Some of the characters in The Neverending Story are evil. A few are conventional monsters, such as the werewolf who tracks Atreyu and the witch who manipulates Bastian, but most of the evil characters are original, interesting, and unique. Although they are potentially harmful, they are not frightening.

When Atreyu confronts Ygramul The Many, he discovers that "the monster was not a single, solid body, but was made up of innumerable small steelblue insects which buzzed like angry hornets."

Death is a possibility and a threat in Fantastica, but important characters do not die. Ygramul stings Atreyu and Falkor, the luckdragon, who then escape through luck and trickery to continue their quest. Violence also exists in Fantastica, but Ende never dwells on it, and he always places it in a clear moral context. Sometimes violence is necessary to right wrongs, but gratuitous violence is never acceptable...