History Literature / TheNeverendingStory

* TheWormThatWalks: Ygramul the Many, a myriad of blue beetles acting as one, most of the time forming a big spider but changing into other forms when fighting with its prey or into a huge face with antennae instead of a tongue when talking to Atreyu.

* ManipulativeBitch: Xayide.

* NobodyPoops: {{Averted|Trope}}, [[LampshadeHanging lampshaded]], and {{discussed|Trope}} by Bastian in the real world while reading the book. After he goes into Fantastica, it is then played straight.

** [[LampshadeHanging Lampshaded]] when Bastian himself, in the scene directly preceding his move to Fantastica, contemplates whether someone might be reading this scene right now.

* ShakespeareInFiction[=/=]ShoutOutToShakespeare: When the three knights stroll along with Bastian, they sing "When That I was and a Little Tiny Boy" (which we know from ''Theatre/TwelfthNight''), which they learned from a previous human visitor to Fantasia/Fantastica, "name of Shexper, or something of the sort."

* {{Vaporware}}: German game developer Discreet Monsters' ''The Real Neverending Story'', which wasn't really getting anywhere even before Discreet Monsters was felled by the end of a tech bubble. The main personnel involved eventually produced a much less ambitious game, ''Auryn Quest''.

An ostracized young boy named Bastian who loves to read steals a magical book which claims to have NoEnding. In it is the story of an otherworldly MagicalNativeAmerican boy named Atreyu on a quest to save a MagicalLand from vanishing. As Bastian reads more and more of the story, he finds that the book seems to be aware of him. Eventually, it is revealed that the magical land within the book is actually another dimension encompassing all of human imagination, and only a human with creative ideas can save it.

Bastian is then transported to the world, where he finds that all his desires can be fulfilled, but begins to lose a part of himself for every wish he makes... And that there are forces in Fantastica who would use him for their own ends.

* CanonFodder: Invoked in-universe. Everything Bastian does in the story-world creates several new plot hooks, but very, very few of them are resolved in the book, opening up new directions for human imagination to work in. In the end, [[spoiler:Bastian is told he can't leave until all are resolved - but Atreyu has learned to be a storyteller himself, and so is able to take on the task for him, making the world self-sustaining - and, of course, giving the book its title.]]

An ostracized young boy named Bastian who loves to read steals a magical book which claims to have {{no ending}}. In it is the story of an otherworldly MagicalNativeAmerican boy named Atreyu on a quest to save a MagicalLand from vanishing. As Bastian reads more and more of the story, he finds that the book seems to be aware of him. Eventually, it is revealed that the magical land within the book is actually another dimension encompassing all of human imagination, and only a human with creative ideas can save it.

* RiddlingSphinx: The Southern Oracle is protected by two sphinxes who petrify anyone who fails to answer their riddles.

* ShakespeareInFiction[=/=]ShoutOutToShakespeare: When the three knights stroll along with Bastian, they sing "When That I was and a Little Tiny Boy" (which we know from ''TwelfthNight''), which they learned from a previous human visitor to Fantasia/Fantastica, "name of Shexper, or something of the sort."

Originally written in German by MichaelEnde, the several hundred page book spawned [[Film/TheNeverendingStory three movies]]. The first one was very well received (except by, among others, Ende himself, who sued unsuccessfully to have the name changed because he disliked it so much and had his name taken out of the writing credits); the sequels were each less popular and less faithful to the book than the one before. There was also a short-lived AnimatedAdaptation, and a TV miniseries called ''Tales From The Neverending Story'' which created an entirely new plot loosely based on the premise of the book and its characters.

* {{Catchphrase}}: Argax is fond of inserting "in a manner of speaking" into his dialogue.[[hottip:*:At least that's how it comes out in the English translation.]]

* IdiosyncraticEpisodeNaming: Sort of. The ''names'' of the chapters are ordinary enough; the notable thing is the device Ende uses of having each of the twenty-six chapters begin with a successive letter of the alphabet. Combine this with the fact that the book's only illustrations ''are'' said capital letters (which each take up an entire page), and it's hard not to think of the book in terms of "Chapter A", "Chapter M", etc.

* NamedForOneMoment: Several characters seem to have been given their names at least in part so they could be used at the opening of certain chapters, notably '''C'''airon[[hottip:*:Not as obvious in the translation, but German's a bit short on C words.]], '''Q'''uerquobad, '''X'''ayide, and '''Y'''or.
* NearVillainVictory: Bastian gets attacked by the Schlamoof's at the end, who destroy the picture he needs to get home and try to kidnap him. At that very moment [[spoiler:Atreyu and Falkor show up and rescue him]].

* DeusExScuseMe: The librarian is always getting called away for something, allowing Bastian time to take the book.

* WithGreatPowerComesGreatInsanity

[[caption-width-right:220:Open with care.]]

[[caption-width-right:220:Open with care.]]]

* {{Ouroboros}}: AURYN takes the shape of a two serpent ouroboros. The films add an infinity knot.

* MistakenForGranite: There's a pair of winged statues that will fire upon you if you get too close to them.

[[caption-width-right:220:[Open with care.]]]

[[caption-width-right:220:[-Open with care.-]]]

* HeroOfAnotherStory: The point of the book is that ''everyone'' is the hero of his own story, but Hero Hynreck takes the cake not only by virtue of being a professional hero and having the word 'hero' in his name, but also because we see Bastian purposefully creating a story of adventure for him after he complained getting dumped by Princess Oglamar and having no monster to fight as an hero. But, as the book says, that is another story and shall be told another time.

* AlliterativeName: Bastian Balthazar Bux. The previous owner of the book was Carl Conrad Coreander.

** In the book, the second doorway to the Oracle also qualifies - a mirror you have to step through, which shows fears or thoughts of the seeker. The third door, on the other hand, plays this a bit more... strangely: you can't pass it if you want to, because it's made of some kind of {{phlebotinum}} that shuts the door ever faster the more you want it to open.
*** Good thing then that it also temporarily wipes your memory to see if you'll go through on curiosity alone.

* SpellMyNameWithAnS: Fantasia? Fantastica? Depends which version you're reading (or watching). "Fantasia" is a more direct equivalent of the German original (''Phantásien''), but the standard English translation of the novel uses "Fantastica", possibly to avoid confusion with any of the several things already called ''Fantasia'' in English. The films use "Fantasia".

** In other words, ThePowerOfTheVoid.

* AlliterativeName: Bastian Balthazar Bux. The initials of the previous owner of the book were C.C.C.

* OurWerewolvesAreDifferent: Gmork, despite looking like an enormous wolf, describes himself as this. He tells Atreyu that neither Fantastica nor the Human World are his true home, for he has none. Therefore able to travel between both worlds, appearing as a human in our world and a wolf in Fantastica.