''The Neverending Story'' is an

animated television series An animated series is a set of Animation, animated works with a common series title, usually related to one another. These episodes should typically share the same main characters, some different secondary characters and a basic theme. Series can ...

, produced by CineVox Entertainment and animated by

Ellipse Animation Ellipsanime (formerly known as Le Studio Ellipse, Ellipse Programme and Ellipse Animation) is a French animation studio that produces television programs. It was founded in 1987. In February 2000 it merged with Expand SA; Expand sold the company t ...

and Canadian

Nelvana Limited Nelvana Enterprises, Inc. (; previously known as Nelvana Limited, sometimes known as Nelvana Animation and simply Nelvana or Nelvana Communications) is a Canadian animation studio and entertainment company owned by Corus Entertainment. Founded ...

. It aired for one season (1995–1996) on

HBO Home Box Office (HBO) is an American premium television network, which is the flagship property of namesake parent subsidiary Home Box Office, Inc., itself a unit owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. The overall Home Box Office business unit is ba ...

, and ran for 26 episodes. In Canada, it also aired on Family Channel. The series is loosely based on

Michael Ende Michael Andreas Helmuth Ende (12 November 1929 – 28 August 1995) was a German writer of fantasy and children's fiction. He is known for his epic fantasy ''The Neverending Story'' (with its 1980s film adaptation and a 1995 animated television ...

's book, ''

The Neverending Story ''The Neverending Story'' (german: Die unendliche Geschichte) is a fantasy novel by German writer Michael Ende, published in 1979. The first English translation, by Ralph Manheim, was published in 1983. The novel was later adapted into several f ...

'' (1979).

Plot

A young boy named Bastian helps yet again the

Childlike Empress This article lists character information from the 1979 novel ''The Neverending Story'' by Michael Ende and the film adaptations of the same name. Bastian Balthazar Bux Bastian Balthazar Bux is a shy and bookish boy, 10 or 11 years old, who ...

and her people of Fantasia, an imagination land that can be accessed and influenced through a magic neverending book called The Neverending Story, because the horrifying Nothing and other villains like the evil sorceress Xayide still threaten it. In the process, Bastian learns valuable lessons and gains many magical friends like the wooden Bark Troll, the luckdragon

Falkor This article lists character information from the 1979 novel ''The Neverending Story'' by Michael Ende and the film adaptations of the same name. Bastian Balthazar Bux Bastian Balthazar Bux is a shy and bookish boy, 10 or 11 years old, who ...

and many others.

Differences between the TV series and the film

In the animated series, the Nothing is a recurring villain. The Nothing is portrayed as a hole with evil red eyes, which belongs to that of a white wolf, and is the television version of

Gmork This article lists character information from the 1979 novel ''The Neverending Story'' by Michael Ende and the film adaptations of the same name. Bastian Balthazar Bux Bastian Balthazar Bux is a shy and bookish boy, 10 or 11 years old, who ...

. The evil sorceress Xayide, unlike in the first sequel film, wears green robes with an eye mask with yellow slits. In the original film, her face is created by a special magical cream. The Rockbiter, in the latter two sequel films (including the third film), actually has a wife and a son, Junior. His wife and son appear in the series as well.

Cast and characters

Janet-Laine Green Janet-Laine Green (born December 31, 1951) is a Canadian actress, film director, director, film producer, producer and teacher, active for over 25 years. Best known for her roles in ''She's the Mayor'', ''Seeing Things (TV series), Seeing Things'' ...

as Xayide *

Dominic Zamprogna Dominic Zamprogna (, ; born April 21, 1979) is a Canadian actor and voice artist. He is perhaps best known for his roles on the television series '' Edgemont'', ''Battlestar Galactica'' and ''General Hospital''. Early life Zamprogna was born in ...

Atreyu Atreyu is an American metalcore band from Yorba Linda, California, formed in 1998. The band currently consists of clean vocalist Brandon Saller, guitarists Dan Jacobs and Travis Miguel, bassist and unclean vocals, unclean vocalist Marc "Porter ...

Chris Wiggins Christopher John Wiggins (January 13, 1931 – February 19, 2017) was an English-born Canadian actor. Career He started out as a banker in his home country before he began his acting career in Canada, where he moved in 1952. Wiggins is probably ...

Carl Conrad Coreander This article lists character information from the 1979 novel ''The Neverending Story'' by Michael Ende and the film adaptations of the same name. Bastian Balthazar Bux Bastian Balthazar Bux is a shy and bookish boy, 10 or 11 years old, who ...

* Christopher Bell as

Bastian Balthazar Bux This article lists character information from the 1979 novel ''The Neverending Story'' by Michael Ende and the film adaptations of the same name. Bastian Balthazar Bux Bastian Balthazar Bux is a shy and bookish boy, 10 or 11 years old, who ...

