The NeverhoOd Chronicles (Part Two) - Return to The Neverhood

Return to The Neverhood's cover art

Released in 2012 by Stunt Records and Stunt Grafx, respectively, Return to The Neverhood - this time written by not by series creator Doug TenNapel, but instead in-house Neverhood Inc. musician, Terry S. Taylor - offers an experimental, artistic, and pridefully pretentious take on the Neverhood's classic bag of tricks; with Christian theming and Play-Doh imagery to the nines, complete with beautiful new art by the aforementioned TenNapel.

However, rather than a point-and-click, a side-scroller, a laser battle, or a failed reboot, Return to The Neverhood is perhaps best described by it's tagline, "a musical fairy tale"; a brand new Neverhood inspired narrative paired with an album's worth of inky, slick, mud-covered tunes. A mixed-media daze of clay cowboys and rusting robots, showing only at the mind's eye.

As a young fan, Return to The Neverhood trudged to life at just the perfect time; I had only discovered the original series the year prior, and as far as I could tell, I was the last living evidence of a Neverhood fanbase. Then - what do you know - out of thin air, radio silence, and a third descriptive phrase, The Neverhood was back! I pre-ordered a physical copy - complete with 19 track CD, 36 page graphic novel, and beautiful thin-plastic slipcase - and, later than sooner, thanks to the horrors of media mail shipping, plunged into the hauntingly abstract tale of faith, fourth walls, and surfin'.

---

The old man ponders an abandoned sculpture

A bearded, heavy-footed old man - modeled lovingly after narrator, Terry S. Taylor, who opens the story with a self-aware introduction to this, his latest dream - wanders down a muddy, wooded path; mumbling to himself as he stumbles upon an abandoned sculpture; distant, yet familiar memories seeming to  pass him by as he ponders it's familiarity.

Entranced, the old man joyfully begins to further the forgotten sculpture. As the sun began to set, the disheveled sculpture grew to a bustling, beautiful world; dotted with buildings, animals, landscapes, and more - as the old man began his crowning achievements; Clay-Guy, and Mud-Gal - bringing life to the mud-clay world.

Clay-Guy awakens

Lord Lurker

Nearby, a half-mechanical, half-clay being, Lord Lurker, watches in hot silence; filled with sickened rage as he plots against the joyous creatures invading the world he thought was his alone.

As further clay residents are created, the people entitle their world The Neverhood; celebrating as the old man - or, as he comes to be known, the sculptor - offers two commandments via letter; To stay within the Neverhood; as they, themselves, were mere clay; and to only consume foods of their own growth; as any others would inflict them with a terrible illness. The people celebrate, and happily carry on.

 

As Clay-Guy and Mud-Gal spent their days falling deeply in love, many Neverhood residents inevitably found themselves drawn to the dark Lord Lurker - promised a life of further pleasures, only to be arrested and enslaved by the cyborg upon arrival to his compound. Determined to capture the entire population of the Neverhood, a large apple  - of Lurker's creation - is left just outside The Neverhood; only to be discovered by Clay-Guy and Mud-Gal, who, in a moment of weakness, immediately mow down the oddly enticing fruit.

As forewarned by the sculptor, the couple begin to deform and dilapidate; Clay-Guy's soft limbs melting to exposed metal armature, as Mud-Gal sprouts a bulbous hunch. 

The lovers

 

Nevertheless, the couple remain deeply embraced in love; eventually regaining some of their features as they inevitably age, easing in to the world around them all but completely corrupted by the influence of Lord Lurker.

 

Soon, a sudden earthquake tears a massive tidal wave across the Neverhood - drowning many of it's residents. As Mud-Gal sits pretty in a high-rise tower, an increasingly cocky and self-centered Clay-Guy - surreptitiously discovering a piece of wood with which he fashions a makeshift surfboard -  narrowly escapes the flood; thanking only himself, with no regard for the sculptor, who, as is revealed, had placed it there.

 

Clay-Guy surfs the tsunami

The narrative briefly halts as the omnipresent Taylor, recalling his dream, peers into himself; apologizing for the somewhat incoherently remembered series of events thus far, as he wistfully mulls upon the world around him. A tall oak catches his gaze; the morning sun beginning to break as the looming, shadowed branches turn to a golden crown of leaves. He reflects upon the futility of fear, having dreaded the tree's foreboding silhouette in the dark of the night - only to see, as the day came, its everlasting, permanent beauty. Overall, he remains pretty confused.

Back in The Neverhood, another apocalyptic event rocks the clay world; a powerful wind thrusting it's way through the vast city; countless lost to the destructive rush of air, sent flying into the sky. Evading the disaster, Clay-Guy and Mud-Gal develop an odd affliction; spewing fire should they as much as open their mouths, let alone scream - inevitably creating a dense wall of fire as they puke flames into thick hurricane around them. Carried by the wind, the wall of flame overtakes Lord Lurker's compound; freeing the enslaved, and destroying Lurker's villainy; yet, ultimately, engulfing the Neverhood.

