The Neverending Story 3 (1996)

The Neverending Story is a cult classic fantasy adventure film released in 1984, based on the 1979 novel by Michael Ende. The film became a box office hit, Directed by Wolfgang Petersen with his first English film, which follows “Bastian Buck” played by Barret Oliver (D.A.R.Y.L.) – trying to escape from his dull life and bullies at school, Bastain takes refuge in an old book store. There, he begins reading an old storybook and finds himself drawn into the mythical world of Fantasia.

A follow up “The NeverEnding Story II: The Next Chapter” was released in 1990 recasting Bastian with Jonathan Brandis (IT / Sidekicks), and Directed by Australia’s George T. Miller. Then to tie it all together in a trilogy “The NeverEnding Story III: Escape from Fantasia” released in 1994 Directed by Peter MacDonald, again recasting Bastian this final time with Jason James Richter (Free Willy), and featuring the rock superstar Jack Black (School of Rock) in his early years.

The center villain of these movies is based on a negative force, the first being “The Nothing” a storm that feeds on negative energy, the second being “The Empty” a wish machine which drains your memory. The third focused on “The Nasties” a group of bullies which target Bastian and try to destroy his family and Fantasia all together. All three of these films hit home to me and have a powerful underlying message which maybe too extremely traumatic for the age demographic it was targeted to, we all still shed tears for the horse in the swamp of sadness. My focus is the third film, which became more kid-friendly “Daytime TV” feel, little to no trauma, more bright and sesame street like characters in Fantasia, which many would despise in comparison to the original, but for me, I seen the 3rd film upon its release when I was young, so it became sentimental to me, I like to take it for what it is, funny, entertaining and of course, who doesn’t like Jack Black!

What I loved about the 3rd is the villains, The Nasties, the chemistry with this group, while cheesy and simple is all I needed to giggle and gain interest with. Instead of an invisible force, you have these misfits tormenting everybody just because (spoilers: they got expelled). How many years they had to repeat is a question I also have, they look way out of place, but I also don’t care. They storm the hallways before the bell rings and even the teachers hide.

This film hit home for me because I watched it when I was young, it’s a fun, cheesy tv flick and one of Jack Black’s first films, that we highly recommend.

Where To Watch The Neverending Story 3

Checkout our exclusive interview with the Neverending Story 3 star Ryan Bollman in the Movieland spotlight!