Parents' Guide to Stranger Things: Tales from '85

If the end of Stranger Things left viewers blue, this animated spinoff, which features many of the same characters and dilemmas as the original, may be worth a look, particularly for younger fans. Stranger Things: Tales from ‘85 is both less complicated and less violent than Stranger Things, and focuses more closely on the show's younger characters, the core friendship group of teens: Mike, Dustin, Lucas, Will, Eleven, and Max. All of these characters are voiced by a new cast, who sound enough like the original actors that viewers may not notice the change. A more significant difference from the original is the absence of most of the adult characters, including the medical and military characters complicit in the conspiracy to conceal the Upside Down and its monsters. There are still monsters, though: big and scary, tentacled and toothy, they emerge frequently from underground lairs to murder side characters and menace main ones.

The vibe, too, is similar to the live action series: A monster appears, does something terrifying, and then the friends we've gotten to know must team up to save the day. But with both Eleven and Will safe and sound in their circle of friends, the action is less scary, and the focus is more on adventure and strategic plans, heist style. Main characters aren't in serious danger; in fact, at one moment in the first episode, Dustin is pulled around by an underground monster as he spits comic one-liners to his bystanding friends. For younger audiences, Stranger Things: Tales from ‘85 is fun and just a little bit scary; older audiences, particularly those who were fans of the live action series, may resent that Tales is lighter, less complex, and uses a new cast to voice familiar characters. The CGI animation style is also a misstep: It would have been really cool to use a vintage style of animation for a show that so heavily leans into its 1980s settings. Tales prominently uses 1980s music, why not use animation that echoes the big cartoon hits of the time, like He-Man and the Masters of the Universe or the Care Bears?