List of The Neverending Story characters

There are many characters in the 1979 novel The Neverending Story by Michael Ende and its film and television adaptations.

Bastian Balthazar Bux is described as a lonely boy, about 10 or 12 years old, who is raised by his father and still mourning the sudden death of his mother (she died of an unspecified illness). He is considered a dreamer, who is shunned by other children due to his immense imagination. During a visit to an antique bookstore, he steals a curious-looking book titled The Neverending Story, and upon reading it finds himself drawn into the story. Halfway through the book, Bastian becomes a character in The Neverending Story, in a world called Fantastica (also called "Fantasia" in the films).

As the story progresses, Bastian slowly loses his memories of the real world as his wishes carry him throughout Fantastica and change him into a different person. Deluded by the witch Xayide, Bastian moves to the Ivory Tower and tries to have himself proclaimed Emperor. The ceremony is interrupted by Atreyu, who is nearly killed by Bastian. Eventually, Bastian realizes that he is beginning to lose himself, and starts a desperate quest for his one true desire. In the end, he forgets his name. With the help of Falkor and Atreyu, he manages to return to the human world with the capability of loving, and brings the Water of Life to his father, curing him of his melancholy. Bastian and Coreander exchange tales of their adventures in Fantastica, and Coreander reveals that a person can return to Fantastica as many times as they can think of new names for the benevolent Childlike Empress.

In the Hallmark miniseries Tales from the Neverending Story, it is mentioned to Xayide, by the Great Turtle (Morla), that Bastian is not the only chosen one. The identity of the other child remains unclear throughout the remainder of the series, until Bastian is tricked upon rereading a chapter (after Xayide had caused her own demise by reading from the book) by his classmate Fallon, with whom he had started to bond. Thus, he finds out that Fallon is the other "Chosen One".

Bastian has been portrayed by five different actors:

Atreyu (German spelling: Atréju) is the protagonist of the mysterious book that Bastian reads. He is a young green-skinned warrior from the Grassy Plain. His parents were killed by a Purple Buffalo soon after he was born, and his entire village raised him. His name means "son of all" in his native language. He is summoned by the Childlike Empress to save the land of Fantasia by finding a cure for her illness and given Auryn, an amulet that makes whoever wears it the Childlike Empress' herald. During the quest to find a cure, he meets Falkor the luckdragon, who becomes his steed after the death of his horse Artax.

Bastian, reading Atreyu's story in the real world, experiences everything Atreyu does; this proves Fantasia's solution and the Empress' cure, in bringing Bastian to Fantasia to give the Empress a new name. Atreyu plays a prominent role in the second half of the novel, as Bastian travels Fantasia far and wide as its savior. They quickly become friends, but as Bastian continues to use Auryn, he becomes arrogant and gradually loses his memories. When Bastian has lost even his name, Atreyu and Falkor offer favorable testimony to the powers in Auryn, who allow Bastian's return to the human world. With their friendship restored, Atreyu promises to finish the stories Bastian has begun in Fantasia.

In the 1984 film The Neverending Story, the character of Atreyu is played by Noah Hathaway. His skin is ultimately not olive green as described in the novel; though it was attempted to do this through makeup, it never made it to the final production. As such, his people were ultimately called the Plains People instead of Greenskins. The character returns in The NeverEnding Story II: The Next Chapter, played by Kenny Morrison. In the 1995 animated show The Neverending Story, Atreyu (voiced by Dominic Zamprogna) has a younger sister named Saiya (voiced by Ashley Taylor Tickell) and his outward appearance has been patterned after Noah Hathaway from the first film, although this version has green skin like his novel version. In the 2001 Hallmark Channel miniseries, Tales from the Neverending Story, he is portrayed by Tyler Hynes and the character's people are called the Woodland People. He is shown to have a romantic relationship with a young aviator called "Fly Girl", and to be something of a village innocent.