10 Movie Franchises That Embarrassed Their Creators

4. The Neverending Story

1984's fantasy film The NeverEnding Story was adapted by Wolfgang Petersen from Michael Ende's 1979 novel, and was met with considerable push-back from Ende himself, who felt the script deviated too far from the themes and vision of his source material.

Ende asked the producers to either change the film's title or stop production altogether, and when they refused, he unsuccessfully sued. After it was released, he went on to call it "revolting" and a "gigantic melodrama of kitsch, commerce, plush and plastic."

Ende then sued the German production company behind the film for breach of contract, claiming his "moral and artistic existence [was] at stake." Lofty words.

Ultimately Ende never got to see The NeverEnding Story given a faithful adaptation in his time, with the 1984 film nevertheless receiving positive reviews and getting two terrible sequels.

Numerous attempts have been made to acquire the rights for a remake in recent years, yet it doesn't take much reading between the lines to presume that Ende's estate might be taking a cautious approach this time around.