History YMMV / TheNeverendingStory

** HilariousInHindsight: [[WebVideo/TheAngryVideoGameNerd Which happened to Fred Fuchs]].

* UnintentionalUncannyValley: Falkor's appearance, even in the first movie, can have this effect on some viewers. His face is... well, almost like a dog's. Almost. And then there's [[BirdPeople Nimbly]], whose obviously human eyes on an avian body are pretty disturbing.

For YMMV items specifically about the sequels to the film, visit the YMMV pages for ''YMMV/TheNeverendingStoryIITheNextChapter'' and ''YMMV/TheNeverendingStoryIIIEscapeFromFantasia''.

* AccidentalInnuendo: A rather infamous example in the Spanish dub of the first film. Engywook's line "To the winch, wench!" was translated as "¡Dale al manubrio, mujer!". At the time the dub was made, "manubrio" was a somewhat-antiquated word referring to a crank. ''Nowadays'', however, it's better known in Spain as a slang word for "penis". It comes across as [[ADateWithRosiePalms Engywook demanding Urgl to jerk him off]].

* EnsembleDarkhorse:
** Falcor in the first film. For crying out loud, he's a cross between a dragon and a lovable puppy!
** Artax. He has ''five minutes'' of screen time, most of which is him dying, yet the GutPunch of his death is one of the most remembered parts of the movie. [[spoiler:Fortunately, he was revived alongside everyone else in the end.]]

* SacredCow: The first film is considered this by many lovers of fantasy flicks.

* TheyChangedItNowItSucks:
** What many readers of the book and its creator think about the movies.
** How many fans see the characters in the sequels, ''especially'' the infamous "Born To Be Wild" sequence.

!! [[Film/TheNeverEndingStory The Film adaptations]]:

* AccidentalInnuendo:
** The great threat in the third film is "the Nasty", leading to perhaps one of the most unintentionally funny lines ever;
--> '''Childlike Empress''': We must not give into the Nasty!
** A rather infamous example in the Spanish dub of the first film. Engywook's line "To the winch, wench!" was translated as "¡Dale al manubrio, mujer!". At the time the dub was made, "manubrio" was a somewhat-antiquated word referring to a crank. ''Nowadays'', however, it's better known in Spain as a slang word for "penis". It comes across as [[ADateWithRosiePalms Engywook demanding Urgl to jerk him off]].

** The [[https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLZqNhrXjX_PZNO-rg2s2zp1LTIJ_s8wMX third movie's soundtrack]] could be considered one of its redeeming qualities, if not the ''only'' redeeming quality. It even has [[Music/{{Seal}} "Kiss from a Rose"]] before ''Film/BatmanForever'' popularized it!
* BadassDecay: In the third movie:
** The Old Man of Wandering Mountain.
** Practically every character, especially Falkor and Bastian.
* BaseBreakingCharacter: Bastian in the first movie. He's either cute and relatable, or whiny and annoying. In the sequels... [[TheScrappy he gets worse]].
* BigLippedAlligatorMoment:
** In her introductory scene in ''II'', Xayide is shown as being TheBlank until she literally puts her face on by casting a spell. While it was probably helpful to establish that she is indeed a practitioner of magic, it can also come across as confusing to some viewers, especially since it never gets mentioned again after that.
** [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g01ud9TUtIk Rock Biter singing "Born To Be Wild"]] in ''III''.

* DesignatedHero: Bastian in the third movie. The Old Man of Wandering Mountain describes him as "a special young human, a voracious reader, with great imagination and extraordinary courage", traits that Bastian does ''not'' possess this time around. Bastian never does ''anything'' with the power of the Auyrn and sits around hoping the problem will go away, while the bratty sister and even the ''villains'' use the power they are given.
* DesignatedVillain: Bastian's stepsister in the third movie may be a witch, but she actually ''does'' something with the power she obtains, and while what she does with it is selfish, Bastian's calling her out for screwing things up falls flat since ''he'' could have avoided it all by actually ''doing something with it himself'' when he had the chance. Also, she's part of why he wins the final fight, by using the book to give him super kung-fu moves. While he's still got the amulet and, as noted under IdiotPlot, ''still isn't using it''.

