The Neverending Story of an Almería beach that became Fantasia
Friday, December 17, 2021 @ 3:00 PM
BEING able to save the world through your own imagination – and getting creatures from a fantasy parallel universe to 'sort out' the bullies who are making your life impossible – could be part of every adult's dream as well as that of children, and if you were one of those children in the early 1980s or the parent or grandparent of one, this scenario will sound familiar.
This is far more than just a beach. It's part of a magical world where furry dog-dragons provide transport, medallions protect you from harm, and a Childlike Empress can summon a saviour via a book (photo: Almería Film Office)
Michael Ende's kids' novel The Neverending Story, published as Die Unendliche Geschichte in his native German, is now 42 years old, and the screen adaptation 37 years old, but although the little people starring in it are now in or getting close to their 50s, it's still a joy to watch and does not appear to have aged a day when it graces the TV almost every Christmas.
And if you live in Spain, you might have been tempted to pop over to visit the set, unless you didn't know you could find it here; now you do, though, that's your next road trip worked out for you.
Fantasia and its fantastic beasts and humans
For those who never got to read the book or see the film, the parallel universe in question is called Fantasia, the young lad who saves it is Bastian Bux, who finds out it is in danger after 'borrowing' a 'magical' book from a shop where he shelters to escape the school thugs chasing him.
Read more at thinkSPAIN.com