Why ‘Hilda’ (2018–2023) Is Netflix’s Most Underrated Cozy Fantasy Series

Hilda is a Netflix original animated series based on the graphic novel series by Luke Pearson. The first novel of the six-book series titled “Hilda And The Troll” was published in the UK in 2010.¹ The show adaptation was released in 2018.

The story follows Hilda, an 11-year-old girl who lives in the wilderness with her mother, Johanna. Hilda is adventurous and daring, causing her mother to worry more than not. She wanders the woods during the day with her deer-fox, a creature that resembles a white fox with small antlers, named Twig. The two of them explore the wilderness, stopping to sketch Trolls and running with the flying, fluffy creatures called woffs.

Hilda’s world starts off as a beautiful fantasy adventure, but the wilderness isn’t as safe as Johanna wants it to be for her daughter. Therefore, they end up moving to the nearby city of Trolberg. Hilda is forced to start a whole new life for herself in the city, setting up an intriguing urban-fantasy landscape for her to learn from the creatures and humans who live there.

Straight From A Storybook — Color, Creatures, & Coziness

Hilda is a dream come true for lovers of the “cozy fantasy” genre. A subgenre of fantasy that has recently surged in popularity, although it has always been around, the genre focuses on a more slice-of-life style as opposed to world-ending threats. With a specific emphasis on the characters, relationships, and community, the stories are slow-paced and have a feel-good vibe to them, making them the ideal escape for people looking to unwind after a stressful day.²

One of the key components that makes Hilda work so well in the genre is its unique use of color. Visually, the show draws you in before you can even begin to fall in love with the world and its characters.

Hilda is a stunning show: distinctive in its autumnal hues, specific color palette, and muted tones. Coupled with the fantasy elements of the world, the distinguishing color scheme helps to craft the cozy-fantasy landscape.

Even in the nighttime color palette, the shades of blue and purple create a whimsical atmosphere, where the stars always sparkle, and any adventure feels possible. There is an almost nostalgic feel that the visuals invoke, homing in on the distinct feeling of being a kid venturing into the exciting unknown.

Hilda’s excitement for the world bleeds through the screen. As the beautiful soundtrack of vocals done by Grimes, Frankie Cosmos, and Bella Ramsey, who voices Hilda, plays, there’s a feeling of airiness. The light-hearted nature of Hilda is contagious, her optimism and adventurous spirit striking a chord in all who watch the series.

Scandinavian Folklore & The Worldbuilding Of Hilda

With a prior interest in Scandinavian folklore, Luke Pearson crafted this cozy-fantasy world with many of its mythological creatures in mind.³ His take on this mythology is endlessly clever, with unique interpretations of the creatures and multiple references to the original lore in the story.

We slowly get introduced to all of the wonderful creatures that exist in Hilda’s world. She already knows of some magical creatures, such as her pet, Twig. There is also “The Wood Man.” The Wood Man is a man made out of wood who frequently comes into their house, bringing them wood for their fireplace.

But Hilda is not yet aware of many of the other magical beasts. The audience gets to learn right alongside her as she discovers new creatures.

In Chapter One: The Hidden People, Hilda meets elves for the first time. Alfur Aldric the Elf — his name likely taking inspiration from the Swedish word Älvor, meaning fairies⁴ — is an elf who lives in the village next to Hilda’s home. The elves are a very bureaucratic sort, with strict forms that must be signed in order to make the elves visible to the human eye.

The elves are hostile toward Hilda and Johanna because they had never signed the forms, unknowingly trampling on the invisible elves’ homes, being too loud, and shining bright lights from their home onto the elf people.⁵

Hilda does what she can to avoid conflicts with the magical creatures she shares the wilderness with. Once she learns of the proper paperwork that she must sign to make the elves visible, she follows their customs, hoping to come to a compromise with the elves so she can stay in her home.

Alfur helps her talk to the mayor, then the prime minister of the elves, all in hopes of finding a way to peacefully coexist. Ultimately, she is sent on a journey to talk to the king of the elves.

Hilda — “Chapter Two: The Midnight Giant”

In “Chapter Two: The Midnight Giant,” the giant, Jorgen, lurks near Hilda’s house as she is about to go on her journey. Hilda kindly introduces herself to him, learning that he is waiting for someone who had promised long ago they would meet in that spot. Hilda learns from the Wood Man that a giant must stand as guardian, watching over the world from the mountaintops.

But as people began to populate the Earth, giants would obliviously step on the homes of humans. This caused humans to hate the giants, the giants to leave, and people to believe that the creatures are now extinct.

On her quest to meet the king of the elves, Hilda finds the other giant that Jorgen had been waiting for. She helps the two giants reconnect, beaming with joy as they embrace. Meanwhile, full of gratitude after Hilda saves him, the king of the elves tells her he will no longer try and force them out of their home. In this moment, everything seems perfect for Hilda.

But as the giants walk away, hand in hand, they stomp on her beloved family home, completely destroying it without knowing.

The story of Hilda’s relationship with the elves, and the giants’ relationship with the humans, stand as parallels to one another. As the giants leave with Hilda’s home decimated in their wake, we pan down to see that Johanna’s foot is directly inside an elf’s home. Hilda doesn’t get mad at the giants.

She is able to put herself in their shoes, seeing as she had been accidentally stepping on the elves’ homes all this time. She is able to see that nobody is fully in the wrong in any of these situations. Things are much more complicated than they at first appeared.