** Slip the bully from the third film, due to being played by a ''[[EvilIsHammy delightfully]]'' over-the-top Creator/JackBlack.
* EvilIsSexy: Even the first sequel's detractors can't help but concede that Xayide is very easy on the eyes. Well, whenever [[TheFaceless she actually has them]]...
* FanonDiscontinuity: The third film. If you need help understanding why, [[http://www.agonybooth.com/recaps/The_NeverEnding_Story_III__Escape_from_Fantasia_1994.aspx look no further than this recap]].
* FashionVictimVillain: Xayide dresses extravagantly, to put it mildly, but this serves to better highlight her creepy, otherworldly nature.

* HamAndCheese: Jack Black gloriously over-the-top performance as Slip is widely considered to be the third movie's one saving grace.
* HilariousInHindsight:
** Bastian's gelled-up hair in the 3rd movie. According to Website/TheAgonyBooth's recap:
-->''Over the next few scenes, everyone laughs at Bastian's hair, but to be honest, his hairdo looks completely ordinary and commonplace circa 2008. You could go to any shopping mall in America and see plenty of kids with their hair just like this. [[DamnedByFaintPraise So, in fact, NeverEnding Story III was a trendsetter, and well over a decade ahead of its time]]!''
** Also from the third movie, Slip, played by Creator/JackBlack, engages Bastian in a [[WesternAnimation/KungFuPanda martial arts fight.]]
** The third film is WesternAnimation/{{Megamind}}'s first appearance.
* IdiotPlot:
** In the sequel, Bastian is given the power to wish for anything and have it come true via the Auryn, and doesn't have the brains to consider [[JustEatGilligan simply wishing away the entire conflict]]. Considering he didn't yet know there were consequences to making wishes, there was no reason for his behavior except plain thoughtlessness.
*** In one scene in the sequel, Bastian wishes a way into Xayide's fortress, and a series of ledges appear for him to climb up. Halfway up, the ledges run out so what does he do? He says "I wish for a step, I wish for another, I wish for another step, and I wish for another step." Even if he doesn't know that he loses a memory each time he does makes a wish, it's still a hassle doing it his way and idiotic. How about "I wish for a staircase" or "I wish I was inside this place." The witch is understandably smiling with delight as she watches him piss away all his wishes and memories in one sitting.
*** In another scene, Bastian and Atreyu are attacked by some of Xayide's monsters, and Atreyu says they need weapons. What does Bastian wish for? '''''[[ImprovisedWeapon A spray can!]]''''' While it does work (he sprays it in the monster's eyes), it's still extremely baffling that he didn't wish for something more practical like a sword or even a gun for that matter.
** The third movie is much worse. Bastian leaves the Auryn out in the open in his bedroom, where it is promptly taken by Nicole. And towards the end, when facing Slip, Bastian actually gives into his "Fight me like a man" spiel, [[JustEatGilligan even though he's got the Auryn back, and could easily wreak all kinds of vengeance upon him]]. In fact, Bastian barely uses the Auryn, even when he can just use it to solve the conflict at the very moment he arrives back to the real world, due to reasons that just boil down to "No, Bastian."
* IronWoobie: Atreyu in the first film. He suffers one crushing setback after another, rarely seems to make any progress on his quest (or even know where to go next), and in the end believes - with much justification - that he's failed to save Fantasia from the Nothing. Yet he never whines about his fate and he never gives up.
* JerkassWoobie: Nicole from the third movie. She treats Bastian like crap before she's given a reason to really hate him and she abuses the power of the Orin (which was a result of Bastion leaving it in the open). However, the movie shows that she misses her biological father and was concerned about her mom and stepdad. Also, some CharacterDevelopment led to her bonding with Bastian, despite the earlier conflict.

