is not bad. However, when I remeber what an amazing movie the original by Wolfgang Petersen then this movie just does not cut it. I really wanted to like this movie but I simply could not. It was just too mediocre for my taste. Not the worst adaptation I have seen but still I can not give it more then 2/5. 2/5.

This is fairly well organized dramatization of Michael Ende's everlasting fantasy. I must admit it deviates so much from the original story but this dramatization rather make up for what original story left behind. Parallel stories interconnecting each other reflects troubling state of mind Bastian suffers in his real life. He lost his mother in a very tragic accident and his school life goes heywire. He has to move his home and have to face with stranger his father is planning to get married. What an ordeal 12-year old boy has to face. Gmork takes the form of the substitute teacher who always give Bastian a hard time. Why moonchild is adult-like here? I guess moonchild is the reflection of Bastian's mother and Xayide reflects Bastian's fear of facing reality. As a 1984 version of NES fan it really hurts to see the Falkor chained and tortured by Xayide. And Fly Girl (Stefani Buxton) and Atreyu (Tyler Hynes) reminds me of Nausicaa and Asbel in "Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind". I am really surprised to see Atreyu skateboarding in Bastian's world. It is very entertaining version and I like the way Bastian get over with his real world problems though Neverending Story.

Verdict: A bit deviated from original story but is finely reorganized.
Rating: 89 out of 100. Cracking password is a crime! Five points taken.
Recommened for Fantasy Novel fans in general who likes Ghibli works or Lord of the Rings, Harry Potter and The Chronicles of Narnia series.