Plot: With Valentine’s Day on the way, the gang must uncover the truth behind ghostly apparitions and a swarm of strange creatures causing chaos around town.
Review: Stranger Things went from being destination viewing to feeling a little bit like McDonald’s to me: I got a little tired of it, even though I still enjoyed it. Now that we’ve had a little bit of time away from the massive series finale of the Duffer Brothers’ creation, I kind of want a little bit more Stranger Things. The first season of the animated spin-off series Tales from ’85 was an enjoyable filler season that slotted between two live-action seasons and delivered a fun and Amblin-esque adventure reminiscent of the early seasons of the Netflix series. The new season of Tales from ’85 follows in the same footsteps as its predecessor, with another fun, quick jaunt back to Hawkins, Indiana. Fitting in alongside the story that we’ve already seen, this new season doesn’t reinvent much of the mythology but does add some deeper elements and is just a fun, quick watch for all ages.
Set between the second and third seasons of Stranger Things, the new season of Tales From ’85 continues about a month after the first season. Days before Valentine’s Day, the blue flowers seen sprouting from a monster in the previous season finale begin blanketing Hawkins, Indiana. We first see them when Charlie Dandridge (Benjamin Valic) and his uncle attempt to rob the arcade. That forces the HIC (Hawkins Investigators Club) into action as they try to figure out how to combat the latest supernatural threat invading their town. Back are the main group of Eleven (Brooklyn Davey Norstedt), Max (Jolie Hoang-Rappaport, Mike (Luca Diaz), Lucas (Elisha “EJ” Williams), Dustin (Braxton Quinney), and Will (Ben Plessala), along with Nikki (Odessa A’zion) and her mother Anna Baxter (Janeane Garafolo), who were introduced in the first season.
Charlie fits into the story much like Nikki did in the first season as an outsider who finds her way into the ragtag group of nerds in Hawkins. There are also new antagonists and voice cast members, including Jack Griffo as Jeff and the great Robert Englund in a new role, in addition to his previous appearance as Victor Creel in the live-action series. Hopper, Nancy, and other legacy characters appear in supporting roles, but the focus is mostly on the young heroes as well as Charlie and Nikki. Because this season picks up so close to the first season, this eight-episode run feels like a second part of the story that debuted earlier this year. There are some elements that feel repetitive, like the swapping of glowing green vines for glowing blue flowers, but the connection to the Upside Down following the actions of Daniel Fischer (Lou Diamond Phillips) in season one has ramifications this season.
This season is as fun as the first and offers an exciting, over-the-top story that achieves what the live-action series could not do. Because everything is animated, the action sequences are bolder and defy some logical conventions, but are fun and in keeping with the animated format. The voice cast is all good in both emulating the Stranger Things cast, like Gaten Matarazzo and Millie Bobby Brown’s vocal inflections, while also making their portrayals their own. Going back to when the characters were younger allows for more exploration of their formative years, but it also raises a big continuity question: how and why Nikki and Charlie were so key to the story, and we never hear from them again in live-action. It is a small quibble and one that does get some explanation as this season comes to a close, but it still requires some retconning for those who love the original series. This season wraps up plot threads from season one and offers some creative visuals, even if it feels like some important characters are excluded from the story.
Developed by Eric Robles and Jennifer Muro, Stranger Things: Tales From ’85 hails from Flying Bark Productions out of Sydney, Australia. The look and feel of the season is consistent with the first and maintains the stylized feel that lets this series feel a bit more family-friendly despite the life-or-death stakes at the center of the story. Like a lot of animated projects these days, this series is aimed at all ages, and not just kids, which does mean you should exercise caution if thinking of letting younger kids watch it. While not gory or too scary, this is still Stranger Things and can get a bit intense. Still, the monsters this season range from cute sprites to a bigger adversary that is closer in design to Vecna than the vine monsters from the first season. The shorter episode count does not make much difference between the two seasons, but the ending does feel a bit more abrupt and could be a natural break before the next season shifts beyond 1985, or it could just be a cap on this particular chapter. Since the live-action seasons are so close together, there are only so many stories you can tell before this starts to feel unnecessary.
Stranger Things is a fantastic franchise ripe for expansion, whether it be in Hawkins or outside of the small Indiana town. Tales From ’85 remains a fun addition to the mythology, and this season does a good job of exploring some Hawkins history that adds to the richness of the world without infringing on the main narrative and developments. Stranger Things: Tales From ’85 may come to a close with the stories it has to tell set in this particular year, with subsequent chapters looking at 1986 and beyond. Personally, I would rather see the story go beyond these characters and offer something completely different, but this season remains a fun if inconsequential addition to the overall franchise.
Stranger Things: Tales From ’85 season two premieres on September 17th on Netflix.
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