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Hilda

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General Review

Parent's Guide to Hilda

Hilda is an animated fantasy-adventure series on Netflix, adapted from Luke Pearson's graphic novels. It chronicles the escapades of a fearless blue-haired girl, Hilda, who, along with her deerfox Twig and her mother Johanna, relocates from the wilderness to the bustling, folklore-filled city of Trolberg. The show is geared towards children, typically rated TV-Y7, and follows Hilda as she befriends various mythical creatures and navigates a world brimming with supernatural elements, including elves, trolls, and spirits. While lauded for its beautiful animation, imaginative storytelling, and positive themes of friendship, curiosity, and courage, parental reviews highlight a significant presence of pagan and occult themes, as well as some intense or scary sequences that may be unsuitable for very young or sensitive viewers.

Things to Consider

High2

Witchcraft & Occult

Witchcraft and occult themes are central and recurring elements throughout the series, presented within a Scandinavian folklore context. Characters actively engage in spellcasting, communicate with spirits, and explore a world where magic and pagan concepts are normalized and depicted explicitly.

The series 'heavily relies on objectionable pagan concepts,' including 'witchcraft, messing with ghosts, and on screen (though bloodless) mutilation'. Hilda's friend Frida becomes a 'witch in training,' studies witchcraft, reads spell books, and uses spells. Hilda's Aunt Astrid is also portrayed as a witch who 'creates charms and practices her witchy beliefs'. In one episode, Hilda botches a 'charisma enhance' spell on David and briefly 'harvests his soul' before reversing it.

Anti-Christian Themes

The series presents a worldview heavily influenced by Norse mythology and pagan beliefs, explicitly incorporating witchcraft, necromancy, and interactions with spirits as normalized elements. This consistent portrayal of alternative spiritual practices is identified as a significant concern for Christian parents, despite no direct mockery of Christian tenets.

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Medium3
ViolenceScary & Intense ContentDisrespect & Rebellion
Low4
LGBTQ & Gender IdentityRomance and Sexual ContentProfanitySubstance Use
Medium3

Violence

The series includes instances of mild to moderate fantasy violence, which is generally bloodless but can be visually impactful. This includes confrontations with various creatures and some cartoonish depictions of injury that, while not graphic, can be startling.

Scary & Intense Content

Despite its cozy art style, 'Hilda' features several scary and intense moments, including jump scares and threatening fantastical creatures. These elements can be frightening for younger viewers, especially as content intensifies in later seasons.

Disrespect & Rebellion

While the series emphasizes positive values like friendship and curiosity, Hilda exhibits traits of stubbornness and impulsiveness that can lead to minor acts of defiance or conflict with her mother and friends.

Low4

LGBTQ & Gender Identity

Comprehensive searches for LGBTQ+ representation, characters, or themes within the 'Hilda' TV series or statements from its creator, Luke Pearson, yielded no explicit results. The show does not prominently feature LGBTQ+ characters, relationships, or gender identity discussions.

Romance and Sexual Content

The 'Hilda' series contains no discernible romance or sexual content. Reviews indicate a notable absence of modern sexual narratives.

Profanity

The show is reported to be free of strong profanity or curse words, aligning with its TV-Y7 rating.

Substance Use

No instances of substance use, including alcohol, drugs, or smoking, were identified in the content analysis.

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From a Christian worldview, "Hilda" presents several positive themes that align with biblical values, such as the importance of friendship, empathy, compassion, courage, and loyalty. Hilda herself is portrayed as a kind, brave, and adventurous protagonist who often seeks to understand and help others, even mythical creatures. The show also models positive character development, with characters learning from mistakes, making amends, and demonstrating teamwork and cooperation. Family relationships, particularly between Hilda and her single mother, Johanna, are depicted as largely supportive and communicative, emphasizing a healthy, albeit sometimes strained, bond as Hilda navigates adolescence. The narrative frequently highlights the value of respect for nature and the environment, themes that can resonate with Christian stewardship principles. However, from a Christian perspective, the overarching worldview presented in "Hilda" diverges significantly from biblical principles. The series is deeply immersed in Scandinavian folklore, portraying a world where magic, various spirits (such as elves, trolls, Nisse, and Marra), and pagan beliefs are normalized and actively engaged with. Notably, elements like witchcraft and necromancy are depicted, with Hilda's friend Frida training as a witch and Hilda herself attempting a spell with potentially dangerous spiritual implications. This pervasive integration of practices and beliefs considered occult or pagan in a Christian framework presents a direct contradiction to biblical admonitions against such spiritual involvements (Deuteronomy 18:10-12). Consequently, while the show contains admirable moral lessons, it presents a transcendent view of life and meaning rooted in a spiritual realm that is largely at odds with a monotheistic Christian understanding, with explicit Christian faith remaining unaddressed or significantly downplayed. Therefore, while "Hilda" champions many virtues like kindness and bravery, Christian parents should approach it with discernment due to its inherent worldview. The show’s depiction of magic and its heavy reliance on animistic and pagan folklore elements could potentially present conflicting spiritual messages for children being raised with a biblical understanding of the supernatural. Parents may find opportunities to discuss the differences between the show's fantasy elements and their faith's teachings on spiritual matters, emphasizing the source of true power and wisdom according to Christian doctrine.

Additional Context

Best For Ages

Ages 8+ with parental guidance. While officially rated TV-Y7, the consistent and prominent inclusion of witchcraft, occult practices, and occasionally intense or frightening scenes featuring fantastical creatures warrants a recommendation for slightly older children, or younger children only with active parental discussion and discernment.

Good to Know

The visual appeal and engaging narrative style of 'Hilda' may make the embedded pagan and occult themes seem less impactful to younger viewers, potentially normalizing these concepts. Parents should be aware that the intensity of certain themes, particularly scary and occult elements, can evolve across seasons and the associated film 'Hilda and the Mountain King'.

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