‘Stranger Things: Tales from ’85’ – An All Too Familiar Campaign [Review]
Created by Matt Duffer and Ross Duffer, “Stranger Things” first debuted in 2016. The series about a group of friends taking on monsters in 1980s, Indiana, went on to become a hit for Netflix. Spanning multiple seasons, the long-winded tale came to an end in late 2025. Or so we thought. With Eric Robles stepping in as showrunner, the animated spinoff that no one asked for, “Stranger Things: Tales from ’85”, just hit the streamer…and it’s exactly what the most skeptical of you may expect. An unnecessary, meaningless, ultimately hollow nostalgia grab that somehow crawled its way out of the Upside Down and onto your screens for one last, exhausted gasp of an adventure in Hawkins.
Set between seasons two and three, we find Elle (Brooklyn Davey Norstedt) and the gang in the midst of winter and ready for a spring break of D&D. Too bad for them, party pooper vines from the Upside Down have somehow survived and are evolving into a variety of all new horrors threatening to destroy Hawkins. New kid on the block, punk rocker Nikki (Odessa A’zion) gets dragged into the fold, along with her quirky science teacher of a mother (Janeane Garofalo). Together, the gang must once again find a way to stop the creatures or face certain destruction.
Just another day in the lives of Hawkins pre-teens.
I kid, yet that’s also the big problem with “Tales from ’85”…it all feels so typical by now. And the creators don’t have many ideas for how to fix that.
There isn’t much here that we haven’t seen before. Like a “Stranger Things” mix tape, “Tales from ’85” plays all the greatest hits. The kids delve into a combination of science and D&D guidebooks to take on the monsters. Hopper (Brett Gipson) is back at scolding Elle for going out and desperately trying to control her. Will (Benjamin Plessala) is searching for his inner strength. Max (Jolie Hoang-Rappaport) and Lucas (Elisha Williams) are developing their romance. Dustin’s (Braxton Quinney) still getting beat up, while Mike (Luca Diaz) struggles with his leadership role. All of which would be fine…if we hadn’t already seen these things play out through various seasons.
In every sense of the phrase, “Tales from ’85” exists almost purely as a nostalgia grab for those who aren’t ready to leave Hawkins just yet. As far as any character development within the gang, there is none. They don’t learn anything new. They don’t discover anything different about themselves. They’re the same old group. Unchanged. Like trading cards kept in pristine condition. Safe and exactly as you remember them from years ago. Hell, even Steve (Jeremy Jordan), Nancy (Alessandra Antonelli) and other familiar faces pop in to say hi, remember me, despite playing little to no role in the plot. Pure desperation from a series that wants to take you back to the good old times and little else.
And then there’s the Nikki of it all. I like Nikki. Love her, in fact. She’s funny. She’s punk. And she doesn’t take any shit. Anyone would be lucky to have her as a friend. Elle and the gang sure are grateful for her presence. If there’s any spark to be found in “Tales from ’85”, it comes from Nikki and A’zion’s portrayal of this poor outcast constantly moving around thanks to a mother who never stays put. Her character is also responsible for one of my major issues. Not because of Nikki herself…but because I just can’t buy that the gang would forget her. Nitpicky? Maybe. Or maybe the creators didn’t care that fans would ask these questions. If there’s another season, perhaps we’ll get an answer. That said, it’s difficult not to wonder why the gang seems to have just forgotten these events and people.
As for the animation side of things…it’s a mixed bag. I’m not generally a fan of the blocky style presented by “Tales from ’85”, but I can’t deny that the texture helps the various new creatures to pop. People are a much different story, though. The shading of them all feels…off, to say the least. And the blocky-ness has them all looking like uncanny valley versions of themselves. That doesn’t work, but I suppose it fits. After all, “Tales from ’85” is a lot like some discount version of the real thing, and that goes for the characters.
On the plus side, “Tales from ’85” does appeal to the monster kid that I know rests inside of you if you’re reading this. The series packs in all sorts of imaginative creatures early on, playing out a bit like a monster of the week serial. Dustin conjures the brilliant idea for the gang to become their own sort of Ghostbusters. Calling themselves H.I.C. (Hawkins Investigators Club), each episode features them hunting down a unique new threat. Combining elements of Tremors and Aliens, the beasties range from grabboid-like ground dwellers to mutated pumpkins and giant plant monsters. They all look spectacular and are just scary enough to have kids and adults alike leaving impressed. That is, until they eventually evolve into plant variations of the Demogorgon (another nostalgia factor that “Tales from ’85” just can’t quit).
By the time the credits rolled on the final shoulder-shrug of an episode, I couldn’t help wondering…who is this for? Supported by the animated style, the violence is toned down and more kid friendly. But any kid who didn’t watch the live-action series would have no idea what was going on (despite an exposition heavy sequence giving the gist of the story up to that point). Those hoping for some added depth to the characters they love will find themselves leaving empty-handed. So, unless you’re the type of fan that has already watched and rewatched each season to the point of memorizing every line, I can’t say that you’ll find “Tales from ’85” worthwhile or even all that interesting. Nikki and neat new monsters be damned.
“Tales from ’85” might make for a good time for anyone wanting to introduce their kiddos to the world of “Stranger Things”. Or, if all you’re looking for is the same old thing, the series has that in spades, right down to the banger 80s needle drops. I’m not at all saying it’s unwatchable. It’s perfectly “fine”, in fact. But if you’re looking for a reason beyond that to return to Hawkins, you likely won’t find it. The series offers no greater value to the overarching story, content with doing nothing more than saying hey, remember us? There’s an irony in that I suppose, considering the success of “Stranger Things” was itself built off nostalgia for 80s monster movies.
Fans hoping “Tales from ’85” would be anything other than an attempt to squeeze the last remaining remnants of viewership from a fanbase not ready to let go…well, you’re better off wishing that Netflix remakes the final season (not going to happen).
All ten episodes of “Stranger Things: Tales from ’85” are now streaming on Netflix.
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Stranger Things: Tales from '85
Summary
“Stranger Things: Tales from ’85” offers up loads of fun monsters and a loveable new character in Nikki, but sinks too far into the past to offer anything more than a nostalgia grab.
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