Hilda (TV series)

Hilda
Genre	Adventure Supernatural Drama
Created by	Luke Pearson
Based on	Hilda by Luke Pearson
Developed by	Luke Pearson Stephanie Simpson Kurt Mueller
Directed by	Andy Coyle
Starring	Bella Ramsey Ameerah Falzon-Ojo Oliver Nelson Daisy Haggard Rasmus Hardiker
Theme music composer	Grimes
Opening theme	"Hilda (Main Title Theme)" performed by Grimes
Ending theme	"Hilda's Theme" composed by Dan Mangan (all seasons) "The Life of Hilda" performed by Bella Ramsey (season 2, episode 7) "The End" performed by Greta Kline (season 2, episode 13)
Composers	Dan Mangan (season 1) Ryan Carlson (all seasons)
Country of origin	United Kingdom Canada United States
Original language	English
No. of seasons	2
No. of episodes	26
Production
Executive producers	Kurt Mueller Luke Pearson Stephanie Simpson Clint Eland Paula Rosenthal
Producer	Bryan Korn Chantal Ling Rachel Simon Supervising producer: Adam Idelson
Editor	John McKinnon
Running time	24-32 minutes 44 minutes (season 2 finale) 85 minutes (movie special)
Production companies	Netflix Silvergate Media Mercury Filmworks Nobrow Press Atomic Cartoons Flying Eye Books (season 2)
Original release
Network	Netflix
Release	September 21, 2018 (2018-09-21) – present

Hilda is an animated streaming television series based on the graphic novel series of the same name by Luke Pearson. Produced by Silvergate Media and Mercury Filmworks, the series follows the adventures of fearless Hilda, an 11-year-old preteen blue-haired girl who, along with her deerfox Twig, moves to the city of Trolberg, where she befriends even the most dangerous monsters.

The series debuted on 21 September 2018 as a Netflix exclusive to critical acclaim, originally as a mini-series, but eventually turned into a full series, thanks to the positive response, resulting in the series being renewed for season 2. The world premiere of the first two episodes was at the New York International Children's Film Festival on 25 February 2018.

The show is well-known for winning Annie Awards for "Best Children's Series" twice in two years, as well as winning Emmy Awards for "Outstanding Main Title Sequence", "Outstanding Children's TV Series" and "Outstanding Editing in a Daytime Program", tying the latter award with Animaniacs.

On 8 October 2018, the series was renewed for a second season, which was released on 14 December 2020.

On 9 June 2021, Ako Mitchell, the voice of Wood Man, announced on Twitter in a deleted tweet that a third season is currently in development. On 10 October 2021, Silvergate Media officially confirmed that a third season of Hilda is currently in production.

An 85-minute movie, titled "Hilda and the Mountain King", is set to premiere on Netflix in 2022.

Premise

Hilda is an 11-year-old tween girl who grew up with her mother in a cabin on the edge of the woods near the walled-in city of Trolberg. Over the course of the series, she and her deerfox Twig, later accompanied by an elf named Alfur, and friends David and Frida, go on a number of adventures interacting with and befriending the mysterious animals, people, and spirits that live in and around the city of Trolberg.

Cast

Main

• Hilda (voiced by Bella Ramsey) - An adventurous preteen Sparrow Scout who loves to explore the unknown lands with her pet deerfox Twig. Born in the woods, she soon moves to the city of Trolberg with great reluctance. However, Hilda is quick to adapt to her new home and environment, eventually becoming street smart, enrolling in school, and making friends. She later temporarily turns into a troll and learns what life is like as a troll, all while trying to find a way home, in both the end of season 2 and the upcoming movie special.

• Frida (voiced by Ameerah Falzon-Ojo) - Hilda's best friend, fellow Sparrow Scout, and one of the top students in their school. She has earned many badges as a Sparrow Scout due to her organization skills. She later begins magic training under Matilda Pilqvist to become a witch with Hilda as her familiar, eventually becoming well skilled at performing various powerful spells.

• David (voiced by Oliver Nelson). - Hilda and Frida's other best friend and fellow Sparrow Scout. He has a phobia of insects and is normally reluctant to accompany Hilda and Frida on potentially dangerous adventures.
  • Ilan Galkoff – David's singing voice

• Johanna (Mum) (voiced by Daisy Haggard). - Hilda's mother who works as a graphic designer as well as a general store employee. While tolerant of her daughter's adventures, Johanna still worries when Hilda gets into danger. She thus moved them from their solitary life in the wilderness to an apartment in the city to provide Hilda a more conventional upbringing with access to school and friends.

