Hilda and the Lost Ring

"The life of an adventurer will have the adventure of a lifetime."

- Tagline

Hilda and the Lost Ring (also known as Hilda: The Lost Ring in some international releases) is a 2022 2D-animated fantasy adventure comedy-drama film based on the graphic novels and Netflix animated series of the same name. The film was directed by Andy Coyle and was produced by Sony Pictures Animation, alongside Silvergate Media and Mercury Filmworks, with financing by New Heights Capital, and distribution by Sony Pictures Releasing. The film, which is considered non-canon by the producers, follows Hilda who, after stumbling upon a ring of great destruction, has to team up with her friends to stop the upcoming catastrophe from happening, escalating from traveling across the world, to even entering an extraterrestrial world.

Hilda and the Lost Ring premiered at the TIFF Bell Lightbox on May 18, 2022, and released in theatres in the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom on May 20, 2022. The film received positive reviews from film critics and fans alike, praising its dynamic animation, voice acting, soundtrack, and faithfulness to the novels and series, but its plot and script received some criticism. Grossing $487 million worldwide, the film became a box-office success, making it the 3rd highest-grossing film by SPA, and also encouraging Sony and Silvergate to develop a sequel.

Synopses
"The life of an adventurer for 11-year-old girl Hilda is not easy, where she is stuck with a ring containing what seems to be a warning of the future. While having that, she will need to team with her friends and alongside new ones to solve this problem. The only problem is, there are pros and cons to the ring."

-Sony Pictures

“The all-new original story based on Luke Pearson’s hit novel series follows our 11-year-old titular heroine (Bella Ramsey) on a big adventure across not one, but two worlds after stumbling upon a ring with a spirit (Keith David) capable of causing an extinction-level event. To prevent that from happening, she’ll have to team up with her old friends: Frida (Ammerah Falzon-Ojo), David (Oliver Nelson), Twig, Alfur (Rasmus Hardiker), and a new friend named Alex (John Hasler) to prevent this thing from taking place. But there is one secret that lies in the ring: It may give her new abilities, but give her something she cannot handle."

-Official synopsis

Plot
In Trolberg, Scandinavia, Hilda (Bella Ramsey), an 11-year-old blue-haired girl, prepares to start her adventure around the city with her friends Frida (Ammerah Falzon-Ojo) and David (Oliver Nelson). But first, she will need to retrieve a stolen item from a ghost in the woods. Things went smoothly, until a piece of the ground breaks off, trapping Hilda and Twig in the hole. With no way out, Hilda, however, encounters a ring containing supernatural power from an ancient spirit (Keith David). Curious at what it is, the ring somehow gets stuck on her arm, later realizing that it contains the vision of a dangerous future. Alfur (Rasmus Hardiker) warns Hilda about the extremely deadly consequences of the ring. Desperate to seek answers, the group enters a shop owned by Alex (John Hasler). Even though he is not aware about what the ring is and what it can do, he is willing to help them out. While looking around, Hilda spots an old book containing information of the book, and explaining that it was a civilized project, while looking for clues. Though to make matters worse, Hilda's mum Johanna (Daisy Haggard) is furious to keeping the ring a secret, so as to prevent any distress. Wood Man (Ako Mitchell) overhears the conversation and asks why Hilda had argued with her mum.

The next morning, Alex invites Hilda, Frida, David, Twig, and Alfur to a journey on finding a solution to their problem. Their first clue to their problem is to go to a ruin deep inside the mountains, where they will need to look for a journal written by the creator of the ring to assist them, while their next clue is to head outside of Trolberg, which meant going to atleast two other cities, though Twig, Alfur, and Alex choose to stay behind with Johanna due to the latter injuring his arm. Hilda, David, and Frida are to head to London, where they will have to devise a plan to get the piece of an artifact known as the Founder of the Lost Ring, located in the Palace of Westminster. They are successful, but are dragged into a police chase, which they also evade from. As they head to their second city, San Francisco, Hilda attempts to call Alex, but Johanna picks up instead. She looks through the plans, only to see that it was all a heist. Johanna gets mad with Hilda for doing such a thing, but Hilda tries to say that it was the only way. Mad at each other, they both hang up with Alex trying to reason with Johanna. At night in Fort Point, an unknown entity tranquilizes Hilda, putting her into a deep sleep. The entity takes her body into a portal, leading to a different realm.

