You simply cannot have a film called The Neverending Story and neglect to follow up with a sequel. And even though author Michael Ende was none too pleased with the creative liberties the original film had taken, the worldwide box office receipts made his opinion a moot point. And since the original film was based on only the first half of the book, there was still a lot more story to be told in the 1990 follow up, The Neverending Story II: The Next Chapter.

This installment finds the young hero Bastian (this time played by Jonathan Brandis) still having problems coping with the real world. He doesn’t get along with his widowed father and the boys at school still taunt him mercilessly. When he fails to muster up the courage for a high dive during swim team tryouts, he retreats back to the one place he feels welcome – within the pages of The Neverending Story.

But things are not well in Fantasyland. An evil enchantress named Xayide is threatening the throne of The Childlike Empress and only Basian can save the day. Teaming up once again with the brave warrior, Atreyu, they take on the evil one, this time bolstered by Bastian’s power to make wishes come true. But with every power there is a consequence, and in the case, Bastian must forfeit one of his memories each time he weilds his wishmaking ability. Realizing this weakness, Xayide sends Nimbly, a bird-like creature to see if they can tempt Bastian to use his power repeatedly – to the point that he wipes out the memory of his current mission. Even with the Rock Biter and Luck Dragon’s help, Bastian certainly has his work cut out for him.

Filmed within plenty of exotic locales including Italy, France and Argentina, The Neverending Story II: The Next Chapter managed to do respectfully at the box office - not quite as much as the original but enough to keep the franchise alive for a part three. Of course, one of the reasons why the film did as well as it did may have something to do with the fact that Bugs Bunny fans were treated to the theatrical short, Box Office Bunny, before the film – the first new Bugs Bunny short in 26 years.