Clay-Guy's metamorphosis

The sculptor, too, grows ill; stuck in a state of deep, inescapable sleep, as the years quietly pass him by. Eventually awakening, he discovers himself in the world of his own creation; The Neverhood. Wandering through the forest, the sculptor - now greatly aged - comes across the surfboard, forgotten so long ago; beside it, a fishing pole; heading for Neverhood Lake.
 

Mud-Gal, implied to have left the insensitive Clay-Guy, assists in what is left of the city; as nearby Neverhood Lake, a bearded Clay-Guy looms over the shores; staring in awe as a man, perched atop a surf board, grabs fish from the lake with his bare hands - the waters seeming to magically teem with life, despite once being barren. Clay-Guy transforms; half-clay, half-fish, yearning to be caught - struggling to leap into the water below, to be captured by the man. He hesitates with fear, sobbing - Lurker's lingering evils pumping fear throughout his being - before finally - overcome by willpower - taking the plunge; completing the transformation.

 

The last fish caught

As the sculptor pulls his final fish of the day, he finds in it's maw, an infant, "... a wondrous discovery that for one brief moment makes him think he's starring in a low-budget remake of 2001: A Space Odyssey."

The Neverhood returns to its former glory; Clay-Guy and Mud-Gal joyous with life, and love, as the city celebrates it's newfound youth - the old man, too, now young, dancing away; his existential journey and mission complete, as the grave of Lord Lurker rests lost amongst the brush. 

Clay-Guy and Mud-Gal dance

---

So, I'll get it out of the way - it's different. As a younger fan, that fact alone, admittedly, put me off. I had expected a more straightforward follow-up to the bleak ending of previous installment, Skullmonkeys; or, at the very least, a bit of self-indulgent fun - bubblegum fanservice for the odd hive of fans who still adore Neverhood's unique stories. Instead, Return offered a surreal mirror image to the Neverhood we once knew; a through-and-through reimagining of the series' core concepts and ideals, changed not only out of necessity, which we'll get to, but also in aide of the captivatingly new direction by Taylor.

 As time's gone on, though, my need for "consistency" within a series has sort of faded; as I got more into anthological series such as Godzilla, Masters of the Universe, or even the MCU, I slowly learned to appreciate brazenly alternate interpretations of a series' main set of ideals. There's always plenty to explore outside of the usual creative playing field, and I think there's a lot of humanity in the nature of a "retelling". Variety's good. 

Still, it should be emphasized this new creative direction was either inspired by, or a result of, EA Games' stranglehold on the dormant Neverhood franchise; leaving it, effectively, just out of reach. In TenNapel's words, "Dreamworks Interactive paid for [The Neverhood] to be made, and own the Neverhood characters... I own the name Neverhood, but can't make a project that represents itself as that game. Dreamworks Interactive was sold to EA. We've tried for years to work out a deal with EA, but it never made sense to them..." He continues to note, "If I put Klaymen, or Ottoborg, or any other character from The Neverhood in [a] new game, even in the tiniest way, I've... used EA's [intellectual property] without their permission.... On the soundtrack and movie deals, we get permission from EA to do anything." 

To summarize the issue, as per the terms of their original contract, it would cost EA Games too much money to sign off on new Neverhood game due to a royalty structure putting Neverhood Inc. on the higher ground.  "It costs them money even to look at us... A movie or a soundtrack doesn't trigger that royalty agreement... Our contract is so tight on the game, they wouldn't want to come to the deal table in a weak position. That's not how EA works."

Meaning, new characters, same vibe. This was the first time I'd seen a reboot like this, though nowadays it's not too uncommon. Think... Yooka-Laylee, or Mighty Number Nine. Still, interestingly, the only true case of a full-on expy, or counterpart in Return comes in the form of Clay-Guy; a round, self-indulgent parallel to Klaymen's absentminded and distant slouch, most certainly meant to contrast by design. Everyone else is wholly unique, if not vague. I prefer style, over substance; as Taylor's story delves further into metaphor, and metaphysical, plenty is left intentionally unsaid about it's cast of characters beyond their relevance to Taylor's recollection; and is, as such, meant to be inferred through the character's designs - a true testament to TenNapel's talent, as large elements of the story's multifaceted world are communicated soleley through character illustration. Lord Lurker bears a large, cybernetic eye - not to mention a small arsenal of deadly arms; totally unlike to anything we've seen before with the crooked Klogg or vicious Skullmonkeys. The Old Man, though clearly intended as Taylor's author surrogate, remains solid, and stoic; hidden behind an expressionless wall of bright orange beard, and deep, dark glasses - just narrowly revealing his humanity at the close of the narrative, as happily jaunts away from the dark resting place of Lord Luker, back turned. Even the aforementioned Clay-Guy - though certainly, and unavoidably, a bit of a stand-in - seems newly flawed; tempered and hedonistic, despite his Klaymen-like innocuous nature. 

