The Neverending Story Trilogy Is Better Than The Lord of the Rings

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The 1980s were a great time for fantasy movies. New technology allowed filmmakers to bring imaginative worlds from books and dreams to life on the big screen. One of the most popular fantasy films of the decade was Wolfgang Petersen’s, which later grew into a series of three movies in the 1990s.

As a huge fantasy fan, when people ask about the best fantasy films, The Lord of the Rings always comes up, and rightfully so! But for me, The NeverEnding Story was the film that first truly captivated me. It didn’t just show a battle against evil; it presented something far more unsettling – The Nothing. It wasn’t just about fighting a villain like Sauron, but about the disappearance of entire worlds, and that idea was genuinely terrifying and stuck with me ever since.

The NeverEnding Story Brought Imagination to the Big Screen

Growing up in the 1980s meant there were lots of great fantasy movies to enjoy, and The NeverEnding Story is a favorite for many. The story begins with Bastian Balthazar Bux, a shy boy running away from bullies, who ducks into a used bookstore. There, the shopkeeper shows him a special, old book called The NeverEnding Story, marked with a snake eating its own tail on the cover.

The shopkeeper claims the book isn’t for Bastian, but that only fuels his desire to read it. After calling the bookstore and creating a distraction, Bastian manages to sneak the book away, hiding it in his backpack. He then races home, and with that, his adventure begins.

When Bastian starts reading The NeverEnding Story, the story blurs the line between what he’s reading and what he’s experiencing. He’s been feeling isolated since his mother died and his father became distant and withdrawn. He usually finds comfort in books, but this time, being drawn into the story itself frightens him.

As Bastian reads further, he becomes increasingly involved in the story, while the destructive force called “The Nothing” continues to erase Fantasia, leaving only a small fragment remaining. As the main hero, Bastian must fulfill the Childlike Empress’s crucial request: to give her a name. Throughout The NeverEnding Story, Bastian gains strength in overcoming his sadness, and finally being able to do so is profoundly healing for him.

While Frodo and Sam’s journey is ultimately hopeful, The NeverEnding Story offers a complete and satisfying adventure in just one film, lasting around ninety minutes. To get the same feeling of resolution from The Lord of the Rings, you have to watch all three movies.

The NeverEnding Story’s First Antagonist Is a Far Stronger Enemy Than Sauron

What makes the original NeverEnding Story trilogy so scary is its first villain, “The Nothing.” While the second and third movies feature frightening antagonists for Bastian to overcome, “The Nothing” is far more terrifying when compared to even the biggest villain from The Lord of the Rings, Sauron.

The Nothing is a truly frightening villain, particularly for young viewers. This shadowy, nameless force consumes everything, leaving only emptiness behind. Given Bastian’s own grief over losing his mother, the idea of The Nothing erasing everything – as if his mother never existed – is deeply unsettling. It raises the terrifying question of whether the world will forget her, and even if Bastian himself will eventually forget her memory.

Okay, so picture this: Sauron is terrifying, right? But honestly, if “The Nothing” from The NeverEnding Story showed up in Middle-earth, it would be game over – and not just for the Dark Lord. It wouldn’t just defeat him; it would erase him – and everything connected to him. I’m talking no War of the Ring, no heroic journey for Frodo and Sam, no climactic showdown at Mount Doom… just complete and utter oblivion. It’s a chilling thought, because “The Nothing” doesn’t just destroy, it un-makes existence itself. It’s a far more complete and terrifying threat than Sauron ever was.

The NeverEnding Story Sequels Continue Giving Bastian Strength

Throughout The NeverEnding Story trilogy, Bastian matures slowly but steadily, gaining strength from his experiences in Fantastica. He learns valuable lessons about friendship, self-confidence, and protecting those around him, and his difficulties increase as he develops. While The Lord of the Rings also features escalating challenges, it immediately throws incredibly intense obstacles at the characters.

Okay, so in the first film, young Bastian had to wrestle with a really tough internal struggle. The sequel throws a villain at him called ‘The Emptiness,’ and honestly, it’s a clever concept. This time, the threat comes from a sorceress named Xayide, and ‘The Emptiness’ itself isn’t a creature, but a force that thrives on people’s memories. It preys on wishes and desires, and it’s heartbreaking to watch. Xayide manipulates Bastian, convincing him his friends are out to get him, and he just starts making these increasingly wild wishes. Each wish fuels ‘The Emptiness,’ and as it grows, Bastian starts losing the memories that matter to him. It’s a really effective way to show how unchecked desire can destroy you.

Throughout the series, Bastian nearly forgets his parents, but his father manages to join him within the story, saving their memories. By the third movie, Bastian is starting high school and has a new stepsister. Unfortunately, the final film wasn’t well-received by critics, who felt it lacked the magic of the first two.

Bastian often faced bullies, so the third movie’s focus on a group of high school bullies – led by Jack Black – was a surprising turn. It also cleverly connected the magical world of Fantasia with everyday life, highlighting the potential danger of the Auryn if misused. Overall, the three films create a fantastic trilogy and are generally more suitable for families than Peter Jackson’s The Lord of the Rings.

How LOTR Compares to The NeverEnding Story as a Trilogy

It’s hard to compare the Lord of the Rings trilogy to The NeverEnding Story – they’re fundamentally different experiences. While both are fantastic fantasy adventures, they offer very distinct flavors. The NeverEnding Story especially sparks a lifelong love of imagination and a thirst for adventure.

A great thing about The NeverEnding Story trilogy is how relatively short it is. All three movies combined are around 280 minutes long, which is much less time than it takes to watch even the regular The Lord of the Rings trilogy – that one runs for 558 minutes, and that’s before you get to the extended editions!

The extended editions of The Lord of the Rings add nearly three hours of footage, meaning the complete story takes nine to twelve hours to watch. While that’s a long time for anyone to sit still, The NeverEnding Story, even after almost 40 years, is likely to hold viewers’ attention much better than those troublesome hobbits and their cursed ring.

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2025-12-02 02:40