Outdoors: a place of vast opportunities for danger and wonderment. Bella Ramsey has become a global superstar following the first season of The Last of Us, a series that leans into the danger of the unknown outdoors. And Ramsey excels in that sort of going-on-a-journey-across-the-post-apocalyptic-U.S.A. But that’s not their only role as a character going on an adventure, albeit her first was a much more comforting version.
One of their earliest lead roles comes from their work as the titular blue-haired adventurer in Hilda. Based on Luke Pearson’s graphic novels, Hilda proves a charming platform for Ramsey to explore along with a wild, wacky, and engaging adventure series with a charming and thoughtful look at the way we interact with those around it.
What Is ‘Hilda’ About?
Hilda is a young girl who grew up in the countryside in a cabin with her mother, Johanna (Daisy Hoggard), and her pet deer fox, Twig. Her education came from roaming the forests and hills, and sketching the creatures she came across from flying Woffs (said like “wowf”) to frightening-looking trolls. After a giant accidentally crushes her home, Hilda moves to Trollberg. She’s going from the open countryside to a crowded city surrounded by walls, built to prevent trolls from entering. Still, Hilda does make some new friends — Sparrow Scouts Frida and David, along with an elf, Alfur, tasked with documenting the city and writing his beloved paperwork. But the city is full of quirks and mysteries — nightmare spirits, witches, fire-breathing dragons, and magazines that turn back time. And did I mention the trolls, which turn into rocks in the sunlight and hate the sounds of bells and don’t speak?
Why ‘Hilda’ Stands Out
Yes, Trollberg is a city that despises trolls. But the animators capture some beauty in the colored walls and the lights inside warm homes at night, as well as the forests and mountains outside the city, along with the varied action sequences and stills. The series has a mix of sketchiness in its line work mixed with expressive faces, popping colors, and vivid backgrounds. Not to mention the distinct looks from the rock-like, rigid trolls to the sprite, energetic elves.
Like the animation, Hilda is both comforting and engaging as it follows this girl exploring nature. She has a knack for assuming the best in situations — or just thinking she’ll make it out without consequences. Much of the show’s problems come from Hilda jumping headfirst into a situation without fully thinking things through. She places an enchantment on her friend, David (Oliver Nelson), to help him try out for his scout troops’ choir and her mother to help her get a designing job through a spell she found at the library. The only problem? She didn’t read the footnote on the page and accidentally started taking possession of their souls. That works out in the end, but Hilda later decides to raise the dead to find her friend Frida’s (Ameerah Falzon-Ojo) stolen book, only to wrestle with a ghost and not get the right book. That leads to a fight and a pause in their friendship.
That’s an aspect of the series that makes it compelling: Hilda is held accountable for mistakes in ways that linger past 25 minutes. In many respects, Hilda still acts like she’s adventuring in the woods, but humanity is also a complicated dynamic to keep. She’s still respected as a child, but she has to learn her lesson, and the answers Hilda’s looking for do not come immediately. In the case of Frida, Hilda regains her friendship, letting David stand up for Frida and later actually helping her and listening. There’s a give and take and growth throughout. Hilda still maintains her kindness, just not rushing to jump over a cliff to do so. Not to mention the show sways between mystical elements and uses them to tell compelling and entertaining stories while always finding a sense of humor.
The second season features a season-long falling out between Hilda and her mom, Johanna. Johanna grows frustrated when Hilda goes out with Frida and David, and consistently gets into trouble without telling her. Hilda does get briefly grounded, but Johanna puts her foot down when Hilda tries to sneak off behind her back. That gets them and Twig sent accidentally into the mountain of Trolls. That experience starts shaky when the two cannot express their discontent towards each other while roaming the endless darkness and the unfamiliarity with the Trolls. Here, after losing Twig and befriending a Troll family, Hilda disobeys Johanna’s orders to wait outside the mountain and they eventually get trapped. Here, Hilda admits “It was so hard being out there and not knowing what was going on. Just waiting and worrying. It felt awful.” And Johanna just tells her daughter it’s okay, not raising the obvious point but seeing that Hilda can understand what she sees. The series is willing to have episodic adventures but also play the long game and tell more continuing stories.
A Heart Among the Weirdness
One moment in the Season 1 finale captures the spirit of the show. Hilda’s old friend, the Wood Man, stands whistling outside the ruins of Hilda’s old cottage with a Nisse, a creature based on Nordic Mythology, and her giant dog. The Wood Man explains that the girl who led them befriended a giant, implying it led to the house’s demise. The Nisse responds by saying, “I guess she learned her lesson,” to which the Wood Man retorts “Not likely. Odds are…she’d do it again” as uplifting music plays.
Sure, Hilda makes bold decisions standing up for the little guys — or big guys, in this instance. She made friends with the giant wandering lonely in the woods and connects with him over his lost love. That giant saved her life when she accidentally awoke the other sleeping giant plummeting towards the ground. Hilda smiled as she saw the giants walking away and accepted the move to the city because she saw it would help her mom and she also got to see two lovers reunite. Of course, she did not regret her decision. Throughout the show, Hilda takes the side of the trolls despite the majority of Trollberg wanting them gone. She dissuades using bells that aggravate them and makes efforts to respect them.
Hilda is a charming show with a great sense of humor, while also making a bridge between nature and humanity. A series that loves the outdoors along with the people and creatures that inhabit it.
