Alice in Wonderland influenced Die unendliche Geschichte (The NeverEnding Story)

The Neverending Story was influenced by Alice's Adventures in Wonderland through its use of a child protagonist entering a separate fantasy world governed by symbolic rather than realistic logic. Both novels present the journey as one of personal discovery, with encounters that challenge the protagonist's understanding of identity and reality. Michael Ende also adopted Lewis Carroll's approach of using fantasy to explore philosophical and psychological ideas instead of focusing solely on adventure, although The Neverending Story develops these themes in its own distinct way.