Through and through, it should be noted Taylor's overall mood and style of writing perfectly matches the dark humor of it's predecessors. I will admit it isn't much of a character piece, but for what its aiming for - I.E., more of a folk tale, than cartoon - I'd say they hit the nail on the head, eh? (link the nail sneverhood song)

That being said, and in mind, Return strives to remain only broadly inspired by the iconography and ideals of The Neverhood's previous episodes; despite what visual and tonal similarities there are bound to be, there's almost nothing in the story I'd say is directly duplicated from, or blatantly reminiscent of The Neverhood or Skullmonkeys. Oh - or Klaymen Gun Hockey. It's all-new, for better, or worse. I say better. 

Both covers used for the album's digital release

A spiritual successor not only to The Neverhood games, but also to it's beloved series of OSTs, Imaginarium - their original release featuring an interestingly familiar caricature of Taylor at it's center, a bit of surely unintentional foreshadowing - Return's true heart comes in the exciting, memorable and all-around awesome score by Taylor, perfectly complementing and diving into the story told symbiotically through his writing and TenNapel's art. This multi-media approach to creating a vividly tangible world is beyond exciting, and something I always love to see done. It's very much a unique and psychedelic experience in media that's best consumed in conjunction; just like the original scores and their accompanying games, in a sense. Taylor and Tennapel have not only accepted the project's inherent limitations, but embraced, and even expanded within them; effectively shifting focus from one aspect of the franchise's popularity and success, to another.

When asked the inspiration for The Neverhood's unique brand of sound, Taylor remembered Doug's initial direction; "As I recall, the only specific instruction I got from Doug in pre-production was that he wanted the music 'to sound like clay.'... I didn’t find this vague at all! I immediately knew exactly what he was talking about and left the meeting with ideas for my approach already percolating." As any fan will know, this perfect match of creative vision couldn't have been more apparent through the wildly abstract and artsy tones all throughout the games scores, inseparable from and genuinely important to the games' presentation, themes and overall visions.

With from an overall sense of jovial, yet haunted jazz, the album includes everything from Yello-meets-Beach Boys surf rock, to show-stopping ballads, to carnival showtunes, to good, old fashioned Neverhood jams, all perfectly meshing with the Imaginarium albums composed so many years prior. If Imaginarium One can be described as ghostly, incoherent folk jazz, and Imaginarium Two as a more eclectic blend of country, tribal and electronic, I'd describe Return as a uniquely carnival-y, brassy, and structured artistic piece rounding out the musical evolution of the trilogy. I think my favorite would have to be The Love Sweet Love Suite Part 2, a haunting and unusually lyrical track that truly reveals the extent of Taylor's performative ability, some facets of which are perhaps unfamiliar to those only acquainted with his Neverhood work. It's neat to catch glimpses of the more traditional, album-centric artist side of Taylor seeping into the experimental Neverhood theme. 

Very little tangential media seems to exist in relation to Return, despite its recent production.  The project's teaser tailer features some interesting exclusive elements, such as various semi-animated interpretations of Doug's art, as well as well as a cool cross-faded mix of the full album. An early mix of "Let's Go Fishin' " was shared by Taylor in advance of the album's release, with a cute little spoken intro by the man himself teasing the project. You can also still purchase a signed copy of the album off of BandCamp to this very day - I even double checked and ordered one for my own collection! Thanks a ton to you, Mr. Taylor. It's beyond wicked to get your signature! Not to mention, a second copy. 

Though featuring a prominent tagline reading "Issue One", Return exists in and of itself, with no sequels. As of 2022, Return marks the quiet end of The Neverhood Chronicles; closing not on any sort of all-encompassing finale, but instead an introspective, earnest, even heartfelt, wave.

---

TenNapel continues to embrace and illustrate the Neverhood cast, even recently launching a Neverhood-inspired collection of NFTs, "N.E.K." - or, "Neverhood Eternal Klay" - a digital art series starring various Neverhoodian oddballs. I'll note right off the gate, outta the the bat, NFTs are a hilarious waste of time and money for each and every party involved - be a big boy, don't fall for it. Nevertheless, for completion's sake, I figure it's worth mentioning their existence. Don't take this as any kind of advocation, but there's a certain creativity to NEK's homogenous style I can at least appreciate from a safe distance. Behind a blast shield. 

They really ought to have just sold these as cute little prints. I probably would've snagged a few. 

TenNapel joined forces once more with Taylor and further Neverhood Inc alumni on 2014's Armikrog, a now fully indirect successor to the original Neverhood game featuring a new alien cast of clay creatures and characters, many elements of which are directly inspired by first Neverhood's concepts - perhaps surprisingly, even moreso than Return. Where Armikrog effectly one-to-one retells the fallen angel plot of The Neverhood, Return recycled in very broad strokes - you see the influence, but the logline isn't quite so similar. I've yet to get around to playing it - if I do, based on the game's ratings - but it at least seems like a visually (and musically!) exciting return to the good old 'hood. 

It's a bit of a non-sequitur; rather than showing us the true destiny of our heroic Klaymen, rather than a jolly a catch-up with his weird, memorable friends, rather than a totally different story set in the already expansive universe described through The Neverhood's sea of lore; we got a touching return. Everything is new - yet, beneath the surface, the same. There's something to be said about closing off such a complex and surreal anthology with it's own Klay reflection.