* NeverLiveItDown:
** Bastian's incomprehensible screaming of his mother's name is a frequently heard joke.
** The constant changing and recasting of all the characters throughout the series and the ''entire'' third film are these for the franchise.
** The scene in the second film where Bastian wishes for a ''spray can'' to ward off Xayide's monsters.
** Any time in the two sequels where Bastian fails to use his wishes to get himself out of danger, [[TooDumbToLive which unfortunately is all too frequent]].
** "Born to Be Wild" is this for the third film by itself.
** The fact that the above-mentioned song ''replaced'' the classic theme performed by Limahl in the end credits, omitting the song entirely from the third film.
** Falcor's redesign and recharacterization in the third film; suffice to say, fans were '''not''' pleased at the result.
* RetroactiveRecognition: Creator/JackBlack plays the bully in part III. Also, the brief appearance of Creator/DeepRoy in the first film might be worth mentioning.
* RootingForTheEmpire: In the third film Slip, ''the villain'', shows more initiative and charm than Bastian, who spends the whole film sitting around trying to hope his problems away. As a result, viewers tend to hope that he wins out in the end. Being played by Creator/JackBlack also helps.

* TheScrappy: The Rock Biter baby and the Bark Troll in the third movie [[TheLoad literally contribute]] ''[[TheLoad absolutely nothing]]'' to the story. The latter may also be a CreatorsPet, seeing how [[PungeonMaster he's given so many idiotic puns]] for every scene.

* SoBadItsGood: At best, many people see the third movie as this, finding its artistic and creative decisions so baffling and backwards to the previous movies that they become unintentionally funny. Creator/DougWalker and his brother Rob even admit in their [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NzcDA65X8zg Real Thoughts video]] on the movies that they actually consider the second one to be worse due to finding it boring (though they both agree is still objectively better than the third), while comparing the third one to ''Film/TheRoom'' due to how unintentionally hilarious they found it, in contrast to his Nostalgia Critic review where he had his character show nothing but hatred for the movie.
* SpecialEffectFailure:
** The optical effects in the first film haven't really held up over the years. The second films' costumes and effects are mostly a step down (Sans Falkor and Rockbiter, who were [[PropRecycling recycled from the previous film]]) and of the third... [[FromBadToWorse OH SWEET JESUS! WHAT HAPPENED TO FALKOR!?]] This is in spite of them having the otherwise well-regarded Creator/JimHensonsCreatureShop do the puppets and costumes in the third film.
** The CGI in the third film hasn't aged well either, though it was pretty bad to begin with.

* TheyWastedAPerfectlyGoodPlot: The whole idea of schoolyard bullies getting their hands on the book could have worked, if the writers had actually given a damn, as well as Fantasia characters exploring the human world for a change, as opposed to the other way around. Unfortunately, it's played [[FishOutOfWater purely for comedy]] and [[StrictlyFormula not very good comedy]] at that. Heck, even the random changes to the characters could've worked if it'd been tied into the bullies getting their hands on the book instead of being random, it could've shown the damage they're causing.
* TookTheBadFilmSeriously: Everyone in the third movie, but especially Creator/JackBlack, who plays a poorly written, one-dimensional character like a ''diabolical mastermind.'' Possibly averted with Thomas Petruo (Large Head), who said in an interview that he had a lot of fun in the role.

* SugarWiki/VisualEffectsOfAwesome: The practical effects in the first film are nothing short of impressive, particularly in the way of the animatronics and the very convincingly realized world of Fantasia.
* ViewerGenderConfusion:
** Quite a few mistook Atreyu to be a girl.
** In the third movie, Coil's boyish short hair and androgynous face can make it easy to mistake her for a boy if you only look at images of the movie. Only her voice and her new look following her HeelFaceBrainwashing make it clear she's a girl.
* VindicatedByHistory: The second film got a pretty polarized reaction from critics and fans when it was initially released, but opinions softened as time went on, appreciating that unlike the third film, it at least gave respectful and accurate portrayals of the characters from the first film and was a well-intentioned but misguided attempt to adapt the second half of the novel for the screen.

* WTHCastingAgency:
** The difference in voice actors for Falkor and Rock Biter is jarringly noticeable, not to mention John Wesley Shipp as Bastian's father vs. Gerald [=McRainey=] in the original.
** The third film's villain is played by Jack Black. To be fair though, he's often considered [[LargeHam the best part of the movie]].
** Julie Cox, who played the Childlike Empress in the third film, is an example of both this and DawsonCasting, considering that she was 19 during filming and a good couple of inches taller than Jason James Richter, who played Bastian. In fact, Cox is only slightly younger in real-life than Creator/TamiStronach, the Empress from the first film -- which was made ''ten years'' before the third. That being said, Cox would actually have been a decent casting choice if the Empress had a PlotRelevantAgeUp in the film, as she ''is'' believable as an older version of Stronach's character.

