Kids are coming to the rescue
The young take charge in the scary worlds of ‘It,’ ‘Stranger Things’
Youngsters take charge in “It” and “Stranger Things”
Way before the Avengers or Justice League took the big screen, it was the Goonies, the Monster Squad and other Reagan-era youngsters tasked with saving the day because, well, the grown-ups just couldn’t hack it.
And in 2017 pop culture, we’re holding out for those kid heroes yet again.
The new big-screen edition of Stephen King ’s It (now in theaters) and the Netflix binge favorite Stranger Things (Season 2 premieres Oct. 27) are
’80s nostalgia trips shaped by young characters stepping up to take charge in a confusing and scary world.
“It’s a big, interesting analogy with what’s going on today,” It director Andy Muschietti says. “We live in a culture of fear, and most people submit to it. The hope is for the new generation. Those are the ones who can save us.”
Adults in real life right now are “certainly disappointing,” says Stranger Things executive producer Shawn Levy, pointing to the divisive political climate. The “code of loyalty and honor” among the children of a small Indiana town is “a huge part of our show and certainly some wish fulfillment in 2017.”
The creators of these kidcentric adventures are reliving the heyday of Steven Spielberg ’s Amblin production company, and a time when rookie filmgoers begged their parents to see Flight of the Navigator and The Last Starfighter.
There were strong John Hughes vibes in the high school setting of summer hit SpiderMan: Homecoming, in which
15-year-old Spidey (Tom Holland) battles through inexperience and takes on the villainous Vulture (Michael Keaton).
It and Stranger Things, though, are essentially period pieces deeply influenced by an era filled with scrappy underdogs. Whereas Elliott and Co. had to save E.T. from mean scientists and The Goonies tried to reach treasure before the Fratelli gang, the Stranger kids put aside Dungeons & Dragons games and homework to stop an otherworldly Demogorgon and rescue their friends. And the Losers’ Club of It goes toe to toe — or red nose, as it were — with the evil clown Pennywise (Bill Skarsgård), who has the town’s adults under his spell.
In a sense, those stories spur on the next generation, conveying “that you can do something really great with your life and you can save the world,” says It actor Wyatt Oleff.
Pint-size good guys are “relevant in any time,” says It producer Seth Grahame-Smith. “Kids feel as if there are just certain things they’re experiencing that parents don’t understand or can’t help them with.”
Says Scott Weinberg, film writer and co-host of the podcast ’80s All Over: “A generous or smart or successful kid is something we can all appreciate. When a kid sets up a lemonade stand in Philly to help people in Houston (after Hurricane Harvey), we applaud that, because we like to see nobility and heroism in our children.”