If you like this review and want to stay updated for what else I have in store, become a follower of this blog, click here to like the official Facebook page, and click here to follow me on Twitter. Now on with today's review:
For this review set, I’m adding a new show to the
roster. It’s a fairly recent Netflix
animated series that has turned out to be one of the biggest animated surprises
ever:
Hilda (Season 1)
Basic Premise
Sometimes the best shows are ones you discover through word
of mouth as opposed to your own discoveries.
For me, when it comes to shows on the popular streaming service,
Netflix, very little of them pique my interest.
Don’t get me wrong; I’m sure to be open-minded if I ever do see them,
but I just don’t feel the need to push myself to watch them immediately. Half the time, I don’t even know where to
look to see what new original shows are coming.
That’s where social media comes in to let me know what shows on the
service are worth looking in to. In this
case, Hilda falls into that category.
Based on a series of graphic novels by Luke Pearson, this is
a fantasy series with plenty of wholesome family values at its core. It follows the adventures of the titular
little girl, Hilda, who has a strong fascination with the wilderness and its
creatures, but also enjoys her quiet family life with her mother. However, circumstances require them to leave
the wilderness for the city where Hilda must learn to readjust. It’s a simple premise for sure, but I know
that simple things can hold a lot of endearing values. Also, with the trend of fantasy driven shows
that seem nice and simple, it’s easy to expect that there’s something bigger
going on. Basically, there’s enough
interesting points in its favor already, but what drew me to it was how much it
exploded with acclaim from animation fans when it first came out. If it was truly that good a fantasy show, of
course I was keen to check it out, and it left me very satisfied.
As to what I thought was so good about it, that’s what these
reviews are going to cover. So, welcome
to Hilda’s world, and get ready for many creative, exciting, and even adorable
adventures.
Now on with the reviews:
The Hidden
People
The start of a series has the very important task of
introducing its key elements. This premiere is impressive through how much character, creativity, and
emotion it brings in under half an hour.
Like a book prologue, the first minutes feature an average day for
Hilda. She delights in exploring the
vast wilderness surrounding the town of Trolberg alongside her loyal pet deerfox, Twig. It’s always clear she’s capable of taking
care of herself, tackling all hardships and making herself safe enough to
sketch supernatural creatures. Hilda is
also quite compassionate. Even when in trouble with one of the
creatures, she understands their problems and strives to solve them. To make her well-rounded, for all her love of
adventure, Hilda is up for quiet down time with her loving mother in their
humble cabin. Right away, there’s plenty
of lovable qualities from Hilda as the main protagonist. She’s not just an adventurous girl. She can do the work that comes with big
explores, is aware of danger and very creative, and values her family. In other words, the first few minutes show a
lot to love about Hilda which will continue to be the case.
For this particular episode, Hilda’s positive
traits are balanced out with believable insecurities. After her day’s
adventure, it’s revealed that her family have been getting letters from
invisible people declaring them a menace and demanding them to leave. The threats soon become serious when they
start flat out attacking the innocent house, leading Hilda’s mother, Johanna,
to consider moving to Trolberg. Since
she’s lived in the woods all her life, it’s not hard to feel for Hilda when she
thinks of the possibility of leaving there.
As a result, the episode is on the lengths Hilda goes to with the intent to make peace with the hidden people so they’ll all be friends and she can keep her home. There are immersive aesthetics to the world-building, story and characters. The most prominent one is one of the hidden people, a miniscule elf named Alfur, a charming little elf who always tries to be friendly with others while sticking to his people's agenda. Like Hilda with adventures, Alfur and his people are devoted to paperwork made cutely unique coming from simply designed elves. There's a catch that people have to sign certain forms or else they'll be invisible to them.
When Hilda signs the forms and sees the elves, there are many interesting reveals. The elves live in small houses that Hilda
unknowingly steps on, though she and her family go through them despite this still traumatizing the elves.
Along the way to
talk things out come a colorful cast of elf characters. There’s the mayor with a strong attachment to
a fat cat, an army with a rabbit cavalry, and the prime minister. The latter
character is a figurehead in power because he said what everyone wanted to hear
about Hilda. Through it all, Hilda is
reasonable with all problems the elves have and promises genuine effort to
change. In a mature turn, even with the
promises, the problems Hilda has inadvertently caused have gone on too long for
them to work. This may not seem like
much, but it turns out to be quite emotional for Hilda to face the prospect
that she will indeed have to let go of what’s been a huge part of her all her
life. However, it’s very nice that her
good nature has gotten her some new friendships as Alfur offers a way for Hilda
to settle matters with the king of elves, leading to the next episode.
Ultimately we start the series strong with a
creative world, interesting conflicts, and a cute, resourceful
little girl at the center. At times it
feels a little overly complicated, but it’s easy to reflect on it all and get a
lot of endearment to get you to see where things go.
A
The next Hilda review follows Hilda as she tries to talks with the elf king while also helping a sad giant who only appears at night.
Next time on MC Toon Reviews is "The Duck in the Iron Mask" from DuckTales.
If you would like to check out other Hilda reviews on this blog, click here for the guide made especially for them.
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