• Alfur Aldric (voiced by Rasmus Hardiker). – An elf who journeys with Hilda to Trolberg to learn about life in the city.

• Erik Ahlberg (voiced by John Hopkins). – The incompetent and glory-seeking head of Trolberg's safety patrol. (Season 2)

• Gerda Gustav (voiced by Lucy Montgomery). – Ahlberg's deputy. In contrast to her boss, Deputy Gustav is extremely competent and wants to keep the people of Trolberg safe. (Season 2)

Recurring

All actors listed here are credited only as "Additional Voices" in the end credits. Information on specific characters comes from other sources, and they may play more characters than are mentioned here.

• Kaisa (voiced by Kaisa Hammarlund) – A librarian who helps Hilda research her adventures. Kaisa takes a more active role in season two after she is revealed to be a witch.

• Trevor (voiced by Reece Pockney) - A local bully.

• Wood Man (voiced by Ako Mitchell) - A brown, tree-like being who frequently visits Hilda's former home in the forest. He habitually enters uninvited without bothering to knock on the door.

Additional Voices

These actors are credited as Additional Voices, with the exception of a few episodes. The other actors have only voiced in single episodes.

• Rachel Atkins 26 episodes - Named roles: Ms. Hallgrim (Hilda, Frida and David's teacher) and Raven Leader.
• Kaisa Hammarlund 26 episodes - Named roles: Marra and Kaisa (The Librarian) see above.
• Ako Mitchell 26 episodes - Named role: Wood Man see above.
• Reece Pockney 26 episodes - Named role: Trevor see above.
• Simon Greenall 26 episodes
• David Menkin 26 episodes
• Claire Skinner 26 episodes
• Nina Sosanya 26 episodes

• Anisha Mueller 14 episodes - Named role: Sparrow Scout Choir Member.

Season 1

• Dave Stewart 1 episode - Named role: Jorgen - Season 1, Chapter 2: The Midnight Giant
• Annie Lennox 1 episode - Named role: Illus - Season 1, Chapter 2: The Midnight Giant
• Cory English 13 episodes - Named role: Raven.
• Ólafur Darri Ólafsson 13 episodes
• Talia Idelson 1 episode - Named Role: Sparrow Scout Choir Member - Season 1, Chapter 8: The Tide Mice
• Roshan Mueller 1 episode - Named Role: Sparrow Scout Choir Member - Season 1, Chapter 8: The Tide Mice

Season 2

• Sanjeev Bhaskar 13 episodes
• Max Ferguson 13 episodes
• Kulvinder Ghir 13 episodes
• Derek Griffiths 13 episodes
• Akia Henry 13 episodes
• Lloyd Hutchinson 13 episodes
• Alex Macqueen 13 episodes
• Agnes Peacock 13 episodes
• David Peacock 13 episodes - Named Role: Swamp Man (Sigurd) - Season 2, Chapter 4: The Eternal Warriors
• Rob Rackstraw 13 episodes
• Christopher Ragland 13 episodes
• Kiell Smith-Bynoe 13 episodes
• Emerald Wright-Collie 13 episodes
• Madstone Theater 1 episode - Named Role: Twig (Hilda's Deerfox) - Season 2, Chapter 9: The Deerfox
• Andy Serkis 1 episode - Named Role: Kertasnikir - Season 2, Chapter 10: The Yule Lads

Episodes

Series	Episodes		Originally released
1	13		21 September 2018 (2018-09-21)
2	13		14 December 2020 (2020-12-14)

Season 1 (2018)

