
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: SATURDAY, February 9, 1991                   TAG: 9102090441
SECTION: EXTRA                    PAGE: E-3   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: CHRIS GLADDEN STAFF WRITER
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Medium

`THE NEVERENDING' SEQUEL SLOW GOING

It has been seven years since "The Neverending Story" was released and its young hero is still trying to come to terms with the same problems: accepting the death of his mother, getting along with his dad and overcoming a sense of inadequacy.

In "The Neverending Story II: The Next Chapter," Bastian again uses the magical world of books to escape his problems.

I am instantly prejudiced in favor of any movie that celebrates reading and uses an antiquarian bookstore as its story catalyst. Therefore, I tend to cut this sequel a certain amount of slack. Its story borrows heavily from that of the first picture - same movie, different set designer.

Director George Miller ("The Man from Snowy River") doesn't supply the humor that Wolfgang Petersen brought to the original. Neither does he take the special effects, costumes and fantastic characters another step. For that matter, they seem less imaginative than what the original offered.

This time around, an evil sorceress is determined to erase the dreams and stories that humankind create, thus destroying the land of Fantasia. It's an enchanted place that depends on the human imagination to survive. Her henchmen are lobster-like robots and a not-so-evil bird that is obviously a guy in a chicken suit.

Bastian (John Brandis from the first movie) is summoned to the rescue by a magical book titled "The Neverending Story." When he arrives by boat, he finds his old pals: the Indian Atreyu (Kenny Morrison) and the lovable dragon, which looks more like a flying dog than a dragon.

I liked the first movie well enough but found this one slow going because of its copycat approach and dewy seriousness. The new Bugs Bunny cartoon preceding it - the first in more than 20 years - was much more to my taste.

But, hey, what do I know? The two junior critics who accompanied me gave it high marks. The 3-year-old announced he was ready for another viewing as soon as it ended. And the 8-year-old declared it better than the first.

When it comes to children's movies, I defer to the judgment of my more in-touch colleagues.

`The Neverending Story II': A Warn Brothers picture at Valley View Mall 6 (362-8219) and the Towers Theatre (345-5519). Rated PG for special effects and violence; 95 min.

by CNB