A replica of Falkor, the famous lucky dragon from the classic 1984 movie The Neverending Story, has become a viral sensation after the character’s giant headrest turned up in a New Jersey vintage store.
The store, Rascal Salvage Vintage in High Bridge, about 50 miles west of New York City, was able to acquire the game before its first birthday after owner Michele Iervolino saw it on a Facebook group.
“Dreams come true,” the store wrote with the first photo with the model of the beast on Instagram.
The anniversary party that showcased the giant head drew more than 250 people, and the store’s Instagram account is loved by celebrities like Khloe Kardashian and Diplo.
“He really is a magical creature,” Iervolino said. What we didn’t realize was that so many people would drive so far to come… We were really touched and grateful and blown away.”
A replica of Falkor, the famous lucky dragon from the 1984 classic film The Neverending Story, has become a viral sensation after the character’s giant prop head turned up in a New Jersey vintage store
Michael Ende’s NeverEnding Story novel was first published in German in 1979, with the first English-language version appearing in 1983, a year before the 1984 film directed by Wolfgang Petersen.
The film tells the story of a 10-year-old boy, Bastian, who escapes from his lonely, difficult life into a fantasy world where he can save a beautiful princess and destroy the forces of evil with the help of the dragon Falkor. voiced by Alan Oppenheimer.
The film spawned the 1990 sequel The NeverEnding Story II: The Next Chapter, which used the second half of the book, and the 1994 sequel The NeverEnding Story III, which was not based on the books but featured a young Jack Black.
There were a number of TV movies and a short-lived TV show based on the book, though no new IP has been based on it in nearly two decades.
Iervolino and fiancée/co-owner Robert Schorr treated their guests by putting a step stool behind the head for their guests to pretend to ride the dragon and they even pulled out an oversized toothbrush for them to brush its teeth with.
“All day long people just drove by and honked and called his name,” Iervolino said NJ Advanced Media.
The model is 1.80m tall from his nose to the back of his head, about 1.50m tall and 2.50m tall.
It’s the project of New Jersey artist Elizabeth Lieb, who runs Maker Space in nearby Fairfield with her husband, Graham Clarke.
The store, Rascal Salvage Vintage in High Bridge, about 50 miles west of New York City, was able to acquire the game before its first birthday after owner Michele Iervolino saw it on a Facebook group
The store, Rascal Salvage Vintage in High Bridge, about 50 miles west of New York City, was able to acquire the game before its first birthday after owner Michele Iervolino saw it on a Facebook group
The film tells the story of a 10-year-old boy, Bastian, who escapes from his lonely, difficult life into a fantasy world where he can save a beautiful princess and destroy the forces of evil with the help of the dragon Falkor. voiced by Alan Oppenheimer
The pair originally wanted to create the model to take to a Burning Man-inspired festival in Miami.
Lieb and Clarke first met at the original Burning Man. They are thrilled with the response to Falkor, wherever the model has gone.
“It was absolutely amazing, it’s everything I’ve ever wanted from the project,” says Lieb, 43, who moonlights as a real estate developer.
“It’s definitely just that fun of exploring, it brings you right back… seeing him in the storage room is just so funny.”
The pair eventually created three, one of which is still with Rascal, another at their headquarters in Fairfield, and a third in storage in Nevada.
Iervolino and fiancée/co-owner Robert Schorr (pictured) treated their guests by putting a step behind the head so their guests could pretend to ride the dragon and they even pulled out an oversized toothbrush to brush his teeth
The model is 1.80m tall from his nose to the back of his head, about 1.50m tall and 2.50m tall
Falkor will remain in New Jersey as the honored guest of a screening of the film on August 5 before moving to a miniature golf course on Long Island
“We’ve had several requests to buy one,” says Lieb, also from France. “It’s wild.”
They claim that the wife of one of the film’s original producers thanked them for their work.
Falkor will remain in New Jersey as the honored guest of a screening of the film on August 5 before moving to a miniature golf course on Long Island.
The owner plans to build out the rest of the body, to make Falkor part of the job.