No. overall	No. in season	Title	Written by	Original release date
1	1	"Chapter 1: The Hidden People" (Part 1)	Stephanie Simpson	21 September 2018 (2018-09-21)
Hilda, her mother Johanna, and their deerfox Twig, have lived in the wilderness ever since Hilda was born. During one of her adventures, she encounters a troll and removes the bell she had tied onto its nose earlier. Later that day, their house is threatened by small, invisible creatures. Johanna insists they move to Trolberg, but Hilda is determined to fix things so they can stay. She learns that the invisible beings are elves, and she befriends one named Alfur, who arranges a meeting with the prime minister. Despite Hilda's efforts, she learns that only the king can turn things around. Hilda feels dejected, but soon feels better when Alfur decides to take her to the king, even if it violates protocols. Adapted from Hilda and the Troll and Hilda and the Midnight Giant
2	2	"Chapter 2: The Midnight Giant" (Part 2)	Stephanie Simpson	21 September 2018 (2018-09-21)
That night, Hilda meets the giant from the previous episode, who explains to her that he is waiting for a friend. The next day, Hilda and Johanna visit Trolberg. Hilda is still reluctant about moving, but Johanna tells her to keep an open mind. The Wood Man visits their house and lends her a book about giants, leading Hilda to realize that the giant she encountered was Jorgen, who resides from the highest mountain in the north. The next day, Hilda and Alfur set out to find the Elf King. Unfortunately, to Hilda's anger, he retreats in panic when he sees her. Hilda lashes out, only to be interrupted by an avalanche, which is revealed to be caused by another giant. Hilda catches the royal palace in time and realizes that this giant is who Jorgen is waiting for. The two giants reunite and just as Hilda and Johanna are free to live in the wilderness once more, Jorgen crushes the house as they walk off to space. A horrified Johanna and Hilda realize they must move to Trolberg now that they know how hard it is for elves to live by other bigger creatures. Johanna, Hilda, Twig, and Alfur head off to Trolberg and settle into their new home. Adapted from Hilda and the Midnight Giant
3	3	"Chapter 3: The Bird Parade"	Kenny Byerly	21 September 2018 (2018-09-21)
As the city prepares for The Bird Parade, an annual festival to honor The Great Raven, Hilda goes out and attempts to make friends. She spends the day with a group of bullies and is appalled when they begin throwing rocks at a bird. The bird is injured and Hilda brings it back to her house. She and Alfur try to speak with the bird, but he has amnesia. The only thing he remembers is needing to find a statue. Before heading out to watch the parade, Johanna discovers the bird and forces him outside. It is revealed that he is The Great Raven, whose job is to bring good fortune to the city. As Alfur and Raven try to find the statue, Trevor finds and captures him, threatening to throw him into the river. Hilda arrives in time and reminds him he is the Great Raven, which restores his memories. He reveals to Hilda that years ago, he landed on a statue, and the people thought he was the messenger of their god. The harvest was bountiful that year and the people believed it was his doing, so they started the festival in his honor. He wanted to give the city hope, so he continues coming to the town every year. With everything settled and the parade started back up, Johanna takes Hilda to a special place so they can watch the parade together. Hilda confesses that she might like the city after all. Adapted from Hilda and the Bird Parade
4	4	"Chapter 4: The Sparrow Scouts"	Stephanie Simpson	21 September 2018 (2018-09-21)
Following Hilda's initiation to the Sparrow Scouts, the scouts receive their first challenge: a beautification of the Trolberg city park. With her new friends, David and Frida, they get to work removing weeds and clearing the land. However, overnight, plantlike creatures called vittra ruin their work and call Hilda, Frida and David out for removing them. The vittra steals Frida's badge sash and Hilda and Frida give chase into underground tunnels where all the vittra live. Hilda manages to stop the vittra that stole it and agrees to save the vittra's friends. Together, the kids and the vittra head off to the mulching machine and manage to save the vittra before they are crushed. Even though they didn't get a badge, they still had fun. As David goes to sleep that night, a rock that he found earlier began to move.
5	5	"Chapter 5: The Troll Rock"	Kenny Byerly	21 September 2018 (2018-09-21)
Hilda tries to help David capture a baby troll running loose in the school during parent-teacher night. An adult troll then breaks into the school, and Hilda discovers that this troll is the baby troll's mother. She gives it back to its mother, thus saving the day. As the troll mother makes it way back to the wilderness, it destroys the school statue, much to the dismay of the school principal.
6	6	"Chapter 6: The Nightmare Spirit"	Kenny Byerly	21 September 2018 (2018-09-21)
