Falkor Reissue
A reissue and update of an early newsletter edition originally sent by Gmail in 2020
Hi everyone! Welcome to May—the best month of the year. I’ve decided to “reissue” a few of my early newsletters, originally sent via Gmail in 2019 and 2020, so they can live here on Substack. So please enjoy (or re-enjoy) this one about Falkor.
But first, a small update: I turned 38 a few days ago, which feels pretty unexceptional. I’ve been making tons of ceramics and will hopefully have a bunch to show you all soon! And—I’m starting school in the fall for social work! So let’s work together before then!
Now onto Falkor,
Originally Written & Sent Jan 2 2020
Something that I’ve always held close to my heart is The Neverending Story. The book, and the 1984 classic movie. Of course, the kid who plays Bastian is a real wet blanket and terribly cast but the robot that plays Falkor — amazing. Falkor is a luck dragon and the 1979 book describes him as such:
Falkor has a graceful elongated body of 43 feet long, 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.
They forgot to mention that he looks a lot like a dog, talks and likes to be scratched behind the ears. I’ve always loved him so much. I dream of him at night and a goal of mine is to visit Munich because that is where the actual Neverending Props are kept. Including the tortoise that is always sneezing.
The movie takes the book's description and renders it like this:
A perfect interpretation imo! Though unfortunately they changed the design for the next two movies (huge mistake). Many NE fans have taken to creating their own versions of Falkor (often taking the form of a Halloween costume or plush friend), which makes Google a treasure trove of amazing images. I often search Falkor and I thought I'd share some of my favourites with you here in Issue 5.
Update written May, 2025
We’ve had a recent resurgence of Falkor and The Neverending Story in pop culture. Six months before the original version of this email was sent Season 3 of Stranger Things ends with Suzie making Dusty sing the theme song with her.
A new movie reboot was announced more than a year ago, but I haven’t seen any updates on it recently. Fingers crossed more puppets than CGI creatures!
And thank you all for your kind words on my last post! It means a lot to me.
Love
Chelsee
Falkor with bowl of Halloween candy is somehow the best and worst Falkor