Netflix has an adaptation of Hilda, an Eisner nominated graphic novel, that is beautiful and timeless and perfect for kids, and those like myself who love kid material that evokes wonder and doesn’t pander with cheap jokes or overly zany action.
The art is spot-on like the books, and the dialogue, themes and sensibilities are as well. The show blows out the surreal and fantastical nature of the world somewhat, making it more of a given and less of an underground vibe, but it was a great choice since it winds up normalizing the spookiness of it which would have had my five and a half year old fretting had it been dialed any higher. It feels a lot like a Miyazaki landscape. The music is also very well considered, with a fantastic soundtrack and songs interspersed throughout.
Check it out, fantastic viewing for kids and adults both (though it might be a bit too spooky for younger 3-5’s.)
My 4 year old and I blew threw it in 2 days. My wife thought it was a bit scary for her, but it was so fun and thoughtful. I highly recommend it! Adults without kids will really appreciate the world building.
It’s very good, and my 5 year old (who admittedly likes spooky stuff in general) really enjoys it.
While it isn’t quite on the same level yet, I think it belongs in the same general conversation as Steven Universe or Gravity Falls. Its very much targeted at children, but it has some really beautiful and inventive world design and characters.
It also, it can be noted, has an adventurous, headstrong little girl as the lead without feeling forced or Strong Female Character-y. As the father of a headstrong little girl myself, Hilda feels like an a-ok role model.
Fans of the movie Trollhunter will also particularly appreciate the crypto-Scandinavia they live in, as this is basically TrollHunter Jr.
This is definitely on my watch list. Looks beautiful.
Gravity Falls didn’t grab me and my girlfriend for some reason, but I love its intro and theme. Steven Universe was fun but the first season didn’t inspire us to watch more, though we intend to. We hear it gets better and better.
Over The Garden Wall remains our favourite in this niche. Just such a great blend of the weird and wonderful with lots of heart and humour. It made me feel weirdly nostalgic.
I thought about mentioning Over The Garden Wall as well.
Hilda is much more for kids than Over The Garden Wall was. It’s centered on Hilda’s adventures in and around her life at school. While they live in a fantastical world, it’s very much centered on being relatable and grounded to the real world, just with some crazy things. It’s also less overtly creepy than OTGW. The world itself in OTGW felt quite hostile, while the world of Hilda has some scary things, but is overall quite warm.
If you’ve read Lumberjanes, I feel like there’s some similarities there as well, just aged down a couple of years. (If you haven’t read Lumberjanes…you should.)
There’s another season of this on Netflix (has been for a couple months, I think). Based on the first couple episodes, it’s even better than the first season. I’ve read a couple things putting it into the same echelons as Steven Universe Future and She-Ra.
Said sources also recommended Kipo and the Land of Neverbeasts or whatever, do maybe I should give that a shot too.
The family and I are currently rewatching season 1 so we can fully enjoy season 2, but I can say that season 1 was fantastic, and we all were craving more when it finished.
The news that Bella Ramsey landed the role of Ellie The Last of Us made me look her up and realize she was the voice of a show I loved in 2018 and had zero idea had returned - I completely missed this thread bump, I don’t believe I’ve given Hilda a thought much in 2019 or beyond, so I’m happy to hear season 2 is a good one!
We ended up bingeing the rest of season 2 as a family during a weekend. The whole thing is great. We also ended up buying all the graphic novels (we had previously read a couple from the library) and my kids love them as well.
The show diverges a little from the comics, but I dont think one is necessarily better than the other. The show is more of an ensemble, whereas Hilda is more of a loner in the comic, so the show is a little warmer and friendlier, but they’re both lovely.