David has been having nightmares, so Hilda and Frida try to find the source. They discover that David is being haunted by a nightmare spirit called a Marra. Late at night, Hilda, Alfur, and Frida set a trap for the Marra, and Hilda challenges Marra to scare her in exchange for leaving David alone. She lets Marra give her nightmares, but she is interrupted by David waking her up. The Marra leaves David alone saying that he is "not fun to haunt" anymore now that he is not as easy to scare.
7	7	"Chapter 7: The Lost Clan"	Ben Joseph	21 September 2018 (2018-09-21)
While attempting to gather a sample of a rare plant for the Sparrow Scouts, Hilda and her friends discover that elves inhabit the area around it, and they kidnap David to punish him for repeatedly walking over them. To get him back, Hilda and Frida help Alfur with a contract from a being called the Lindworm, which must burn the contract to save David.
8	8	"Chapter 8: The Tide Mice"	Stephanie Simpson	21 September 2018 (2018-09-21)
Hilda tries her hand at witchcraft to help David with his auditions and Johanna with her job. To do this, she creates a magical Tide Mouse by using a tuft of David's hair. Unfortunately it goes awry after a couple days when it starts to possess its hosts and steal their souls, which she and Alfur must find a way to undo.
9	9	"Chapter 9: The Ghost" (Part 1)	Kenny Byerly	21 September 2018 (2018-09-21)
Hilda, David, and Frida investigate why Frida's room isn't staying tidy, and soon find out that a spirit had previously organizing her room in her sleep, and was now neglecting to do so. The friends head to a graveyard to try to talk to the ghosts that had been cleaning up her room, but they find out that the reason that the ghost had been returning to Frida's house, an antique book that the ghost had previously owned, had disappeared. Frida's sense of identity, which had previously revolved around her supposed organization skills, is challenged, and she lashes out at David and Hilda, straining their friendship.
10	10	"Chapter 10: The Storm" (Part 2)	Luke Pearson	21 September 2018 (2018-09-21)
Hilda is stuck at home during a major storm while struggling to cope after her fallout with Frida. To try to get the storm to stop, Hilda, David, and Raven visit the local weather woman and discover that Hilda's favorite weatherwoman has stolen a weather spirit's baby for the purposes of manipulating the weather. Hilda is luckily able to bring it back to its parents, but ends up getting lost in the wilderness soon afterwards on her way back home.
11	11	"Chapter 11: The House in the Woods" (Part 3)	Ben Joseph	21 September 2018 (2018-09-21)
Hilda wanders the wilderness trying to find help. Meanwhile, Johanna worries about her at home. While she is in the forest, Hilda meets up with the Wood Man again and they both hide in a log cabin after almost getting eaten by a giant. They soon discover that this log cabin can grant any wish they want, but they are not able to leave it. Eventually Hilda wishes to go home, and ends up going back to her house through a door in the cabin.
12	12	"Chapter 12: The Nisse" (Part 1)	Luke Pearson	21 September 2018 (2018-09-21)
Hilda tries to help a nisse named Tontu, who has been kicked out of his house because the owner of it claims that he destroyed it. She invites him back to her house, only for Tontu to be attacked by a nisse who is already living there and be forced to run away. Later, Hilda goes on a camping trip with the rest of the Sparrow Scouts, and finds Tontu in the forest. However, a monster called the Black Hound is spotted in the forest, which causes the trip to be cut short. Hilda, worried about Tontu, decides to travel back into the woods. She finds out that Frida's new friends are Marras, trying to turn Frida into a Marra too. David stands up to them, only to be interrupted by the Black Hound.
13	13	"Chapter 13: The Black Hound" (Part 2)	Stephanie Simpson	21 September 2018 (2018-09-21)
Hilda and her friends manage to escape from the Black Hound, but Hilda is still worried about Tontu. She asks around the city, only to find that many other nisse have been mysteriously expelled from their home. On the way to the Sparrow Scouts badge ceremony, she finally finds Tontu safe and sound, who decides to explore the Nowhere Space inside the scout hall. During the ceremony, the Black Hound comes out of Nowhere Space and Hilda and Tontu flee, ending up in Hilda's home. Her house's nisse appears to defend its territory, only to realize that the hound was actually its pet, Jellybean. Hilda also figures out that it was actually Jellybean that had been messing up everyone's houses by travelling through Nowhere Space. After finding out that Jelly Bean is innocent, Hilda, her mum, and the two nisses must run from Trolberg's safety patrol. While driving, the group is separated while using Nowhere Space to warp out of the city, sending Jellybean and his owner into the wilderness. Hilda and her mum return home, with Tontu taking up residence there as well. Adapted from Hilda and the Black Hound

