Part of that, however, is also due to the target audience. I understand there was only so much space for that in the movie, but his father comes across as cold and “let’s be a man about things.” There was no examination of the real issue at hand. He reflects on the good relationship he had before that, and how he just wishes his dad would simply talk to him. In the book, Bastian understood his father’s recent vacancy because of his mother’s death. The movie, however, just begins with bits and pieces of Bastian being “weird” and having an absent father - which was also partially different in the book. He’s tasked with “leading the Earthling child” along the adventure so the Earthling can save Fantastica. Ultimately, in the book, Atreyu is a representation of a character-driven novel. They both go through the transition of feeling like the quest before them is bigger than their grasp.
Someone good-looking, heroic, strong, and sent out on an epic quest.īut, underneath that, more importantly, Bastian connects to Atreyu’s feelings of fear and self-wondering when it comes to the quest at hand. In the book, Bastian is attracted to the things in Atreyu that he does not see in himself. Bastian follows along with Atreyu’s adventures and “turns the page” as he slowly becomes more connected with the world of Fantastica. The book is very heavily dependent on the relationship between Bastian and Atreyu. Doing so made me realize that, while they may have followed along pretty closely with the plot of the book, they did a disservice to a lot of the characters, which I do believe is ultimately what the author, Michael Ende, was upset about. Reading it again - and knowing that the author was really upset by the final product of the movie - had me going in with a more detailed look. In actuality, Bastian’s looks are a major plot point of the book.Īs stated before, I thought the movie had done a good job on the plot points of the book. In the movie, he is much more “aesthetically” pleasing. In the movie, the world is called Fantasia.Īlso in the book, Bastian is described as a “fat little boy of ten or twelve.” To get a couple of “whatever” changes out of the way first: Now, however, I have a different opinion. The first time I read it, I thought that the movie had done a really good job following along with the major plot points of the book - for the half that was covered, anyway. I didn’t know it was a book until my late teens, when I started working at Borders and found a copy on the shelves.
It was a childhood favorite that carried over into adulthood. When I was younger, I, like many others, watched The Neverending Story on more than one occasion.
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