Hilda holds her mother’s hand, telling her, “we’ll be alright.”⁶ Even though moving to Trolberg is the last thing that she wanted, she holds no malice in her heart. As they drive to Trolberg, she looks out the window solemnly, mourning the loss of living amongst magical creatures and dreading the switch to city life. But through it all, she never once complains or places blame.

Taking An Interest In The Ordinary

Hilda is caring and understanding of all the magical creatures that she interacts with. She is highly empathetic and emotionally mature with them beyond her years. However, when it comes to interacting with other kids her own age, she is a fish out of water.

When Hilda moves to Trolberg, she quickly becomes friends with Frida and David. Both of which are members of the Sparrow Scouts — a youth club all about exploring nature and earning badges. She had previously only found interest in the creatures of the wilderness, finding other kids and the city to be dreadfully boring.

But the more she gets to know Frida and David, the more she learns about herself, and understands that playing with ordinary kids can be just as fun as playing with woffs, giants, and elves.

Frida

Frida is the total opposite of Hilda. She never acts recklessly, always coming up with a plan of action and strives for perfection. She is a dedicated member of the Sparrow Scouts, and her dedication later leads to her becoming a witch-in-training.

Frida and Hilda frequently butt heads because of their differing strategies of achieving things. Hilda is endlessly impulsive — while Frida prides herself on planning for everything. Frida’s obsession with paperwork even causes Hilda to speculate that she may have been raised by elves.⁷

Frida’s need for perfection is her biggest flaw. This causes her to be quite uptight, strict in her schedules, and panicked when things don’t go her way. Frida teaches Hilda about thinking more before jumping into things. While Hilda teaches Frida that it’s okay to be a spontaneous kid sometimes.

David

David is quickly scared and easily distracted. He has the uncommon characteristic of somehow always attracting bugs, frequently crawling around on him to his absolute horror. He has a talent for singing, but because of his fear, has never gone out for a spot in the Sparrow Scout’s choir. Hilda helps David conquer this fear and go after his passion for singing.

David also has a love for nature, particularly rocks. His love for nature is something that he and Hilda bond over, giving Hilda a much-needed safe space to talk about her interests. David serves as Hilda’s introduction to the complexities of school and city life. She is naive and ignorant when it comes to interacting with people, but David’s quiet kindness helps her to navigate it.

Hilda, Frida, and David complement each other. Through their weaknesses and their strengths, the friends are able to become better individually and as a group. Hilda learns through her friends that ordinary people can be just as interesting as magical beasts. And as the series goes on, she understands more about the others’ thought processes, becoming more empathetic and appreciative of their differences.

The Importance Of Kind Cartoons

Though reminiscent of children’s animated shows such as The Owl House or Over The Garden Wall, Hilda stands apart as a breath of fresh air in the industry.

Through the fantastical world and the ordinary people in her life, Hilda learns about understanding and compassion. With every magical creature she interacts with, she is able to show others that they aren’t so scary. Her friendships help her learn more about humanity and understand those who think differently from her.

As the ideals of individualism and narcissism rise in the digital age, a lack of empathy has been growing in modern society. Building strong ideals of empathy in a society begins with its children. Almost half of a child’s empathy comes from their genetics, but the other half comes from their parents, environment, culture, and other external influences.⁸

The cartoons that children watch are one of those influences. Studies show that extensive exposure to violent cartoons can cause behavior issues in children.⁹ This has caused many parents to go back to cartoons from the 90s to show their kids — for their slower pacing, meaningful dialogue, and problem-solving plots.¹⁰ As opposed to modern cartoons which are engineered to be addictive — with bright colors, fast pacing, loud sounds, and cliffhangers that make you frantically press play on the next episode.

A Change Of Pace In Animation

Hilda is refreshing for its slow-paced style of storytelling. It takes its time to tell meaningful narratives, not using any of the flashy tropes in modern media to keep audiences from looking away. Hilda doesn’t over explain or doubt the intelligence of its audience. It trusts that viewers will slow down as they watch, enjoying the immense world building and gaining insight from Hilda’s interactions with the creatures of Trolberg.

Hilda stands as a visually stunning example of what you can learn when you open your heart. No matter your age, everyone can learn from Hilda’s compassion. Through the eye-catching color scheme, world-building, and characters, Hilda paints a beautiful picture — teaching us why everyone deserves empathy.

Footnotes

1. “Hilda.” NOBROW. 2026. ↩︎
2. Peralta, Isabella. “What Is Cozy Fantasy? Definition And Popular Examples.” reedsyblog. 21 February 2025. ↩︎
3. “Interview: Luke Pearson On Hilda.” LEFTLION. 4 November 2013. ↩︎
4. @morbidhistory. “Älvor – The evil fairies of Scandinavian folklore.” YouTube. 2 August 2023. ↩︎
5. Hilda. “Chapter 1: The Hidden People.” Netflix. 23:00. 21 September 2018. ↩︎
6. Hilda. “Chapter 2: The Midnight Giant.” Netflix. 24:00. 21 September 2018. ↩︎
7. Hilda. “Chapter 4: The Sparrow Scouts.” Netflix. 24:00. 21 September 2018. ↩︎
8. Konrath, Sara. “Speaking of Psychology: The decline of empathy and the rise of narcissism, with Sara Konrath, PhD.” American Psychological Association. 2019. ↩︎
9. Klang, Julie. Turcotte, Jamie. “Screens, Violence, and the Impact on Children.” Brown Health. 10 August 2021. ↩︎
10. “Why Parents Are Turning Back to ’90s Cartoons to Support Healthier Screen Time.” Maker Kids. ↩︎