** ''The Neverending Story'' ended after its third movie, which isn't all that funny by itself. However, a few years after the first film was released, a certain [[RunningGag dragon-ridingly popular]] [[Franchise/FinalFantasy video game franchise]] debuted on the [[UsefulNotes/NintendoEntertainmentSystem NES]], and would go on to have countless sequels, spinoffs, crossovers, and supplementary installments in other mediums, despite its own name implying otherwise. In other words, ''The Neverending Story'' ended, but ''Final Fantasy'' has yet to have its final installment ([[CashCowFranchise and likely never will for a long, long time]]).
* HoYay: In the first film, Bastian seems to have a crush on Atreyu, just from reading about him. Especially when he's first about to appear, and Bastian gets this big smile on his face and whispers Atreyu's name reverently.

* {{Narm}}: In the first film, every time Bastian reacts to what he's reading, it's pure narm.
** When we first see Morla, Bastian looks up from the book and randomly ''screams at the top of his lungs'', creating a hilariously narmy moment. His simply screaming in shock at something he was reading would be bad enough, but the shot instead feels like he paused and then gave a loud scream deliberately for absolutely no reason. Even better if you've read the book, where he ''doesn't'' scream at this point, but at a much scarier scene in the next chapter.
** Was it truly necessary for the Sphinx Gate to have ''nipples''? Once you've noticed them, they're very distracting from the otherwise deadly-tense scene of Atreyu trying to not get blasted.
** And of course, when Bastian actually does cry out the name he's chosen for the Empress. His scream of her name is so unintelligible that the initial DVD release's subtitles [[EvenTheSubtitlerIsStumped didn't even have anything for it]]. For the record, he's screaming "Moon Child", but the way he screams it: "Maaaaaaaaahoon-chaaaaaaaaaa-eeyuuuuuuld!" makes it damn near impossible to understand even if you know what he's saying. It's meant to be a hugely dramatic moment for him, but comes off like a kid randomly screaming out a window.
** In the first film the BigBad is "The Nothing" an [[EldritchAbomination intangible concept]] of humankind losing their ability to dream and create given physical representation, in the second film the BigBad is "The Emptiness", a destructive force commanded by the evil sorceress Xayide who wishes to use Bastian by having his wishes drain away his memories. The third movie? The BigBad are... some high school gang of thugs called "The Nasty" from the real world, which is a ''seriously'' lame step down from the previous enemies.

** As mentioned in {{Narm}}, Bastian's incomprehensible screaming of his mother's name is a frequently heard joke.

* EvilIsSexy: Even the first sequel's detractors can't help but concede that Xayide is very easy on the eyes.

* UncannyValley: Falkor's appearance, even in the first movie, can have this effect on some viewers. His face is... well, almost like a dog's. Almost. And then there's [[BirdPeople Nimbly]], whose obviously human eyes on an avian body are pretty disturbing.

* TheScrappy:
** The Rock Biter baby and the Bark Troll in the third movie [[TheLoad literally contribute]] ''[[TheLoad absolutely nothing]]'' to the story. The latter may also be a CreatorsPet, seeing how [[PungeonMaster he's given so many idiotic puns]] for every scene.
** Rockbiter himself in the third, where he is given an irritating child, an irritating wife, and sings an out-of-tune rendition of "Born To Be Wild" all in the third film.
** Also in the second and third movies, Bastian. He is given an amulet that allows him the power to do anything...[[WhatAnIdiot and does nothing with it]]. Even his sister and the villains in the third movie do more with it then he does.

* TheWoobie: Bastian in the first film.

** [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kp7aOzkAWr4 Rock Biter singing "Born To Be Wild"]] in ''III''.

** Artax. He has ''five minutes'' of screen time, most of which is him dying, yet the GutPunch of his death is one of the most remembered parts of the movie. [[spoiler:Fortunately, he was revived along everyone in the end.]]

