Recently I’ve been on a bit of a mission: try to mainly watch movies and TV shows with female protagonists. I’m also quite a sucker for a good cartoon, even if it is aimed at children. So when I watched Hilda (a Netflix series based off the graphic novel by Luke Pearson) for the first time last year, I was absolutely captivated. Hilda is a brave blue-haired girl who grew up in the wilderness with her mother and her deerfox named Twig but then moves to the big city where she embarks on dreamy adventures with her two best friends. I had two initial thoughts when I watched this show. Number one, I want to go on adventures and face my fears with Hilda. Number two, I wish I had this show when I was growing up.
As a girl who spent her childhood in 90’s and early 2000’s, it’s quite difficult for me to remember having an on-screen girl role model that showed empathy, bravery, courage, and respect to the earth. Hilda does all of this. What I admire most about this show is that Hilda is always sticking up for the underdog. She goes out of her way to help a community or individual in need. She does so not out of a need for praise, but rather out of a sense of connection to those around her and a desire for adventure. As an adventurer, Hilda faces her fears and overcomes them with the help of her friends and her respect for the natural world.
In the series, it is impossible not to notice Hilda’s profound connection with nature. Whether Hilda is communing with forest elves, tracking down giants, or helping a troll mother find her lost baby, Hilda is in tune with nature and its elements. In the big city, Hilda feels disconnected and estranged from the wilderness where she grew up but somehow always manages to find earth magic wherever she is. Personally, I relate to this so much as such a large part of my life is spent trying to go back to the earth and reconnect with nature. Hilda is an enchanting show and I do hope a second season is on its way, not only for my entertainment’s sake, but for children everywhere to have such a fiercely kind and adventurous heroine.
Keep on adventuring!
-Rebecca Davis
Junior Girl
Girl Museum Inc.