Film Credits

The NeverEnding Story II: The Next Chapter

Screenplay by: Karin Howard

Directed by: George Miller

Starring: Jonathan Brandis, Kenny Morrison, Clarissa Burt, John Wesley Shipp, Martin Umbach, Alexandra Johnes

Box-Office Bunny

Story by: Charles Carney

Directed by: Darrell Van Citters

Starring: ???

Review

While we really liked The NeverEnding Story, we found that its sequel, The NeverEnding Story II: The Next Chapter, featured none of the magic that made the first film so enjoyable. This time around we get a different director (George Miller, who is not the same George Miller of Mad Max fame), different actors, and a screenplay that is heartless, dreadfully constructed and just plain stupid.

The film opens with Bastian (Jonathan Brandis) not getting along with his moronic father, Barney (John Wesley-Shipp). He winds up getting hold of The NeverEnding Story once again and discovers that the storyline has changed. The Childlike Empress (Alexandra Johnes) is held prisoner by sorceress Xayide (Clarissa Burt), who wants to turn Fantasia into a land of evil. It's up to Bastian to save the Empress and Fantasia, and he does so with the help of Atreyu (Kenny Morrison), Falkor the dragon, and the Rock Biter. Bastian also has a magical pendant that makes his every wish come true, but Xayide has a "memory machine" that makes him lose one precious memory each time he makes a wish (so he'll eventually become a mindless crony obeying Xayide's every wish).

The film may be a piece of crap, but at least the transfer looks great. The focus is very sharp and clear, and the colors accurate. The disc has also been letterboxed with an approximate 2.24:1 aspect ratio in order to preserve the Panavision imagery. The CX-encoded digital Dolby surround stereo has a good mix, but once again the music and songs are pretty bad. The disc was pressed at Pioneer and contains a total of 22 chapter markers (indexed on the jacket).

While we don't encourage anyone to subject themselves to the mindless The NeverEnding Story II: The Next Chapter, there is a single reason why you may wish to obtain the disc. It opens up with the terrific Box-Office Bunny, the first Warner Bros. theatrical cartoon in over 26 years. This 5m short features Bugs Bunny, who finds that a 100-screen Cineminium movie theatre has been built directly over his home. Bugs investigates the matter and proceeds to make life a living hell for theatre manager Elmer Fudd. Daffy Duck is also on the scene, trying to make trouble for Bugs. Colors are exceptionally vivid (some so vivid as to create a haze of video noise), and the short features a nice CX-encoded digital Dolby surround stereo track.