Annecy: Netflix Previews Stranger Things: Tales From '85, In Your Dreams and More

As you probably know, The Annecy International Animation Festival took place last week. And traditionally, that means that some of animation's biggest names take to the stage in panels to preview their current projects in production. Among the biggest names there was Netflix, who hosted several panels, starting with Next on Netflix Animation: From “Stranger Things” to “In Your Dreams.”

Stranger Things: Tales From '85 is an animated spin-off from the hugely popular nostalgic supernatural series. Showrunner Eric Robles was there to introduce Annecy audiences to the show. The official synopsis says “Welcome back to Hawkins in the stark winter of 1985, where the original characters must fight new monsters and unravel a paranormal mystery terrorising their town in Stranger Things: Tales From ’85, an epic new animated series.”

Animation is by Australia's Flying Bark, and the series is executive produced by Stranger Things creators The Duffer Brothers via Upside Down Pictures along with Shawn Levy and Dan Cohen via 21 Laps, Eric Robles and Hilary Leavitt.

“The team and I, we’ve been working really, really hard to make sure that we capture the very thing that makes ‘Stranger Things’ what it is,” said Robles.

He went on to reference the series which had been an influence on the spin-off's nostalgic vibe, including 1980's animated series The Real Ghostbusters, Beetlejuice and Transformers.

Robles shared with the audience a selection of concept art based on characters from the show from artists from around the world, He explained the first time he saw the Stranger Things fan-art of Meybis Ruiz Cruz he knew he'd found the show's look. In addition to the extensive array of character designs shared on the day, several monster designs and highly detailed sets from the show were also shared.

“The Duffer brothers sent us thousands of detailed photos from the live-action show to accurately design and model each location,” Robles explained.

The Stranger Things part of the presentation concluded with the screening of an animatic for one of the show's high-tension action sequences, sneaking in some animation from Kevin Molina-Ortiz.

The presentation then moved on to In Your Dreams, the highly anticipated new feature from Netflix. The film is directed by Alexander Woo and Erik Benson, and produced by KuKu Studios. It features a voice cast including Craig Robinson, Simu Liu, Cristin Milioti and Bob Bergen. It is due for release on November 11. 2025.

Former Pixar animator Woo co-founded KuKu Studios: “Anyone leaving Pixar to start their own studio is kind of crazy, but Crazy Studios didn’t have a very good ring to it,” he said. He went on to explain the real reason- that in Chinese Ku means cry. “We wanted to tell stories that would make you cry tears of laughter and cry tears of pathos,” he added.

In Your Dreams is described as a surreal comedy adventure that follows Stevie and her brother Elliot as they journey through the wacky landscapes of their dreams.

Woo shared a story from his own childhood that lies in the roots of In Your Dreams.

“When I was six years old on a cold Minnesota morning, I woke up to find my mom standing at the front door with her bags packed. She gently explained to my brother and me that she needed some time away to figure things out for our family, and I remember watching her pull out of the driveway and leaving. I remember not fully understanding what was going on, but knowing that everything was about to change,” he said. “My brother and I, we sort of hatched some hairbrained schemes to try and save our family, and that’s like the journey that Stevie and Elliot go on.”

Annie Award-winning production designer Steve Pilcher shared artwork from some of the dream-worlds visited in the film, and explained the work that went into creating them. VFX supervisor Nicola Lavender talked about the challenges her and her team faced during production. Particle physics were a particular challenge and she and Pilcher stated that some shots took 3 months to animate.

The audience were given an early look at the official trailer, ahead of its general release the next day.

Later in the week, Netflix offered a preview of much of its upcoming slate.

Samuel French comic-book adaptation, written and directed by Emilie Tronche
Dr Seuss Preschool Shows. Adaptations of Red Fish, Blue Fish, Horton and a The Sneetches special.
Long Story Short New adult animated comedy from BoJack Horseman creator Raphael Bob-Waksberg.
Haunted Hotel Horror comedy from Matt Roller, executive produced by Dan Harmon, Chris McKenna and Steve Levy.
Mating Season Adult comedy from the team behind Big Mouth about dating and mating in the animal world.
Splinter Cell: Deathwatch Espionage action in the adaptation of the Tom Clancy video game franchise.
Magic The Gathering Adaptation of the iconic fantasy card game, with Terry Matalas leading the writing, Oscar winner Patrick Osborne directing, and Simon Rogers as art director.
Blue Eye Samurai (Season 2) The return of the acclaimed samurai action series.
Ghostbusters New animated iteration in the blockbuster franchise, produced in association with Sony Pictures Animation and animated by Flying Bark.
Minecraft Following the success of the movie, Netflix present an animated series based on the world's most popular videogame. Produced in association with Mojang, the games studio behind the original.
Clash Of Clans Based on the popular mobile game, this is being adapted into a "workplace comedy". The Office meets Game Of Thrones, anyone?