I saw The Neverending Story several times while I was growing up and I really enjoyed it.  I saw the sequel, The Neverending Story II: The Next Chapter fewer times.  I still enjoyed it for the most part even though I didn't think it was as good as the first movie.

Bastian was having some problems with his dad, some which were connected to his failed attempt to join the swim team.  Bastian was also upset because he felt that his father was forgetting things about his mother.  Bastian returned to Mr. Koreander's bookstore looking for books on courage.  While there, he saw The Neverending Story and decided that he wanted to read it again, partly because he could hear the Childlike Empress saying that Fantasia needed his help.  Mr. Koreander said the story was different every time and he tried to discourage Bastian from reading it again, though he didn't stop Bastian from taking the book.  

Fantasia was in danger from Xayide, an evil sorceress.  Bastian was supposed to name the spell she was using against Fantasia. This time Bastian was part of the story and working with Atreyu.   Xayide had her own plans for Bastian that involved causing him to lose his memories.  

The opening credits for The Neverending Story II: The Next Chapter said that the movie was based on the book The Neverending Story by Michael Ende.  I've never read the book, so I don't know if anything from the plot of this movie was in the book or if that credit was just because the same characters returned.  

The Neverending Story II: The Next Chapter picked up sometime after the end of the first movie.  It was specifically said how much time had passed and I couldn't tell since Bastian was played by a different person.  Atreyu was also played by someone else and I thought he actually looked younger than the character did in the first movie.  There really weren't a lot of references back to the events from the first movie, so people who haven't seen that one yet could probably watch this one without getting confused about what was going on.  Some areas of Fantasia and a few characters like Falkor did look the same.  I did think that Falkor sounded different, so I don't think anyone connected with the first movie returned for this one which was disappointing.

For The Neverending Story II: The Next Chapter, Bastian was actually transported into the story, so he was able to participate in what was going on instead of just reading about it like he had in the first movie.  I did think it was interesting to have Bastian involved in a different way even though part of what he was supposed to do was similar to how he helped in the previous movie.  When Bastian was in the bookstore, it didn't seem like he had seen the book in a while.  Once he was in Fantasia, all the characters he encountered knew who he was without having to be told even though I don't think he had actually been there before.  

The main plot for The Neverending Story II: The Next Chapter really wasn't that different from the plot of the first movie.  Fantasia was in danger was a strange source and Bastian was needed to help.  The main difference was that Bastian knew he was part of the story and needed to do something specific to save Fantasia.  The threat was come from Xayide, the evil sorceress who claimed she wanted to create order in Fantasia.  She had some robotic giant things that would do her bidding.  She was also helped by Nimbly, a large bird.  He was helping with Xayide's plan to get Bastian to lose all his memories so he would ultimately forget what he was supposed to do in Fantasia.  Xayide's plan to take over Fantasia as well as how it was ultimately resolved did work and mostly made sense.  I really didn't think that the movie had any surprises or twists and was rather predictable for the most part.  That doesn't mean that I didn't enjoy the movie, but some people may feel differently.

In addition to what was going on in Fantasia, time was also devoted to showing that Bastian and his father had some issues they weren't dealing with that well.  They really didn't seem to be that close and the fact that his dad was working long hours didn't help the situation.  There was also some conflict because Bastian thought his father was forgetting his mother.  While the movie progressed, a few more bits connected to Bastian's relationship with his father were shared.  There were also a couple of flashback type scenes that showed some things with Bastian's mother.  Bastian's father did realize that things could have been better in his relationship with his son.  That aspect of the plot didn't receive a lot of attention, but it was handled well without getting overly mushy or sappy.

Bastian was right in everything that was going on instead of just reading about what was going.  He knew what he needed to do to save Fantasia.  He started off not feeling like he should do something, but as the movie progressed, he got pushed into doing it as part of the plan to make his forget all his memories.  Bastian did act a bit bratty at one point, also thanks to the manipulation of Xayide.  I really didn't like Jonathan Brandis in the part that much.  Bastian's father Barney ended up a little more to do in this movie.  He and Bastian didn't have the best relationship, but Barney got pulled into what was going on with his son through the book.  John Wesley Shipp was fine in the part.

Atreyu was still involved in what was going on, but it did seem like his part was smaller, probably because of Bastian playing a bigger role in the adventure.  I thought that Atreyu actually looked younger than he had in the first movie and there just seemed to be something missing from the character.  Kenny Morrison was fine, but nothing special in the part.  The Childlike Empress and Mr. Koreander once again had small parts.  Falkor and The Rock Biter were also briefly back, with Falkor being slightly more involved in what was going on.

Xayide and Nimbly were new characters for the movie.  Xayide was evil and wanted to take over Fantasia.  She believed she would make things better by controlling and removing what she saw as chaos.  She knew that Bastian had been brought in to stop her plan, so she developed a plan to deal with him as well.  She was not a nice woman.  Clarissa Burt was fine in the part.  Nimbly was the bird that was helping Xayide.  Nimbly seemed to have some doubts at times about the plan.  Martin Umbach was completely covered in the bird costume, but I thought he was fine in the part.

Main Cast
    
Donald Arthur - Voice of Falkor
Jonathan Brandis - Bastian
Clarissa Burt - Xayide
Thomas Hill - Mr. Koreander
Alexandra Johns - The Childlike Empress
Kenny Morrison - Atreyu
John Wesley Shipp - Barney, Bastian's father

George Miller - Director

DVD Information

I recently picked up a DVD that contains The Neverending Story and The Neverending Story II: The Next Chapter for $7.50.  I think that this movie has also been released alone on DVD, but I might be wrong about that.  The movie was in the full screen version and there really weren't any extras.  There was something called Bastian's Challenge that just asked a few relatively easy questions connected to the movie and showed the answer scrambled.  Once all the questions were shown, the final screen showed all the answers.  The only other extra was the theatrical trailer.

The Neverending Story II: The Next Chapter was a decent sequel, though it wasn't as good as the first movie.  The movie was missing something, but it was still entertaining for the most part.  People that enjoyed the first movie may also like this one.

 

Recommended: Yes

Viewing Format: DVD