Drama
Stranger Things
The newest season of Netflix’s Stranger Things continues to blend ’80s nostalgia with ever-darker spiritual content and horrific violence.
Camp Splinterwood is every bird’s dream. Granted, it’s not perfect: You can’t have candy. But that’s about the only thing that’s off limits. Crazy stunts, water adventures and endless summer days frolicking with friends is what this fowl-friendly camp is made of.
Angry-bird Red loves camp, but he’s not just there for fun. He feels it’s his duty to protect young hatchlings, and really anybody, from the infamous Neiderflyer who quenches boredom by putting other birds in harm’s way.
But Red’s not alone. His friends always have his back, especially when it comes to helping foil Neiderflyer’s plans. There’s Stella, a pink bird always ready to fight; Bomb, a black bird who quite literally explodes when he’s nervous or is put in an awkward situation; and Chuck, a yellow, loveable airhead.
Together, these birdies might take things too far with certain stunts, but they always come back around when they remember that kindness and friendship trump all.
Back in 2009, Rovio Entertainment released a mobile game where little birds could cannonball into angry pigs and knock them over for points. Sounds sort of silly. But when you were trying to pass time at the DMV, Angry Birds was the way to go.
Fast forward 13 years, and Angry Birds has morphed into quite the franchise. Not only has the game itself been downloaded billions of times, but it’s also been made into multiple movies and television shows. Now Netflix is adding another: Angry Birds: Summer Madness.
This TV-Y7 series features Red, Stella, Bomb and Chuck as they spend their summer at Camp Splinterwood, hanging out and taking on the mean ‘ole Neiderflyer.
Each episode is just shy of 15 minutes and includes plenty of explosions, accidents and injuries–nothing permanently damaging, but enough to stay true to the original game. There’s a few words used like “stupid” and “jerk,” some winks at birds crushing on one another and a reference to “the universe” and different “energies.” But even with these smudges, young viewers will learn small lessons on friendship, kindness and standing their ground against bullies.
Red and his friends vow to retrieve a care package for a group of hatchlings.
Birds get hurt, a few explode (and by explode I mean there’s a loud sound, smoke settles and the birds remain unharmed but a bit charred), and Stella threatens to fight a few bird bullies.
A camp counselor tells Bomb that his “chakras are bursting with energy” and later thanks “the universe” for help. A female bird kisses Bomb on the cheek. A bird counselor tans his “bird bod.”
Chuck accidentally eats a care package filled with underwear. Words like “dumb,” “jerk” and “dang” are used a few times each.
Chuck decides to hurt himself on purpose to get his friends’ candy from the camp nurse, but soon he devises a plan to hurt himself everyday to give candy to the whole camp and win their approval.
Chuck and his friends get hurt over and over again, and in the end they lay in bed in body casts.
A bird uses the word “stupid” once. One bird sits on the toilet while another talks about giving “feather wedgies.”
Kristin Smith joined the Plugged In team in 2017. Formerly a Spanish and English teacher, Kristin loves reading literature and eating authentic Mexican tacos. She and her husband, Eddy, love raising their children Judah and Selah. Kristin also has a deep affection for coffee, music, her dog (Cali) and cat (Aslan).
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