A young girl and her pet deerfox wander through the woods. As girl sits down to sketch, she hangs a bell on the nose of a nearby troll encased in stone. When night falls, the troll begins to chase the two. After removing the bell and narrowing escaping the troll, who returns the girl’s sketch book, she remarks, “That was quite traumatic, but such is the life of an adventurer.”
“Hilda” is an animated cartoon on Netflix that is based off the children’s book series of the same name by British cartoonist Luke Pearson, who is also the executive producer. The series currently has thirteen episodes, which were released on Sept. 21, 2018 and was renewed for a second season in Oct. “Hilda” has received universal acclaim from critics and viewers alike, praising the show’s characters, performances by the cast, gorgeous animation and interesting story.
“Hilda” stars the titular character Hilda played by Bella Ramsey, a headstrong and curious girl who lives with her mother and deerfox named Twig in the woods until circumstances cause them to move to the city of Trollburg. Despite preferring the woods, Hilda does her best to adapt and interact with numerous fantastical creatures including a woodman, elves obsessed with contracts, a “Mean Girls”-esque gang of nightmare creating teenagers, and towering giants. She is an interesting character as she is easily willing to accept the supernatural and take a chance, while willing to admit she made a mistake. While adapting the first four books with original stories in between, the show does a fantastic job with pacing the story and exploring of the fantasy setting seems developed and explored.
Setting wise, “Hilda” takes an interesting turn in showing Hilda’s journey into the supernatural and adapting to normal life as well. It is able to not only use fantasy creatures from European mythology, but it includes Norwegian and American mythology monsters like the Thunderbird, Lindworms, Nisse, and the Mare. Charlie Hall of Polygon praised the setting of Hilda, stating “it is a fully enclosed narrative universe, with its own internal rules and logic.”
Animation wise, “Hilda” is reminisced of shows like “Over the Garden Wall” and “Gravity Falls” with its simplistic character designs. The backgrounds and character use an autumn color palate of reds, browns, and dark cyan in night scenes. SIlvergate Media and Mercury Filmworks do a fantastic job in creating a beautifully colorful environment and part little things such as dust in the lighting to make the world come to life. Joel Keller of Decider complimented the animation saying “it’s beautiful, hand-drawn look, closely resembling Pearson’s novels, and evokes a classic feel that adds a gravity to Hilda’s adventures.”
Besides the fantastical characters that Hilda interacts with, she joins the co-ed Sparrow Scouts, and befriends two members overachiever Frida and timid David. Another addition to Hilda’s friends is Alfur, a tiny elf that takes joy in partaking in contracts and isn’t seen by other characters unless they sign an agreement form. By far, one of the interesting characters is Hilda’s Mum (Johanna), played by Daisy Haggard. Unlike parents in most children programs, Hilda’s mother is well aware of the fantastical elements of the world and supports her daughter’s peculiar nature, while not being afraid to scold her for doing something wrong despite her good intentions.
An interesting addition that viewers with a keen eye might catch is the since of inclusion and diversity in the show. Some of the background characters and supporting characters are diverse in appearance and don’t play to stereotypes, such as some of the citizens of Trollburg and Hilda’s fellow Sparrow Scouts wear hijabs. It’s remarkable to see how this show presents children with inclusion in its characters and environment.
Overall, “Hilda” is an entertaining show that contains entertaining characters and an intriguing mystical setting that will enthrall children and adults together. With comparisons to the hit cartoons “Adventure Time” and “Gravity Falls”, this show is sure to transport you into warm and inviting story. So put on your black beret, make yourself a batch of cucumber sandwiches and find a cozy place to curl up in as the holidays come around the corner.
