Hilda (TV series)

• Bella Ramsey – Hilda, an adventurous young Sparrow Scout who loves to explore the unknown lands with her pet deerfox Twig. Born in the wilderness, she soon moves to Trolberg with great reluctance. However, Hilda is quick to adapt to her new home and environs, eventually becoming street smart.[13]
• Daisy Haggard – Johanna (Mum), 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 moves them from their solitary life in the wilderness to a home in the city to provide Hilda a more conventional upbringing with access to school and friends.
• Ameerah Falzon-Ojo – Frida, Hilda's best friend 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 trains under Matilda Pilqvist to become a witch.
• Oliver Nelson – David, Hilda's other best friend and fellow Sparrow Scout. He has a phobia of insects and is reluctant to accompany Hilda and Frida on potentially dangerous adventures.
  • Ilan Galkoff – David's singing voice[13]
• Rasmus Hardiker – Alfur Aldric, an elf who journeys with Hilda to Trolberg to learn about life in the city.[14]
• John Hopkins – Erik Ahlberg, the incompetent and glory-seeking head of Trolberg's safety patrol. (season 2)
• Lucy Montgomery – Gerda Gustav, Ahlberg's deputy. (season 2)

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 Hammarlund – Kaisa,[lower-alpha 1] 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.[13]
• Reece Pockney – Trevor, a local bully.[13]
• Ako Mitchell – Wood Man, 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.[15][16]

Other "additional voices" with no currently known named characters include:

• Simon Greenall
• Claire Skinner
• Nina Sosanya
• Ólafur Darri Ólafsson

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.[19] 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."[20]

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.[20]

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."[21] 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.[22]

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.[20][23]

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.[20]

Hilda has received acclaim from critics and fans, for its writing, characters, animation, and vocal performances. 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".[3]

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."[25] The first season of Hilda holds a 100% rating on Rotten Tomatoes.[26] 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.[27] The same reviewer states that 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."

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.[37] An Android version was released on 6 December 2018.[38]

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.[39] 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.[40][41]

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.[42][43][44]