Season 2 (2020)

No. overall	No. in season	Title	Written by	Original release date
14	1	"Chapter 1: The Troll Circle"	Stephanie Simpson	14 December 2020 (2020-12-14)
Hilda gets to spend time with Erik Ahlberg, head of Trolberg safety patrol, after her essay on trolls wins a contest. Traveling in a dirigible around the city, Hilda finds that Erik is reckless and endangering the citizens of Trolberg. When she returns home, she decides to try exposing Erik's true colors.
15	2	"Chapter 2: The Draugen"	Ben Joseph	14 December 2020 (2020-12-14)
An attempt to learn more about Erik leads Hilda on a high-seas adventure with Wood Man that lands them in a race against the draugen.
16	3	"Chapter 3: The Witch"	Stephanie Simpson & Luke Pearson	14 December 2020 (2020-12-14)
Hilda and Frida travel to the library and stumble upon the secret witch tower. They discover the librarian, Kaisa, is a witch and have to help her find an overdue book before time runs out.
17	4	"Chapter 4: The Eternal Warriors"	Kenny Byerly	14 December 2020 (2020-12-14)
David, on a trip with the Sparrow Scouts, finds a clan of Vikings led by Torgund. Tired of constantly being afraid, he joins a never-ending battle against an opposing clan, who repeatedly slaughter each other over a magical fear-removing amulet and then are reincarnated by a swamp monster.
18	5	"Chapter 5: The Windmill"	Luke Pearson	14 December 2020 (2020-12-14)
Hilda, David, and Frida stumble upon an abandoned windmill run by former meteorologist Victoria Van Gale. Victoria claims that she has reformed, but Hilda and David are skeptical. They discover that she conjured an artificial nisse, with plans to enter Nowhere Space. With Tontu's help, Hilda manages to stop Victoria's machine from plunging Trolberg into a void, but Victoria is sent deep into the wilderness. Note: The song that plays at the end of this episode is "This is Nowhere", an original song written for the show by Orville Peck.
19	6	"Chapter 6: The Old Bells of Trolberg"	Bryan Korn & Gabe Pulliam	14 December 2020 (2020-12-14)
Trolberg is thrown into chaos when bell towers installed by the safety patrol begin to ring every hour. Hilda, David, and Frida hatch a plan to stop the noise.
20	7	"Chapter 7: The Beast of Cauldron Island"	Tim McKeon	14 December 2020 (2020-12-14)
Hilda and Frida investigate a wave of boat attacks allegedly caused by the fire-breathing dragon of Cauldron Island. Hilda lies to her mum about her whereabouts, but Johanna finds out and grounds Hilda for her own safety, but ends up torpedoing her relationship with Hilda in the process. Song: "The Life of Hilda", sung by Hilda (Bella Ramsey)
21	8	"Chapter 8: The Fifty Year Night"	Kenny Byerly	14 December 2020 (2020-12-14)
Hilda discovers a time-traveling magazine which can take the user to Trolberg fifty years ago. She attempts to change the past to help a friend, but she causes countless paradoxes and summons the Time Worm. Meanwhile, Johanna questions herself if she is doing the right thing for her daughter.
22	9	"Chapter 9: The Deerfox"	Luke Pearson	14 December 2020 (2020-12-14)
Twig leaves home, feeling left out from Hilda's adventures. Hilda and her mum chase after him and along the way, they encounter moments from the past and learn about Twig's origins.
23	10	"Chapter 10: The Yule Lads"	Todd Casey	14 December 2020 (2020-12-14)
During the Trolberg's winter festival, Hilda and her friends find the Yule Lads, and help them determine which kids are naughty. Guest-starring Andy Serkis as Kertasnikir.
24	11	"Chapter 11: The Jorts Incident"	Emily Brundige	14 December 2020 (2020-12-14)
Hilda and her friends must reverse a magical enchantment from tide mice that have taken over the headquarters of Jorts, a local snack food company.
25	12	"Chapter 12: The Replacement"	Todd Casey	14 December 2020 (2020-12-14)
Alfur is questioned by the Elf Kingdom about his reports from Trolberg and another elf is sent to replace him.
26	13	"Chapter 13: The Stone Forest"	Stephanie Simpson	14 December 2020 (2020-12-14)
Hilda and her mum try to escape a troll-filled forest, while Frida and David leave Trolberg to try and find them. When Johanna and Hilda get home, Hilda wakes up to find herself in the body of a troll. Adapted from Hilda and the Stone Forest Note: The song heard in the credits for this episode is "The End" performed by Frankie Cosmos.

