The 33 best phrases from “The Neverending Story”

The endless story is a fantasy novel by Michael Ende, published in 1979. It was originally published in German with the title Die unendliche Geschichte and it was a great success. Given its popularity, it was translated into English and other languages, at which point it achieved worldwide fame. Today we bring together the best phrases of The endless story to pay tribute to him.

Many know the novel from its 1984 film adaptation.. It has since had dozens of adaptations to the big screen, not to mention audiobooks, plays, animated series, comics and even authorized and unauthorized novels.

The best phrases from “The Neverending Story”

Michael Ende published a dozen works, although none of them achieved as much international popularity as The endless story. He has been one of the most popular children’s science fiction and fantasy authors of the 20th century, so His titles have been published in dozens of languages ​​and have sold millions of copies..

We leave you with the best phrases of The endless story accompanied by curiosities.

1. “There are many kinds of joy, but they all lead to one: the joy of being loved.”

The first translation into English was made in 1983. This was not done for free, since the work had topped the list of best-selling books for 113 days. Der Spiegel.

2. “Strange as it may seem, horror loses its power to scare when it is repeated too often.”

The original edition was published in red and green. In red were the plots that alluded to the human world, in green the plots that took place in fantasy land. The illustrations also followed this dynamic.

3. “Without the past you cannot have the future.”

The work has been published in about 40 languages ​​and sold nearly 10 million copies.

4. “Like all true transformations it was as slow and gentle as the growth of a plant.”

It has had several film adaptations. The most popular has been the trilogy first released in 1984. The first installment was a commercial successnot to mention the most expensive production in history made outside the United States and the Soviet Union.

5. “There are men who risk their lives to climb a mountain. Nobody, not even themselves, knows how to explain why.”

This adaptation, the trilogy, further promoted the novel’s success among non-German audiences. The last installment of the trilogy was released in 1994 and differs in plot from the original work.

6. “Human passions are a mystery, the same thing happens to children as to adults. Those who get carried away by them cannot explain them. And those who have not lived them cannot understand them.”

Despite the applause from the public and critics, the author did not show slight sympathy for the adaptation. In fact, he refused to have his name shown in the opening credits.

7. “And joy filled him from head to toe, joy of living and joy of being himself.”

In the Ivory Tower scene, in the film adaptation, several cameos of fantasy characters appear. Among them you can see Yoda, C-3PO, Mickey Mouse, ET and Gumby.

8. “I would like to know what really happens in a book when it is closed. Naturally, inside there are only letters printed on the paper, but nevertheless something must happen, because when I open it a whole story suddenly appears.”

Given the technological limitations of the time, many of the mythical scenes from the novel are not included in the film adaptation.

9. “Wishes cannot be summoned or withheld at will. They come from a deeper interior than good or bad intentions. And they appear without warning.”

The German version is seven minutes longer compared to the American version. This also varies in terms of the musical score.

10. “Some people think that their only hope for happiness lies in being someone else, and they spend their entire lives traveling from one place to another.”

The tape took a whole year to record, contrary to the three months that were planned. The production also far exceeded the initial budget.

11. “When it comes to controlling humans, there is no better instrument than lies.”

Nowadays, the majority of people who approach the novel are adults. In fact, The average age of its readers ranges between 18 and 34 years old..

12. “When and how something is done for someone matters a lot.”

The album wooden heart by the American band Listener is partially inspired by the novel, both in its characters and in its plot.

13. “He’s a good guy. If only he weren’t completely crazy!”

Between 2003 and 2004, several sequels were published, inspired by the characters and plots, but with a different plot. In total there were six novels, which were published through the publishing house AVA Internacional.

14. “What he had hoped for turned out to be his downfall and what he had hated, his salvation.”

The work has been adapted around the world to theater, opera, ballet and musical productions. The main ones have been made in Canada, the United States and Germany.

15. “Without memory, how are you going to find your way back to where you came from?”

