Hilda and the Sea Kingdom

Hilda and the Sea Kingdom is a 2024 2D-animated fantasy adventure film based on the graphic novels and Netflix animated series of the same name. The film serves as a sequel to the 2022 film Hilda and the Lost Ring, and is the second theatrical installment of the Hilda franchise. Like the first film, the film is considered non-canon.

Hilda and the Sea Kingdom received mixed reviews, with some criticizing some of its humor and calling it "inferior" to the predecessor, but praised its concept. Despite that, however, it was still a box-office success, grossing $407 million worldwide against its $52 million budget at the box office, although the film was the lowest grossing Hilda film to date.

Synopsis
"Starting again after the events of the first film, encounter Hilda, along with Frida and David, to enter a whole new world with mermaids (and mermans) and Water Witches in an aquatic kingdom! But it's not all too friendly, as the kingdom has a very dark history of a long-feared takeover. Could they end the takeover, or is it out of luck?"

-Sony Pictures

Plot
Around weeks after the first film, Hilda and Johanna meet Xavier, Alex's cousin, who tells them about an upcoming water show taking place in Trolberg. Alex doesn't like his intentions, but accepts it because he is his relative. Hilda wonders why, but Johanna tells her not to intervene.

Later that day, when David reaches his house, he spots an orb in a trashcan, which attacks him, catching the attention of Hilda and Frida, and then hides. Hilda and Frida visit David the next morning to investigate his room, which has a visible scratch in the window sill. Frida goes downstairs to get some water, when she spots the same orb from before, messing up David's house. Knowing about the unusual nature of the orb, Hilda, Frida, and David try to visit Alex, but his shop is closed. Unfortunately, even Alex does not know about the orb, but does some research later.

Johanna tells Hilda and the others that she'll be picking up Alex. The same orb from earlier appears, this time, attacking David again. That night, the orb sends messages to Hilda, Frida, and David to visit a park so that they can terminate them. The three manage to escape by breaking the orb into other orbs into Burklinheim, a nearby town outside of Trolberg, where they crash into a museum and trigger the alarm system. Later, the orbs spot Hilda, Frida, and David again, and manage to "exterminate" them by dropping dynamite in the water, which only knocked them out.

Later, two sea creatures named Tak and Midgus are swimming near the shore until they spot the bodies. Lir, a water witch, gives the three air bubbles. Hilda, along with Frida and David, wake up, and meet Lir, Tak, and Midgus. Confused by this, Lir gives them an offer and bring them to the Sea Kingdom. The Queen is willing to help, but only through a song, which they manage to do successfully. So the Queen commands Lir to bring them to a hotel, which isn't the safest, but Tak and Midgus instead bring them to a much safer hotel, which is hosting a party for its bicentennial anniversary. At the party, Hilda and Frida look through portraits of kings of the Sea Kingdom, one of being a dark water lord known as "Lord Badstardly". Lir's parents hear them talking, so they explain who Lord Badstardly is.

At the same time, Johanna, Alex, Twig, and Alfur are searching for Hilda, Frida, and David in Burklinheim. However, the orbs from earlier interrupt their search, as they attempt to kill all four of them. One of the orbs manages to shoot Johanna's car, causing to fall into the ocean. Twig and Alfur manage to get out, but unfortunately, Johanna and Alex could not, causing them to faint. They are, however, saved by two mermans who were swimming nearby.

The next morning, a storm infiltrates the Sea Kingdom, prompting Hilda and David to escape into the surface and back into Burklinheim. They meet Maxxel, a pre-teen boy whom they almost ran over the last night, who gladly leads them to his house. They meet his father David Williams there. Maxxel then explains his backstory to Hilda and David, who was thought to have lost his parents. Frida then arrives at the house, who was wet from all the swimming and tangling from the seaweed.

TBA.

Main Characters

 * Hilda keeps her rank as the main protagonist in this film.
 * David is the main deuteragonist.
 * Frida is another secondary deuteragonist.
 * Lir is a Water Witch in the Sea Kingdom. She first enrolled in a witch army, but she later resigned due to finding out what the army does. After a few years, she signed up as a watcher of the Sea Kingdom.
 * Tak is a kappa. He was friends with Midgus for over 5 years when they both first met in school.
 * Midgus is an octopus and friends with Tak. He had a hard lifestyle, suffering from severe headaches, but he took a cure that delayed these.
 * Lord "Leif" Badstardly is the main antagonist of the film. His goal to overtake the Sea Kingdom and possibly the rest of the Water World came to surface when he was banished from the kindom and gained an interest in conquering a territory.
 * Pil is the assistant of Lord Badstardly. His interest in inventing things came during his college years.

Secondary Characters

 * Twig is the deerfox pet of Hilda.
 * Alfur is an elf.
 * Johanna is the mother of Hilda.
 * Maxxel is a pre-teen boy with anger issues.
 * Alex Hugo is the owner of a treasure store.
 * Xavier is a world-renowned game host and is the cousin of Alex.
 * Jasper
 * Miriam
 * Meilly
 * Lir's Mother is the mother of both Lir and her sister.
 * Lir's Father is the father of Lir and her sister.
 * Lir's Sister (Jebby) is a minor character. She is Lir's little sister and was born after Lir signed for the Sea Kingdom, and sometimes had a habit of breaking things.
 * Blizzard Dalk is a former assistant of Lord Badstardly.
 * Godium is the other assistant of Lord Badstardly.
 * Pingo is the guard of the Sea Kingdom.
 * The Queen of the Sea Kingdom (Lily) is the ruler of the Sea Kingdom and former husband of Lord Badstardly.

