For the first time since the controversial series finale early this year, “Stranger Things” is officially back.
“Stranger Things: Tales from ‘85” was released on Netflix Wednesday. Based on the original live action series and fitting into the timeline of the show between seasons two and three, the animated series isn’tcanon but does stay true to the characters through writing.
The first episode of the show focuses on the six main kids, with cameos from Jim Hopper and Mr. Clarke. The original actors didn’t reprise their characters for this semi-spinoff, meaning that soundalikes had to be found.
The performances range from great impressions, such as Braxton Quinney as Dustin Henderson (Gaten Matarazzo) to iffy at best. Still, none truly take you out of the show, making them all effective at a minimum.
The writing of the reimagined characters also feels close enough to the original show that the re-castings feel more natural. Lucas Sinclair and Max Mayfield are back to their pre-Vecna banter, while Dustin is just as much of a smart aleck as ever and Mike Wheeler is still his panicked self. Benjamin Plessala doesn’t get much to do as Will Byers, but neither did Noah Schnapp for most of the series.
A few points of question for me arose in listening to Eleven’s dialogue. Some of the conversations don’t feel natural to the character, but there was also a big jump in dialogue from season two to season three in the original show as Eleven began to learn more of the common vernacular. Thus, it’s an understandably difficult period to write about.
There are also a few peculiar half-second pauses after certain bits of Dustin’s dialogue, but that has more to do with editing than the actual makeup of the show.
The animation is wonderful. It is bright and colorful, bringing the world of the 80s back to life and using every shade of neon in doing so. The music is also back from the live action series, with the opening credit music getting a refresh and 80s classics like “We Got the Beat” by the Go-Go’s spliced throughout.
Outside of the similarities to the original show, it does feel like a less-interesting rehash of the original. It follows the same storyline of a big-bad appearing from the Upside Down and Eleven needing to stop it. The most interesting parts come in the dialogue, which isn’t bad but can be underwhelming at times.
Because the show doesn’t do anything new, a more cynical person may see the series as an unneeded milking of an already drawn-out IP.
Instead, I see it as more of children’s alternative to the real thing. It’ll be a great stepping-stone for anyone not ready for the gore of the original series but wants to be introduced to one of the best TV series of the past 10 years.
For those who loved the original series, they’ll get a kick out of some of the dialogue that is reminiscent of the early seasons. If for no other reason, give it a chance just because of the awesome visuals.
There are enough reasons to watch a few episodes of the series that it lands a positive review.
Rating: 3.6/5