In Canada, several adaptations have also been made for television series. The first and most important one dates back to 1995, and had a total of 26 episodes.

16. “Until that moment I had always wanted to be someone different from him, but I didn’t want to change.”

Several adaptations of The endless story for video games. The first of them was launched in 1985 for the Atari 800, the Commodore 64 and the Spectrum, among others.

17. “Humans live by beliefs, and beliefs can be manipulated.”

Michael Ende was already an established writer before publishing The endless story. His success came with his first novel, Jim Button and Luke the Machinist (1960).

18. “Nothing can happen more than once, but all things must happen one day.”

In total, Ende published 5 novels and a dozen stories for children. She also published stories for adult audiences, plays, poems and essays.

19. “Maybe all the people who say ghosts don’t exist are just afraid to admit that they do.”

The endless story is very popular in Japan, partly because the author himself was fascinated by the country. Many of his works, including this one, have direct allusions to his culture.

20. “My will can control anything that is empty.”

The work has been analyzed from different points of view. Religious, Jungian and even prophetic symbologies have been sought.

21. “A person’s reason for doing a good deed is as important as the action itself.”

The novel has not lost interest despite the passing of the years. In part this is due to its adaptations, which serve as an introduction to the more than 400-page book. To name just one recent example, It was adapted to the Stratford Festival in 2019 by David S. Craig.

22. “He felt very alone, but there was a kind of pride in his loneliness.”

It is currently considered a classic of children’s and youth literature. The phrases of The endless story They show why.

23. “He had never been willing to believe that life had to be as gray and boring as people said.”

In the beginning it was thought of as a work that would not exceed 100 pages and would be written in a couple of months. In the end it took more than two years to write and it exceeded 400 pages..

24. “Once someone dreams a dream, they cannot simply cease to exist. But if the dreamer can’t remember it, what happens to him?

As expected, aesthetic details increased production costs. These details were maintained in almost all translations, something that did not hinder the sales of the book at all.

25. “What I have started I must finish. I’ve gone too far to turn back. Regardless of what may happen, I have to move forward.”

Very few publishers choose to publish the novel in black and white. This to preserve the essence of the original edition.

26. “I longed to be loved just the way I was. Good or bad, handsome or ugly, smart or stupid, with all his flaws, or possibly because of them.

The first edition had 20,000 copies, although these were sold out in the first weeks. A total of 15 editions were published during the first 3 years, which accumulated more than a million copies.

27. “A story can be new and yet speak of the past. The past comes into existence with history.”

Ende never confirmed or denied the interpretations made about his work. He did not give further opinions on the matter either.

28. “Some people are so determined to win a game of chance that they lose everything they own.”

When the film adaptation had already begun, Ende tried to void the rights contract. This is because he did not like that the script strayed so far from the original story. Because he was facing a million-dollar lawsuit, he chose to withdraw from the project.

29. “Only the correct name gives beings and things their reality. “A wrong name makes everything unreal.”

Special versions of the work have been published for Germany, Japan and the United States. Some of these with unpublished chapters that have not been translated into other languages.

30. “You want something, you’ve wanted it for years, and you’re sure you want it, as long as you know you can’t have it.”

The book’s presentation received both positive and negative reviews. Some considered it a piece of art in itself, others as very colorful and in bad taste.

31. “Nothing is lost, everything is transformed.”

The original edition of the work was published in hardcover and not in paperback. According to the author, his intention was for the book to be as similar as possible to the book that Bastian steals from Mr. Coreander.

32. “The power to manipulate beliefs is the only thing that counts.”

Michael Ende died in 1995 from stomach cancer. The disease had been diagnosed only a year earlier.

33. “You must live your story.”

We finish our best phrases The never ending story suggesting that you relive the characters, the plot and the argument of this incredible work that today is already a classic among children and adults. Don’t be afraid to check out all of their adaptations, especially those that aren’t as popular. This story continues to be endless…

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