This lovely animated series, with its grace and magical realism, reminds me of the works of the great Hayao Miyazaki. It's aimed at children, but adults can enjoy it as well - I certainly did.
Hilda (Bella Ramsey, also known as Game of Thrones' young Lyanna Mormont) is a spirited little girl inhabiting a world where mundane and supernatural coexist, so cities have walls to keep trolls out, magic birds fly over the town festival and ghosts can either haunt your sleep with nightmares or help you clean up your room.
Hilda and her mother (Daisy Haggard) move from their cabin in a wilderness where Elves and Giants roam to the city of Trolberg. The initially unhappy Hilda starts to enjoy the change and meets new friends, both other kids and magical creatures who manage to slip inside the apparently normal urban life.
Like its storytelling, the series' aesthetic is effective and deceptively simple, with minimalistic character design reminiscent of classics like Calvin & Hobbes and Peanuts, smooth animations and a color palette steeped in shades of oranges, browns and blues. It's a testament to the power of animation; this enchanting series would have been a garish mess if told in a CGI-heavy live-action version. Voice acting and music are perfect.
Recommended age: 6+. The tone is whimsical, lighthearted; magical creatures are mostly cute or comedic, like the rules-obsessed Elf or the supercilious Wood Man. However, a few more intense episodes may scare younger kids - I'm thinking Chapters 6 and 8, which are a notch creepier than the others.
After a successful first season with 13 episodes, Netflix has renewed Hilda for a second season.
9/10
