Stranger Things: Tales From '85 Review
Director: Phil Allora
Date Created: 2026-04-23 22:26
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Stranger Things: Tales From ’85 Review: Directed by Phil Allora and executive produced by the Duffer Brothers, this Netflix animated spin-off consists of 10 episodes, each running around 30 minutes. Set between Seasons 2 and 3 of the original series, it features a new voice cast including Brooklyn Davey Norstedt as Eleven, Luca Diaz as Mike, Braxton Quinney as Dustin, Elisha Williams as Lucas, Jolie Hoang-Rappaport as Max, and Odessa A’zion as newcomer Nikki.
Stranger Things: Tales From ’85 Review
The storyline is set in winter 1985, when the town appears peaceful for now. The Upside Down has apparently been closed off, and the children have returned to their normal activities, like attending school and playing Dungeons & Dragons while dealing with each other’s antics. Of course, peace cannot last long. Things start happening when new kinds of monsters come out of the ground, unlike anything they’ve seen before. When mysterious disappearances take place, and the tension rises, Eleven and her friends come together to get to the bottom of everything and discover that the nature of their threat is somehow similar to their past experience.
The approach that seemed to work for me was when Netflix’s Stranger Things: Tales From ’85 attempted to recapture the sense of innocence and nostalgia of the original series earlier seasons. Indeed, the show takes on a more light-hearted feel compared to other, darker and more serious approaches of the later seasons. The episodic nature of the plot allows for an easy binge-watching experience, which I confess I was guilty of; after all, the show moves at such a pace that watching it one episode after another is rather easy.
Nonetheless, the largest problem that I had with the entire Netflix animated series Stranger Things: Tales From ’85 is its motive, or rather, the lack thereof. It is an example of the type of show that will have you asking yourself all along the way why it even needs to exist. As we have seen how these characters develop into adults, there is very little suspense since we are aware that whatever happens won’t be able to change what the future holds for them.
Although the characters remain likeable, they seem somewhat constrained. After all, we have witnessed their storylines evolve throughout the series, so seeing them repeat themselves within an episode does not bring about anything new. The one and only who always manages to be the solution for almost every problem that arises is Eleven. In fact, the remaining characters sometimes get involved in solving the mystery, but it soon turns into a repetitive process.
It is interesting that there are new characters, such as Nikki, who have certainly added another element to the show. They do have their own unique personalities and do end up standing out. But on the flip side, I found myself unable to connect with them entirely due to their lack of relevance to the overall story arc of Stranger Things. It is obvious that they are not connected with the bigger picture in any way.
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But where the program really succeeds is in terms of animation. Graphically speaking, Netflix series Stranger Things: Tales From ’85 seems to be a visually striking work. The mixture of 3D and 2D animation techniques, coupled with the winter atmosphere of the world in question, makes for an interesting aesthetic element that hasn’t been present in other episodes of the series. Creature designs are also quite innovative, with many of them looking truly scary, which is definitely a plus for a program such as this one. However, the statement that Tales from ‘85 draws heavily on the aesthetics of 1980s TV shows seems to be rather exaggerated.
Voice acting is another aspect that makes the series very compelling. Despite the absence of the original cast, the voice acting done in the anime is very good in terms of bringing out the characters’ true selves. Indeed, there are times when it seems almost too easy to forget that you are not listening to the characters as seen in the movie. It is the camaraderie among the group that keeps the viewers interested, even as the storyline gets monotonous.
This repetitiveness is one issue I had with the entire series. There seems to be a certain rhythm in each episode: a new monster shows up, chaos breaks out, the kids try to fix it, and then Eleven comes along and saves the day. The pacing keeps the series interesting, but it also makes it impossible for it to progress further than its initial premise.
Netflix Stranger Things: Tales from ’85 Review: Summing Up
Stranger Things: Tales from ’85 isn’t a terrible show; it’s simply not a crucial one. There are times when it is good, visually pleasing, and able to convey the spirit of the original. However, it never accomplishes anything that seems novel or vital to the overarching story. I did not despise watching it, but I did not find it to be a worthwhile experience either. It was a fun show to watch if one is a fan and would like more exposure to Hawkins.
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