Summary
- Tami Stronach supports NeverEnding Story reboot, sees new film as a way to inspire creativity and retell classic story.
- For the story to live on, it must be told to new audiences, capturing the universal themes of bravery and perseverance.
- Reboot must offer more than 80s nostalgia, appeal to today's viewers by tapping into real-life emotions and dark themes.
Tami Stronach, who played The Childlike Empress in The NeverEnding Story, expressed her enthusiasm at the news of a NeverEnding Story reboot. The original 1984 film, based on Michael Ende’s novel, was notable for the vibrant, fantasy world it created for its story, which was aimed at a young audience.
The NeverEnding Story revolves around the story of Bastian Bux, a lonely child whose life gets an exciting twist when he discovers a magical book. The legacy of the film is one that inspires a nostalgic 80’s wonderland, complete with an epic synth score that gives Tangerine Dream a run for its money. The NeverEnding Story's iconic status lends the reboot the potential to recreate what made the first film work so well, and Stronach’s comments on the upcoming film reinforce that possibility.
Related
A new NeverEnding Story film series has been announced - here's everything we know about the project, from the story to the sequel possibilities.
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Tami Stronach Is Right: Rebooting The NeverEnding Story Honors The Original Movie's Spirit
The NeverEnding Story's Significance To The Art Of Storytelling
In a recent interview with The Hollywood Reporter for The NeverEnding Story’s 40th anniversary, Stronach expressed her feelings toward the film after all these years, which is overwhelmingly positive. Stronach, who left acting shortly after the making of this film, says that even though many fans tell her that the movie is perfect and no one should ever touch it, she strongly disagrees. According to Stronach, the whole point of the film is to “inspire creativity,” and “retelling stories feels like a natural extension of that.”
The only way for a story to continue on is to continue being told to others, and a story dies once it is forgotten.
This very notion hits at the very foundation of what The NeverEnding Story is, which is the inspiration of creativity and the act of telling stories. Stories exist to be told, and that's a theme that's central to the film. In the movie, the book is still just a book with pages and ink, but the story comes alive as Bastian reads it, just as Bastian’s story comes alive to us as we watch it. The only way for a story to continue on is to continue being told to others, and a story dies once it is forgotten.
The NeverEnding Story Reboot Must Offer More Than Just 1980s Nostalgia
How The Reboot Can Appeal To Today's Audiences
The idea of remaking beloved movies is often met with a mix of excitement and skepticism, and The NeverEnding Story is not new to expansion since it spawned two sequels, an animated series, and a failed attempt at a live-action TV series. But as recent remake attempts have shown us, it’s going to take something more than just nostalgia to capture the same magic of the original film. It will need to appeal to audiences on a deeper human level and make this story relevant to today’s society.
The reason why the original film is so timeless isn’t because of the score or the now-outdated effects. That’s because NeverEnding Story tackles real-life emotions and dark themes with imagination and creativity. In the film, Bastian is dealing with some hard situations, and the book teaches him the meaning of bravery and perseverance while offering him a sense of escape from the harsh realities of his own life. The reboot needs to tap into this universal appeal while adjusting it to meet the needs and wants of kids today.
Title | Year | RT% | Audience % |
|---|---|---|---|
The NeverEnding Story | 1984 | 84% | 81% |
The NeverEnding Story II: The Next Chapter | 1990 | 14% | 40% |
The NeverEnding Story III: Escape From Fantasia | 1994 | N/A | 44% |
Tami Stronach’s insight on the upcoming reboot is a promising take that gives hope for a successful relaunch of such a beloved franchise. Her comments are a blunt reminder that for The NeverEnding Story to continue to live on, it will have to be presented to the new generation of audiences in a way that inspires creativity, fantasy, and adventure, just as it did for audiences in 1984. Even though the remake will inevitably be met with concerns, it's important for audiences to remember why The NeverEnding Story was cherished in the first place and what it can mean for kids today.
The Neverending Story
PG
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Based on the German novel of the same name, The NeverEnding Story centers on Bastian Bux, a young boy who finds a book about a fantasy world called Fantasia, and becomes inexplicably connected to the book's plot as he begins to read it. Barret Oliver stars as Bastian, with Noah Hathaway, Tami Stronach, and Alan Oppenheimer as part of the main cast.
- Director
- Wolfgang Petersen
- Release Date
- July 20, 1984
- Studio(s)
- Warner Bros. Pictures
- Writers
- Herman Weigel , Wolfgang Petersen
- Cast
- Patricia Hayes , Noah Hathaway , Barret Oliver , Sydney Bromley , Gerald McRaney , Tami Stronach
- Runtime
- 94 minutes
