Falkor (also called Fuchur, German, Falcor or Falcore), is a luckdragon and the first dragon in the series. He is one of main characters from The Neverending Story, appearing as the deutragonist/tritagonist.
"Never give up, and good luck will find you."
Falkor is very wise, incredibly optimistic, dignified and a very friendly, sophisticated creature from Fantasia. He gives advice when people have lost hope in many things they set out to do, whether in a quest for what they seek or in some cases just beings have given up altogether and lost faith. Mostly during the Nothing's destruction of Fantasia he helps Atreyu along the way of his quest to stop The Nothing. Falkor's attitude purely comes from his heart, it is proven that his openness to making friends means a lot to everyone he encounters, into which Falkor in return treasures every friendship he has. Falkor never wants to make enemies, only those who are threats to his friends or threats in general towards Fantasia itself.
In the movie there is no knowledge of anyone or anything in Fantasia who has been hostile towards Falkor, only The Nothing and G'mork were his only true foes. In the novel, when Falkor enters the story, he is a captive of Ygramul the Many - a shape-shifting spider/wasp creature.
Although the film doesn't include this storyline, Falkor is dedicated to Atreyu because Atreyu saves his life from Ygramul.
Appearance[]
Falkor has a graceful elongated body of 43 feet long, and is similar in appearance to a Chinese dragon. His whole body is covered in albino light downy/soft fur on the entire length of his body. He also features elegantly shaped paws and tail. Along Falkor's back he is covered in pink and white scales. His eyes are the same color of rubies but often are mistaken for deep brown or oak.
In the novel, he looks very different. In short he is more like a lion dragon, not a dog. Director Wolfgang Petersen wanted to make a friendly-looking creature that his son would find adorable.
Home/Habitat[]
Little is known about Falkor's home or where he goes. He sleeps on the ground or whilst flying. He is a creature of earth, air, water, and fire.
In the novel you read about the beauty of a luckdragon's singing voice.
In non-canon Neverending Story material, Falkor came from Sky Haven in Fantasia, a cloud like land that floats above Fantasia itself and this is where Luck Dragons live as well as this is where they are born.
The Nothing and the destruction of Fantasia[]
Falkor was one of the few beings to survive the first encounters with The Nothing. The Nothing's creation being a result of neglect and forgotten hopes from Mankind's universe. Falkor's first appearance was when he mysteriously came out of a nebulous orange cloud formation, and he soared low over the Swamps of Sadness and to save Atreyu's life before he drowned by succumbing to his sadness. In the process carrying him 9,891 miles to his destination (as a dragon flies). In the meantime The Nothing continued to destroy the Fantasia world and everything looked entirely bleak. Bastian Balthazar Bux, who by that time was deep into reading The Neverending Story book in the school attic, wasn't realizing his own powers over Fantasia. Atreyu and Falkor had become very good friends after he saved his life from the Swamps of Sadness. Atreyu knew he now had a shot at saving Fantasia with Falkor.
The two later decide to journey together to beyond the boundaries of Fantasia from the Southern Oracle's guidance. They soar over mountains, oceans and deserts. However they cannot outrun The Nothing, and is faced with it over the Sea of Possibilities. Falkor and Atreyu were thrown about by The Nothing's incredible power and in the unfortunate result Atreyu fell off Falkor's back with Atreyu plunging hundreds of feet into the ocean and being washed on the beach of a ruined city.
In the novel, however, Atreyu and Falkor are flung about the sky because they end up in the middle of a fierce battle with the Wind Giants from the north, south, east, and west.
On the beach, Atreyu wakes with confusion, realizing he lost the Auryn necklace and begins to accept that without it his mission could not be completed. In complete desperation and worry, Falkor desperately searched the ocean for Atreyu with no success. Falkor took it upon himself to find the Auryn and let it guide him to Atreyu's location. After Atreyu had an encounter with the suffering Rockbiter after he lost his friends due to The Nothing's destructive forces, he travels into the ruins to find paintings drawn up of Atreyu's quest so far - from the beginning at the Ivory Tower, the death of Artax, Morla the Ancient One, the encounter with Falkor, and lastly a dark painting of a giant Wolf.
While this was happening, Falkor took it upon himself to find the Auryn and let it guide him to Atreyu's location. He noticed the Gem sparkling on the sea floor and plunged underwater to retrieve it. After he finds it, he travels back towards Atreyu with little time left. After Atreyu kills the Servant of The Nothing who is the Wolf G'mork, The Nothing unleashes its final and ultimate power to end Fantasia once and for all. Atreyu holds onto a tree for dear life as The Nothing rips away the earth around him with powerful hurricane force winds. Falkor arrives in the split second before the tree gives way and he yet again saves Atreyu's life. After The Nothing finally disintegrates within itself, Fantasia is no more. Falkor and Atreyu were the last survivors of The Nothing. The two fly on in search of the Ivory Tower, where they hope it will still stand. Falkor's deep optimism and the Auryn's guidance pay off when a meteor moves aside and to their happiness, the Tower still stands. As the two land at the Tower, Atreyu knows within him that Falkor will be the next victim if The Nothing still exists. Despite this, Falkor urges Atreyu into the tower by winking and telling him to 'Go on'. Atreyu looks back at Falkor in sadness and proceeds to go inside, leaving Falkor behind for the last time.
A few minutes pass when the Empress and Atreyu talk over what went wrong with the quest and Atreyu had not failed. Meanwhile Bastian starts to believe that he is the successor to Fantasia's future. For some unknown cause, which is possibly another form of The Nothing, meteorites and shooting stars begin to destroy the Ivory Tower and the remaining fragments. It can be assumed Falkor does not survive this terrible onslaught. When the high winds begin to appear again and the Ivory Tower disintegrates, Falkor is nowhere to be seen. Yet when Bastian calls out the Empress' new name, Moonchild, the chaos and destruction comes to an abrupt halt. After Bastian and the Empress talk of the future of Fantasia, Bastian is unsure what to do, yet after a few wishes, Fantasia is re-born. Falkor, Atreyu, Artax, The Rockbiter, Teeny Weeny and his racing snail, The Nighthob and his Stupid Bat, as well as all the other beings and creatures are returned to normal, per Bastian's wishes.
The last appearance of Falkor comes when Bastian and him cross dimensions and go back to his world, to get revenge on the 3 bullies who had given Bastian problems in the beginning. Falkor sees this plan with much delight. As Falkor and Bastian pursue the 3 bullies, Falkor then bursts out with laughter when the 3 boys jump in a dumpster to escape Falkor's charge. They then both head back into Fantasia.
Author Michael Ended was angry with this ending and sued the production crew to have his name removed from the credits. Creatures of Fantasia cannot go outside Fantasia. Only Gmork, the harbinger for The Nothing, was able to do this.
This inconsistency was one of MANY edits made to the script that angered Mr. Ende. Unfortunately he was not able to have the movie title changed, but his name does not appear in the credits as the author of the book, therefore limiting people's knowledge of the novel's very existence!
Tributes[]
- In the 2 May 2021 episode "Bridge Over Troubled Rudy" from Bob's Burgers, Bob Belcher rides what looks like Falkor with Mort's face in the end sequence