Falkor reminds me of East Asian dragons, in terms of his appearance and being a luck dragon. But I only see a mention that it has been drawn to look like one. I'm wondering about clear influences or just coincidences.
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3Do you mean Falcor in the book, or Falcor in the movie?– GEdgarCommented Sep 7, 2023 at 18:05
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1I never read the book, info about either or both is cool.– user167426Commented Sep 7, 2023 at 18:09
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5FWIW, in the book, he was even more like an Asian dragon, being leonine rather than canine in appearance. I've seen a few mentions of Ende (the author of the book) saying that Falkor is meant to look like an Asian dragon, but I haven't found an actual quote by him saying as much.– FuzzyBootsCommented Sep 7, 2023 at 18:31
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1 Answer
Film version
The German two-piece documentary History of fantasy contains some remarks from Herman Weigel, one of the screenwriters of The NeverEnding Story.
Early in the second episode there is a narrative commentary saying that Falkor's ancestors are from Asia. This is followed by a comment from Weigel:
Chinese dragons bring luck. Falkor is a saviour. Without him, the whole world saving wouldn't work.
This means that the filmmakers definitely see the film version of Falkor as an Asian-type dragon, although doesn't specify if it's something added in the film or already present in the book.
Book version
Regarding the book I didn't find any sources citing Michael Ende himself. However it should be noted that Falkor's name, appearance and behaviour contain many hints regarding the author's inspirations. This has been summarised on this page:
Falkor’s name in the original German novel is “Fuchur” which was apparently derived from the Japanese word fukuryū. Fuku meaning “happiness, luck” and Ryū meaning “dragon”. And so we have Falkor being the luckdragon in Fantastica. But fukuryū has been mentioned as meaning “hidden dragon” or “crouching dragon” as well.
(...) aside from the meaning of his name, he also shares physical attributes with Japanese dragons. Falkor is long, slender, serpentine, bearded, and a combination of various animals, and has 3 claws on each foot. Where he differs, at least in the film’s depiction, is that he’s covered in fur and has a canine head. Mostly to make him more appealing to the audience. In the book, however, Falkor’s body is covered in pink and white scales and he has an impressive mane around a lion-like head. Falkor was considered pure, warm, and a creature of air, which was why he didn’t need wings in order to fly. He could also spew forth a blue flame when needed.