Production

Conception

Luke Pearson at the 2015 Angoulême Festival.

Luke Pearson had previously worked in the animation industry beforehand, serving as a storyboarder on several Adventure Time episodes. Early on in the Hilda series, he never seriously considered an animated adaptation of the books, though he did have a few thoughts about how the character could work in animation even before he worked on the first comic.

Before being approached by Silvergate, there had been some interest from a few production companies about making a Hilda adaptation, though nothing had ever been agreed to. Pearson felt as if those other proposals skewed the idea of what the Hilda series is supposed to be, and that they felt off, only leaving the outer shell of the idea and changing other fundamental things.

In 2014, Silvergate producer Kurt Mueller found Hildafolk, the first book in the Hilda series, at an indie bookstore in Brooklyn, NY. Producers at Silvergate loved the book, and were interested in bringing it to television.

Later that year, Luke Pearson received a proposal for a Hilda animated series from Silvergate through his mail. The proposal pitch was styled as a book from Hilda's satchel in Hilda and the Bird Parade, even coming with a Trollberg library card and a small elf letter inside, as well as a wooden USB stick that contained the actual pitch. At that point, three books in the Hilda series had been published, with the 4th one, Hilda and the Black Hound, being worked on at the time. Pearson enjoyed the proposal, and soon discussions began with Silvergate.

When Pearson and Silvergate started working together on a pitch, they wanted to build upon the original books while simultaneously keeping the general feel that the series had. Luke was specifically concerned in making sure the show didn't feel "too TV and formulaic."

Pitch

With help from head writer Stephanie Simpson, Luke and Silvergate created a pitch bible that would be used to pitch the show to various broadcasters. Some elements from the books were expanded upon to help fill out the show. For example, the characters of David and Frida were originally minor characters that appeared in The Black Hound. Simpson specifically picked those characters out and expanded on them so they could fill out roles as Hilda's friends. Netflix eventually picked up and greenlit the series in 2016.

Announcement

Development of the series was first briefly mentioned on 15 June 2016, in The New Yorker, stating that Netflix was planning a "twelve-episode animated series, based on the first four books, for early 2018." On 21 June 2016, Luke Pearson and Sam Arthur (co-founder of Nobrow Press) announced on Nobrow Press' official blog that Silvergate Media would also partake in the series' production, with Pearson saying:

I'm obviously very excited to be able to finally say this is happening. Alongside drawing a new book I've been working with Silvergate on this for a while now and can confirm that it's in unbelievably good hands. An inordinate amount of love and attention to detail is going into this thing and I'm looking forward to sharing the result in a couple of years' time.

Animation

Mercury Filmworks, an animation studio known for working on various animated Disney television shows, came on board early in development. A minute-and a half animation test was created to figure out how the show would move and look. There were various experiments with the show's design and art style to see what would work best for the adaptation. Additional animation was provided by Atomic Cartoons, who helped animate 8 episodes.

Design

When it came to designing background characters for the show, Luke would usually create preliminary sketches for a character, and it would then be translated into a finished design by Mercury. Some characters were given dot eyes as to help make characters like David better blend in to the style of the show.

The creatures in the show, as well as the book series, are heavily based on Scandinavian folklore. One of the biggest inspirations used for the show was Scandinavian Folk-Lore: Illustrations of the Traditional Beliefs of the Northern Peoples, written by William Alexander Craigie. Many creatures in the show were taken directly from these tales.

Release

The first two episodes of season one premiered at the New York International Children's Film Festival on 25 February 2018. The first and third episode of season two premiered at the NYICFF on 22 February 2020.

The first season was released as a Netflix mini-series, on 21 September 2018. The second season was released on 14 December 2020.

A third season is currently in development, as announced by Ako Mitchell on a deleted tweet on 9 June 2021, and later by Silvergate Media on 10 October 2021.

