This movie is geared for those who are 13 or younger OR for the inner child which resides in each of us. Very few chapter twos of stories are as good as the original. This one is no exception. You can, however, set you children down in front of this movie with little worry and a bunch of movie snacks. It is a popcorn pass around movie for the family to watch. It is an excellent children's movie, although the plot is highly predictable,but enchanting. The music and scenery make it worthwhile to see. Let your child and inner child relax and watch a nice movie. This is a good movie for a rainy afternoon when horror flicks are not called for.

This movie came out in the early 90s, and, just like the first Never Ending Story, and is still super cheesy! There was an improvement with with some of the costumes, especially Nimbly. He seemed less stiff and more believable as a real character.Like the first Never Ending Story, this movie was extremely creative. The rock biter, Atreyu the Indian Brave, and Falkor the Luck Dragon go beyond Westernized themes into something more creative and more unique. The costumes were very unique too, and it was fun to imagine with again. Even though I was too little to remember when this came out, I'm very sure kids were excited to see the characters again in a new movie when it came out.This sequel was more menacing than the first. Especially the prevalent theme of Bastian loosing his memories, even forgetting his dead mother. Still, if you read the book (like I had to in high school) this happens in the book, so this is very true to the original story. Because of this theme, I do not think this movie is appropriate for little children.I liked the message behind both Never Ending Story movies. Instead of nothing there should be beauty, instead of emptiness there should be love.This movie is a must for adolescents and fantasy fans.

There are so many parts and scenes that are not in the book. Plus there isn't much of the book in this movie. The First one captured the book perfectly and the sequel destroyed the second half of the book. If I were to guess the second movie put in maybe 5% of the book in the movie and about 95% of the book in the first movie. Now there was no 2 or 3rd book so why make a 3rd movie. Finally I think they should remake the second movie. The neverending story is my all time favorite book it destroyed me when they distroyed it. So I propose a redo. Also bad acting and very bad role choices. I think they should have kept the same actors and same directors. I know I am not the only one who feels this way. It seems the director of the second movie skimmed the book and the director of the first movie read the book was able to capture the book in every detail. So they should try again with the second one and capture every detail who cares how long it takes or how long takes to find the right cast to do the movie just do it right.

I recently bought this movie along with the original Neverending Story on a one disc "Double Feature", so naturally I watched both movies back to back. I remember liking both movies when I was a kid, and I especially recall liking this movie when it came out. Jonathan Brandis was a popular child actor back in the early '90's (although not nearly as popular as Macaulay Culkin or Elijah Wood), and John Wesley Shipp was most famous for playing The Flash. I remember liking this movie because I liked these two leads. As I watch it again in my adulthood though, I can see it hasn't aged well with time.The first NeverEnding Story, on the other hand, has aged surprisingly well. Despite having no-name actors in it, it was a very intriguing movie with an original villain (Nothingness). Its sequel appeared to be more formulaic, and the dialogue spoken by most of the human actors was too wooden and unconvincing.I had to laugh also at the main villain in this movie, Xayide (played by Clarissa Burt). I thought it was clever how her and her army of giants were empty inside, which was a clever homage to the original Nothingness that took over Fantasia. However, Xayide seemed more like a jaded runway fashion model from Milan than an actual convincing villain. I'm assuming the character of Bastian was supposed to be ten or eleven, because if he was any older than twelve, he could have used his wishes to have his way with her (i.e. "I wish your clothes would disappear"; "I wish for a camera"). It just didn't seem that the Xayide character created enough conflict, at least not to me.The movie probably would have been better if at least some of the original main actors (not to mention the director, Wolfgang Peterson) were brought back, and the film was made no later than three years after the original movie. It also probably would have eliminated the plot holes better if it has stuck to the original story. For example, Bastian never actually met Atreyu in the original movie, so how did Atreyu know who Bastian was? Also, if every wish Bastian made erased his memories, how did he still know who Atreyu was? Plus, it was never fully explained how the Empty Villains got rid of all the books in the world, or how human in the real world forgot books ever existed. Not to mention that the latter conflict was never resolved in the end.The "Next Chapter" of the NeverEnding Story could have been better in a lot of ways, but was enjoyable in a lot of other ways. I thought the reappearance of Falcor and the Rockeater (and son) was worth watching the movie for alone.