** Artax. He has ''five minutes'' of screen time, most of which is him dying, yet the GutPunch of his death is one of the most remembered parts of the movie.

* SugarWiki/AwesomeMusic: The title song by Limahl. Inspired countless [[SpeedyTechnoRemake remixes]]. The lack of it in the third movie was greatly missed.
** [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nwb_B03npcQ The theme of the Ivory Tower.]]

** [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X2muPtWsKi4 Bastian's Happy Flight.]]
** [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Tlc8NreXAk The Sphinx Gate.]] So much great tension and suspense, up until those last heart-pounding moments.

* SomeAnvilsNeedToBeDropped: The idea that imagination, fantasy and willingness to fight apathy are much needed is stronger now more than ever.

* AccidentalInnuendo: The great threat in the third film is "the Nasty", leading to perhaps one of the most unintentionally funny lines ever;

** The [[https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLZqNhrXjX_PZNO-rg2s2zp1LTIJ_s8wMX third movie's soundtrack]] could be considered one of its redeeming qualities, if not the ONLY redeeming quality.

* ColbertBump: The downright reverent appearance of the film's theme song in the Season 3 finale of ''Series/StrangerThings'' naturally got a lot of people talking about the movie again.

* BrokenAesop: Atreyu's episode at the Sphinx Gate. Having self-confidence and believing in yourself is important! Or just running really fast, that works too.

** Falcor in the first film.
** Artax. He has ''five minutes'' of screen time, most of which is him dying, yet is one of the most remembered parts of the movie.

* FirstInstallmentWins: Though the {{sequelitis}} helped.

** ''The Neverending Story'' ended after it's third movie, which isn't all that funny by itself. However, a few years after the first film was released, a certain [[RunningGag dragon-ridingly popular]] [[Franchise/FinalFantasy video game franchise]] debuted on the [[UsefulNotes/NintendoEntertainmentSystem NES]], and would go on to have countless sequels, spinoffs, crossovers, and supplementary installments in other mediums, despite its own name implying otherwise. In other words, ''The Neverending Story'' ended, but ''Final Fantasy'' has yet to have its final installment ([[CashCowFranchise and likely never will for a long, long time]]).

* IronWoobie: Atreyu in the first film.

** In the first film the BigBad is "The Nothing" an [[EldritchAbomination intangible concept]] of humankind losing their ability to dream and create given physical representation, in the second film the BigBad is "The Emptiness", a destructive force commanded by the evil sorceress Xayide who wishes to use Bastian by having his wishes drain away his memories. The third movie? The BigBad are some high school gang of thugs called "The Nasty" from the real world ... a ''seriously'' sad step down from the previous enemies.
* NarmCharm: By all rights, the Swamp of Sadness scene should not work at all. We've barely seen anything of Atreyu's bond with Artax, and the whole concept of a horse being depressed is a bit weird. But Noah Hathaway's performance combined with the music completely sells the emotion of the scene, and made it an iconic {{Tearjerker}} for everyone who saw the film as kids.

* {{Squick}}: The way Falcor smiles at Atreyu is... rather unsettling. There are parody videos on Youtube turning him into a MemeticMolester.

* BigLippedAlligatorMoment: [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kp7aOzkAWr4 Rock Biter singing "Born To Be Wild"]] in ''III''.

* TookTheBadFilmSeriously: Everyone in the third movie, but especially Creator/JackBlack, who plays a poorly written, one-dimensional character like a ''diabolical mastermind.'' Possibly averted with Creator/ThomasPetruo (Large Head), who said in an interview that he had a lot of fun in the role.

* SoBadItsGood: At best, many people see the third movie as this, finding its artistic and creative decisions so baffling and backwards to the previous movies that they become unintentionally funny. Creator/DougWalker and his brother Rob even admit in their [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NzcDA65X8zg Real Thoughts video]] on the movies that they actually consider the second one to be worse due to finding it boring (though they both agree is still objectively better than the third), while comparing the third one to ''Film/TheRoom'' due to how unintentionally hilarious they found it , in contrast to his Nostalgia Critic review where he had his character show nothing but hatred for the movie.