Voice cast

 * Bella Ramsey as Hilda
 * Oliver Nelson as David
 * Ameerah Falzon-Ojo as Frida
 * Ashly Burch as Lir
 * Liev Schreiber as Lord Badstardly
 * Mathieu Amalric as Pil
 * Jay Baruchel as Tak
 * Jake Johnson as Midgus
 * Daisy Haggard as Johanna
 * John Hasler as Alex
 * Rasmus Hardiker as Alfur
 * Archie Yates as Maxxel
 * Rob Rackstraw as Blizzard Dalk
 * Kerry Shale as Godium
 * Joseph May as Xavier
 * Sarah Chalke as Queen of Sea Kingdom
 * Peter Dinklage as Pingo
 * Kai Zen as Jebby
 * McKenna Grace as Lir's Sister
 * Emma Mackey as Lir's Mother
 * Taika Waititi as Lir's Father
 * Martin T. Sherman as Talking Salmon
 * Margot Robbie as Maria
 * TBA as Tom

Development
At the premiere of Hilda and the Lost Ring in May 2022, Luke Pearson confirmed that a script for a sequel had already been in the works since last month. He said that the sequel will have new elements, such as time-loop and new creatures, but the former and latter did not make an appearance. They were replaced by mermaids and Water Witches. In August 2022, it was announced that the sequel, titled Hilda and the Sea Kingdom, is already in production, and is slated for a release date of August 9, 2024.

Casting
In late August 2022, the cast was announced at the San Diego Comic Con 2022, with the voice cast of the series and first film set to reprise their roles. All considered the roles of the new character "Lir" included Ashley Jensen, Amy Poehler, Tara Strong, Kenzie Bryant, Ashly Burch, Alex Borstein, and Kari Wahlgren. In order of confirmed the new cast including McKenna Grace, Margot Robbie, Emma Mackey, Taika Waititi, Liev Schreiber, Mathieu Amalric, Peter Dinklage, Jay Baruchel, Archie Yates, and Jake Johnson, Burch eventually revealed that she was confirmed to be the role of Lir. In early September 2022, Martin T. Sherman and Sarah Chalke entered the cast to voice the Talking Salmon and the Queen of the Sea Kingdom.

Animation
The animation was used by Mercury Filmworks, using shots from over 1,560 scenes, while the animation for both the opening and ending credits were provided by Vancouver-based animation company Nitrogen Studios (credited as Cinesite Vancouver). In early October 2022, the film was delayed to November 1, 2024, taking place to the wide release closely sole to avoid competition. During the post-production, Pamela Ziegenhagel-Shefland said she was not going to be film editor due to scheduling conflicts. Ryan Carlson and John McKinnon was returned in the film crew as music score composer and film editor, while Spring Aspers was serving as a music supervisor.

Music
Norwegian singer Aurora announced the song "Swim in a Blue World" as the original song for the film, with other original songs featured including: "Story Time", "An Old History", and "The Shining Man". Other songs featured in the film include: "Leaving Lonesome Flats", while the end credits song would be an unreleased song called "Strange Kinda Dance".

Release
Hilda and the Sea Kingdom was originally planned to release on August 9, 2024, but was delayed into November 1, 2024. The film had a world premiere at the TIFF Bell Lightbox in Toronto, Canada in October 29, 2024.

Home media
The film was released on digital on January 7, 2025 by Sony Pictures Home Entertainment. It was then released on DVD, Blu-Ray, and 4K UHD on February 16, 2025. Bonus features such as gag reels, animation behind the scenes, bloopers, deleted scenes, and alternate ending. The film was also part of the 2-movie collection selected with Hilda and the Lost Ring. The film was released on Netflix in May 2025, 6 months after its theatrical release as part of the Sony-Netflix dealership.

Box office
In the United States and Canada, the film grossed $180 million, while it grossed $227 million worldwide.

Critical response
On Rotten Tomatoes, the film has an approval rating of 58% based on 159 critics, with an approval rating of 6.25/10. The film's critical consensus says, "Hilda and the Sea Kingdom continues our heroine's biggest adventure into a different world, but in a very unusual way, unlike its predecessor." On Metacritic, it weighted an average score of 57 out of 100 based on 29 reviews, indicating "mixed or average reviews", while CinemaScore audiences gave it a "A" on an "A+ to F" scale, the same score for Hilda and the Lost Ring. PostTrak reported 79% in the audience score being positive and 68% saying they would definitely recommend it.

Sequel
Main article: Hilda and the Last Stand

Also at the premiere of Hilda and the Lost Ring, Luke Pearson said that two more movies would follow if the film did well at the box-office. When Hilda and the Sea Kingdom was also announced, it was said that a third film could be possible.

In February 2025, it was revealed that an untitled third film was in development, and that it would be the final installment of the Hilda film series. The film's title was later revealed to be: "Hilda and the Last Stand", a reference to the 2006 film X-Men: The Last Stand.

Logo Variants

 * 1) Sony - None.
 * 2) Sony Pictures Animation - When the logo finishes, the screen pans down to the ocean.

Outtakes
Main article: Hilda and the Sea Kingdom/Outtakes

Alternate script
Main article: Hilda and the Sea Kingdom/Alternate Script