Reception

Critical response

Hilda has received critical acclaim from critics and fans of the Hilda books, praising its writing, characters, animation, and vocal performances. On review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, season 1 has received a 100% fresh rating based on 10 reviews with an average rating of 9.00/10. The website's critic consensus reads, "Animated magic of the highest order, Hilda successfully captures complex feelings and charming characters into an enchanting adventure that is suited for children and adults alike". There is no critic consensus for season 2. Emily Ashby of Common Sense Media gave the series four out of five stars, stating that Hilda, herself, "is the show's best quality, but it also benefits from curious characters, exceptionally matched storytelling and Toonboom animation, and an endearing world of fantasy".

Allison Keene of Collider gave the series a four out of five stars, saying: "Regardless of age, Hilda invites viewers to join in the mystery and thrill of adventure and to find the magic in the introduction of these many creatures, and some of their curious habits, in an upbeat and wonderful world. Though Hilda must grow up and accept city life, she need not put aside her childlike wonder. Neither should we." Others focused on the character known as "The Librarian," (later named Kaisa) arguing that her character is "among the most positive pop culture depictions of librarians," apart with libraries in Cleopatra in Space and She-Ra and the Princesses of Power. The same reviewer states that the nine minutes in the first season within a library setting makes a "strong impression," including an episode featuring a special collections room, and arguing that the series makes clear the "importance of librarians and libraries for years to come."

Awards and nominations

Year	Award	Category	Nominee	Result	Ref
2019	46th Annie Awards	Best Animated Television/Broadcast Production For Children	Hilda	Won
		Outstanding Achievement for Character Animation in an Animated Television/Broadcast Production	Scott Lewis	Won
		Outstanding Achievement for Writing in an Animated Television/Broadcast Production	Stephanie Simpson	Won
	78th Annual Peabody Awards	Child and Youth Programming		Nominated
	46th Daytime Emmy Awards	Outstanding Children's Animated Series	Clint Eland Kurt Mueller Luke Pearson Stephanie Simpson Adam Idelson Chantal Ling Rachel Simon Andrew Hymas	Nominated
		Outstanding Writing for an Animated Program	Stephanie Simpson Kenny Byerly	Nominated
		Outstanding Directing for an Animated Program	Andy Coyle Megan Ferguson	Nominated
		Outstanding Main Title and Graphic Design for an Animated Program	Hilda	Won
	2019 BAFTA Children's Awards	Children's Animation	Luke Pearson Stephanie Simpson Kurt Mueller Bella Ramsey	Won
2020	2020 Kidscreen Awards	Best Animated Series	Hilda	Won
	British Animation Awards	Best Voice Performance	Bella Ramsey	Nominated
2021	48th Annie Awards	Best TV/Media - Children	Hilda (for "Chapter 9: The Deerfox")	Won
		Best Character Animation - TV/Media	David Laliberté	Won
		Best Editorial - TV/Media	John McKinnon (for "Chapter 9: The Deerfox")	Won
	48th Daytime Emmy Awards	Outstanding Children's Animated Series	Hilda	Won
		Outstanding Writing For a Daytime Animated Program		Nominated
		Outstanding Directing Team For a Daytime Animated Series		Nominated
		Outstanding Voice Directing For a Daytime Animated Series		Nominated
		Outstanding Editing For a Daytime Animated Program	Hilda (shared with Animaniacs)	Won

Tie-in material

Feature film

Since 2019, an 85-minute movie based on Hilda and the Mountain King has been in production and is set for a 2022 release.

Mobile game

A mobile game based on the series titled Hilda Creatures was released on the App Store on 18 October 2018. The game was developed by British developer BIGUMAKU. An Android version was released on 6 December 2018.

Novelizations

Hilda and the Hidden People, a novel based on the first two episodes of the series, was released on 4 September 2018. The book was authored by Stephen Davies and illustrated by Seaerra Miller. Two more books based on the first season were released, titled Hilda and the Great Parade and Hilda and the Nowhere Space. They were respectively released on 22 January 2019, and 21 May 2019. Both were also penned by Davies and Miller.

Three more novels based on the series, specifically the second season, titled Hilda and the Time Worm, Hilda and the Ghost Ship, and Hilda and the White Woff were all released on 17 November 2020. The books were once again written by Davies, and all three were illustrated by Victoria Evans.

External links

• Official website
• Hilda at IMDb