Neil Crone Neil Crone (born May 29, 1960) is a Canadian actor, comedian, writer and motivational speaker. He is known for portraying Fred Tupper in ''Little Mosque on the Prairie'', Jerry Whitehall in '' Cube 2: Hypercube'' and the voices of Gordon, Diesel ...

as Nimbly *

Marilyn Lightstone Marilyn Lightstone (born 28 June 1940) is a Canadian stage, film and television actress and writer. Biography Early life and education Born in Montreal, Quebec, Marilyn Lightstone graduated from Baron Byng High School in 1957. She went on t ...

as Ygramul *

Benedict Campbell Benedict Campbell (born June 12, 1957) is a Canadian actor whose work has consisted primarily of providing voices for television cartoons, video games and acting on stage, particularly at Canada's Stratford Festival between 1965 and 2000. Early i ...

as Shadow Goblin * John McGrath as Blubb *

Lisa Yamanaka Lisa Jai Yamanaka is a Canadian actress. She is known as the voice of Wanda Li in ''The Magic School Bus'' and Yoko in ''Timothy Goes to School''. Yamanaka is also known for her work on ''Babar'' and ''Resident Evil 2''. She is also credited as L ...

as The

, Junior Rockbiter * Richard Binsley as Barktroll * James Rankin as Three Head * John Stocker as Gluckuk, Gluckuk's racing snail * Colin Fox as Large Head *

Pam Hyatt Pamela "Pam" Hyatt (born April 9, 1936) is a Canadian actress who played Noble Heart Horse in 1986's '' The Care Bears Movie II: A New Generation'' and the voice of Kaede in the English version of ''Inuyasha'', guest-starred in USA Network's '' ...

as Morla * Ellen Ray Hennessy as Southern Oracle *

Dan Hennessey Dan Hennessey (born August 25)https://www.behindthevoiceactors.com/Dan-Hennessey/ is a Canadian voice director and voice actor who, early on in his career, performed with a children's comedy troupe The Zoo Factory (with John Stocker, Bruce Gord ...

as South Wind Giant * Gary Krawford as Graograman the fire lion * Howard Jerome as

the luckdragon *

Don Francks Don Harvey Francks (February 28, 1932 – April 3, 2016), also known by his stage name Iron Buffalo, was a Canadian actor, musician and singer. Career Don Harvey Francks was born on February 28, 1932, and was adopted shortly after his birth. H ...

Wayne Robson Wayne Robson (April 29, 1946 – April 4, 2011) was a Canadian television, stage, voice and film actor known for playing the part of Mike Hamar, an ex-convict and sometime thief, on the Canadian sitcom '' The Red Green Show'' from 1993 to 2006, a ...

as Engywook * Barbara Byrne as Urgl *

Len Carlson Len Carlson (September 2, 1937 – January 26, 2006) was a Canadian voice actor who has voiced various characters on many animated television series from the 1960s onward, an occasional live-action TV actor, and a Kraft Canada TV pitchman dur ...

as Vermin * Geoffrey Bowes as Barney Bux *

Harvey Atkin Elliot Harvey Atkin (18 December 1942 – 18 July 2017) was a Canadian actor best known for his roles as Morty Melnick in ''Meatballs'', Sergeant Ronald Coleman in ''Cagney & Lacey'', and for voicing King Koopa in ''The Super Mario Bros. Super Sh ...

as Rockbiter, Mr. Rockchewer *

Jayne Eastwood Jayne Eastwood (born December 17, 1946), also credited as Jane Easton or Jane Eastwood, is a Canadian actress and comedian. She is best known for her film roles as Anna-Marie Biddlecoff in the comedy film ''Finders Keepers'' (1984), Judy the Wai ...

as Mrs. Rockchewer

Episodes

Telecast and home media

''The Neverending Story'' was first aired on

in 1995 until 1996. Repeats were aired on HBO's sister channel until 2005. In Canada, it also aired on Family Channel. Internationally, the show was aired on Nickelodeon (UK and Latin America), Canal+ (France) and Kindernet (The Netherlands). * In 1996, a single episode of "The Neverending Story: The Animated Adventures of Bastian Balthazar Bux" was released by HBO Home Entertainment (under HBO Kids Video branch). * In 2005, the first three episodes of ''The Neverending Story: The Animated Adventures'' were released on DVD by FUNimation Entertainment, LTD. (under its Our Time Family Entertainment children's/pre-school entertainment label) in a compilation entitled "''Bastian to the Rescue''". * As of 2022, all episodes were currently available on

Amazon Prime Amazon Prime is a paid subscription service from Amazon which is available in various countries and gives users access to additional services otherwise unavailable or available at a premium to other Amazon customers. Services include same, one- ...

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Neverending Story, The 1990s Canadian animated television series 1995 Canadian television series debuts 1996 Canadian television series endings 1990s French animated television series 1995 French television series debuts 1996 French television series endings 1990s German animated television series 1995 German television series debuts 1996 German television series endings 1990s British children's television series 1995 British television series debuts 1996 British television series endings British children's animated adventure television series British children's animated fantasy television series Canadian children's animated adventure television series Canadian children's animated fantasy television series French children's animated adventure television series French children's animated fantasy television series German children's animated adventure television series German children's animated fantasy television series HBO original programming Family Channel (Canadian TV network) original programming ProSieben original programming Works based on The Neverending Story English-language television shows German-language television shows British television shows based on children's books Canadian television shows based on children's books French television shows based on children's books Animated television series about children Television series by Nelvana Canal+ original programming