Produced by Silvergate Media and Mercury Filmworks, the series follows the adventures of fearless Hilda, an 11-year-old[a] blue-haired girl who, along with her mother Johanna and her deerfox[b] Twig, moves to the fictional city of Trolberg after their old residency in the outskirts of a forest is destroyed by a giant.

[6][7][8] A film titled Hilda and the Mountain King, which takes place between the second and third seasons, premiered on Netflix on December 30, 2021.

Hilda is a young girl who grew up with her mother Johanna in a small cabin on the edge of the woods near the walled-in Nordic city of Trolberg.

Over the course of the series, she and her deerfox[b] Twig, later accompanied by an elf named Alfur, and best friends Frida and David, go on a number of adventures interacting with and befriending the mysterious animals, people, and spirits that live in and around the city of Trolberg.

The two giants reunite and just as Hilda and Johanna are free to live in the wilderness once more, Jorgen crushes the house as they walk off to space.

As the city prepares for The Bird Parade, an annual festival to honor The Great Raven, Hilda goes out and attempts to make friends.

He wanted to give the city hope, so he continues coming to the town every year, even though he is not the Great Raven, he is a thunderbird.

On their way to parents' night, Hilda and Johanna meet Principal Magnusson, who is very excited about the grand finale, a dedication ceremony for the school's new statue of one of Trolberg’s great founders, Edmund “the Troll Slayer” Ahlberg.

The librarian[c] enters the room and says that this book is for internal circulation only, so Hilda makes a copy of the page and runs to her apartment.

Inspired by her success, Hilda works the same spell with Joanna and she is soon hired as a graphic designer to create bells advertisements.

Victoria Van Gale has turned over a new leaf after the destruction of her Weather Station (110 'Storm') – she's moved to Trolberg and has set up a sanctuary for displaced wildlife in an abandoned windmill.

Hilda and Frida pitch in to help but David remains deeply suspicious, a rift that tests their friendship.

At Trolberg's 'Winter Festival', Hilda encounters a group of strange little men called 'Yule Lads' who are looking for naughty children.

They're funny and fun to have around, but Hilda realizes too late that they are servants of the Gryla; a legendary monster that eats misbehaving children.

With the hungry Gryla fast approaching, Hilda and the Yule Lads must work together to cook up an alternative (vegetarian) holiday feast for it to eat.

Their paths cross with Ahlberg and Gerda after a spectacular dirigible crash, and the group sets up camp on the base of a mountain.

Other trolls bring her deeper into their world: their customs, their cuisine, and their legends; namely the infamous Mountain King.

Meanwhile, as tensions rise between the gathering trolls and the city of Trolberg, Johanna scours the mountainside, desperate to find her daughter before the conflict erupts into a full blown war.

Hilda goes inside the mound and comes across a boat that ends up leading her to where her father is, alongside Victoria Van Gale.

Noticing that Twig is coming to rescue them, Hilda and an initially reluctant Johanna decide to try and escape the fairy world.

Luke Pearson had previously worked in the animation industry beforehand, serving as a storyboard artist on several Adventure Time episodes.

In 2014, Silvergate producer Kurt Mueller found Hildafolk, the first book in the Hilda series, at a US indie bookstore in Brooklyn, NY.

When Pearson and Silvergate started working together on a pitch, they wanted to build upon the original books while simultaneously keeping the general feel that the series had.

An inordinate amount of love and attention to detail is going into this thing and I'm looking forward to sharing the result in a couple of years' time.

One of the biggest inspirations used for the show was Scandinavian Folk-Lore: Illustrations of the Traditional Beliefs of the Northern Peoples, written by William Alexander Craigie.

[27] The first two episodes of the third and final season premiered at the Ottawa International Animation Festival on September 21, 2023, the series' fifth anniversary.

The website's critic consensus reads, "Animated magic of the highest order, Hilda successfully captures complex feelings and charming characters into an enchanting adventure that is suited for children and adults alike".

Emily Ashby of Common Sense Media gave the series four out of five stars, stating that Hilda, herself, "is the show's best quality, but it also benefits from curious characters, exceptionally matched storytelling and Toonboom animation, and an endearing world of fantasy".

[4] Allison Keene of Collider gave the series a four out of five stars, saying: "Regardless of age, Hilda invites viewers to join in the mystery and thrill of adventure and to find the magic in the introduction of these many creatures, and some of their curious habits, in an upbeat and wonderful world.

[52][53][54] Two soundtrack albums compiling music from the first two seasons were released through digital platforms by Madison Gate Records on July 28, 2023.