The Deerfox
Sometimes all that’s needed for a great animated work is
sheer simplicity. Through putting a
series of drawings together, it’s surprising how much endearment can come from
a character experiencing the world. Some of the strongest episodes of this show are
those that build on the background of characters, and through its simplicity,
this may be the episode that does so the best.
One notable companion to Hilda’s adventures is her pet
deerfox, Twig. At first, you might not
find this creature too interesting, but there’s always been an appeal to how
such a simply designed creature can be so loyal to our protagonists. Whenever things get tough, Twig always
puts in strong efforts to protect all allies. This alone has been satisfying enough, but showing
life from his perspective as well as where he came from goes the extra mile to
flesh him out. The start of the episode
shows a different side to his usual good and caring state with Hilda’s family. Like most pets, the problems Twig faces in
this dynamic amount to loneliness when Hilda goes out for school or adventures,
and being overlooked when Johanna’s too busy to take him out. This in turn sets up a possible reason for
Twig to leave this life, leading to this episode’s supernatural element.
At night, he gets a vision of an astral plain which he
observes with fondness. It isn’t long
before he acts upon this vision and follows it out of the apartment, into the
wilderness beyond Trolberg. To really
build atmosphere, there’s a showcase of the dangers of being out in the wild
all alone as Twig endures intense elements and threatening wild creatures. Without any sort of dialog apart from animal
noises, this is the chance for animation to allow itself to tell the story and
build its world as only a visual medium can.
In addition to Twig, this episode is also an endearing
starring role for Hilda. In spite of
Twig’s issues with living with her and Johanna, neither of them ever feel like
they’re neglecting him, and are quite worried when he goes missing. As animals tend to have a natural homing
instinct, they figure that the best way to find him is to explore their old
home in the wilderness. Along the way,
there’s much talk of how reliving the past can bring a lot of fond memories.
This is felt through exploring past locations like their cabin, and getting
leads from old allies like the elves and the Woodman.
However, these are nothing compared to the actual memories the audience witnesses. As Hilda and Johanna take in the sights of their old home, they think back to those old days. Seeing a younger Hilda with the same adventurous spirit she has now is certainly cute, but also insightful with how Johanna used to always have to be by her side compared to now. There's even fitting background to how important Twig really is to her via their first meeting. She saw the young helpless Twig trapped under rocks, and knew just what to do to get him out. Even before Twig became part of the family, the spark for an endearing pair was very present.
A real standout adventure though is easily
when young Hilda was so taken in by celestial lights that she ended up falling
off a cliff to a nest of baby birds. The
mother bird attacked, threatening Hilda to nearly fall off, with Johanna unable
to do enough to save her. You can
imagine the sheer luck when Twig showed up to save her before she could go over
the cliff, reciprical of Hilda saving him. As you can imagine, this was the most telling sign of a genuine friendship between the two.
History even has ways of repeating itself, as in the present,
Hilda sees the same celestial light that appeared when she first found
Twig. However, the repetition is not in
a beat-for-beat sense. She doesn’t fall
off the cliff like before; she and Johanna find a safe way down and then
proceed to make their way up the other side. There’s still danger on these cliffs though, but
this time it sneaks up on Hilda instead of her falling into it. She’s intercepted by a red wolf, the same one
who attacked Twig earlier, and that creature never lets up on its attacks, even
when Hilda’s off the cliffs. Just as
before, Twig appears right on cue to fend off the wolf, showcasing a proud
backbone after he had cowered before this creature earlier. In addition, it shows that Twig’s love for
the family who raised him for most of his life is still intact.
With families in mind, it isn’t long before the truth behind
that light is revealed. It forms a beautifully constructed path
up to the heavens, and that path is inhabited by a whole pack of deerfoxes,
some of them being especially huge, like they’re Twig’s possible parents. It’s interesting enough that these creatures
all live in a heavenly place like this, which is fitting for the claims of these
creatures being so rare. Following this
reveal is a scene of big maturity as Hilda lets Twig go up to this plain since
it’s apparently his choice to go. She
does later lament him being gone with her losing every bit of her old home now,
but personal pain doesn’t dispel that she still did the right thing. As for Twig’s choice, it may not seem to be
as simple as most would think. He sees
his parents, but there isn’t really a connection with them. Then a ball of light appears taking the form
of Hilda. It brings up a memory of that
cry for help from years ago that led him to her when she was in trouble years
ago, leading to an apparently stronger family bond. Thinking of this has Twig make the genuine
choice to leave his own kind and instead go back to the people who made him
feel like family. This technically
devalues the maturity the story seemed to be going for regarding sacrifice, but
it is still what Twig wants and something he comes to on his own. Unfolding in a breathtaking setting with
minimal dialog enhances this moment through a natural atmospheric tone. Even without the aesthetics, the last scenes
of the episode also bring poetic justice to this story. Twig is given better respect from Hilda as
he’s made sure to be brought along on her adventures. This in turn connects to another scene from
the past that demonstrate others’ trust and loyalty to him as Johanna sends
young Hilda off on adventures as long as Twig is always with her. It brings all events full circle as well as
give solid rewarding development to the characters and how they work. Not to mention it’s a good fit for this
season’s theme of realizing the dangers of Hilda’s adventures.
There’s a lot of simplicity around character backgrounds,
worlds, and themes to this episode.
However, it’s perfect in capturing the show’s gentle yet adventurous and
insightful tone. If you were to search
for one episode to define the feel of this whole series, this is it.
A+
Series Ranking
1.
The Deerfox
2.
The House in the Woods
3.
The Nightmare Spirit
4.
The Tide Mice
5.
The
Old Bells of Trolberg
6.
The
Fifty Year Night
7.
The Witch
8.
The Bird Parade
9.
The Midnight Giant
10. The Beast of Cauldron Island
11. The Eternal Warriors
12. The Windmill
13. The Troll Circle
14. The Hidden People
15. The Storm
16. The
Draugen
17. The Black Hound
18. The Troll Rock
19. The Lost Clan
20. The Sparrow Scouts
21. The Nisse
22.
The Ghost
Be sure to stay tuned for the review of the next episode where world building brings a wholesome feeling of Christmas, or as they call it in this world, Sonstansil.
If you would like to check out other Hilda reviews on this blog, click here for the guide made especially for them.
Amazing. Absolutely amazing.
ReplyDeleteI'm not afraid to admit it -- I, a grown man, was in tears watching this episode for the first time.