Waking up from her deep sleep, Hilda finds herself in a realm known as the "Spirit Realm", inside Luke (Anna Akana)'s cabin. Luke tells Hilda that they are in an alternate realm, and that the reason she is there was because of Hugh (Rowan Atkinson), a boss of a secret agency, finding out that a human being (Hilda) had one of their treasures, and that he sent Ryan (Troy Baker) to get her. Hilda tries to prove this wrong by telling her that it was from the human realm, and that she needs to get back. Duncan (David Tennant) doubts it himself, and challenges Hilda to a bet, where if she wins, she will return to the human realm. But if she loses, she will stay in the Spirit Realm permanently. She attempts this herself, but unfortunately, loses first try. Hugh attempts to take care of her to keep her alive during her stay. As she wakes up, Hilda realizes that she has put all the lives of the people in her world at risk, and that it is all her fault. The spirit in the ring begins to control a part of her mind, but she snaps out of it a moment later. While Luke is investigating to what happened in her body, as well as the ring, Ryan tries to help out Hilda into getting back to her home realm, despite what he did to her.

Back in the human realm, Frida tries to get in contact with Alex via a phonebooth in the city. As he answers, Frida asks Alex to get them back to Trolberg quickly as possible, with Alex saying that it'll be tough, but he'll try to. At the same time, as Hilda enters a store back in the Spirit Realm, she meets Reginald (Daniel Radcliffe) and Marley (Haley Tju). What makes it even stranger is that the two know what Hilda is trying to do: defeat Duncan as soon as possible, and getting back to the human realm. Despite being confused to what she's doing, Reginald and Marley will still choose to help anyway, as they know everything about the human realm, even saying that they've "been" there before. Also, Ryan and Luke manage to solve Hilda's problem, presenting it to her quickly.

Alex and Johanna encounter Frida, David, Twig, and Alfur back in Trolberg, but without Hilda. Johanna is worried about this, so David says that Hilda had gotten kidnapped to an alternate realm, making Johanna feel bad for her and for herself. Frida and David go to Kaisa (Kaisa Hammarlund) to explain the situation. Kaisa wants to help, but because of strict rules, she is unable to. But after a couple of attempts to convince her, Kaisa decides to do it anyway, but in secret. David gives Kaisa a book named "The Multiversal Vision". They see Reginald, Marley, Luke, and Ryan attempting to work together to get Hilda back to the human realm. One of the obstacles they will need to bypass is Duncan. Because Duncan is very strong, he was able to beat Hilda in a matter of minutes. But while planning out, Hilda's mind is once again controlled by the ring for a brief moment. Kaisa notices it, and tells Frida and David what happened to Hilda for a second.

Duncan is waiting at a line, and is suddenly tapped on the shoulders by Hilda. She tells him that he wants to do another bet, and Duncan chuckles to himself. They begin their battle, and thanks to a bit of practice, Hilda manages to defeat Duncan. Being granted a portal to the human realm, she thanks everyone and offers Reginald, Marley, Luke, and Ryan, but they decline the offer. Luke explains that they cannot go because it will break the laws of their universe, making this their final meeting. Hilda runs back to them, giving them one last goodbye, as she enters the portal. As she lands on the mountains, she sees an overlook of Trolberg. Knowing that she's back in her human form, Hilda runs off. But in a stunning turn of events, the ground begins to shake, showing that the vision she saw in her dream days ago had begun to come true. The spirit had begun his attack. As she runs to Trolberg, Hilda finds Johanna, Twig, and Alfur stuck in a building. Remembering what she practiced for, she dodges the incoming debris and comes to help her mum. After that, she attempts to save Frida and David, who were trapped in the library. The spirit inside the ring breaks free from Hilda, and congratulates her for doing what he has tried to do over the years: taking over the world. Now, he is ready to kill her. He starts by using a sort of telekinesis to Hilda, taking her at a very high altitude. He then drops her, but is saved by a miracle. Starting with a very long fight, after managing to get ahold of the ring, Hilda uses all her power left to defeat the spirit forever. She does this in success, but with the cost of her own life.

In what appears to be the afterlife, Hilda walks through a forest, and into her old home in the woods. She meets who appears to be the creator of the ring (Billy West), in his young form. Baffled by all of this, Hilda tries to question what was going on, but the creator decides to save her question for later. He thanks Hilda for destroying the spirit in the ring for all eternity, and tries to explain that the ring was society's hope, but Hilda shushes him, saying that she already read the bio from a book. Impressed with what she did, the creator, who still has the power of a god, offers to bring Hilda a second chance in life, which she gladly accepts. Sent back, Hilda's friends, Johanna, Twig, and Alfur celebrate in joy after being resurrected.

Two weeks later, the world is being rebuilt. Johanna walks to Hilda, asking what she'll be doing next, but says that it'll be a secret for now. But she does get reminded by Frida that they've got another adventure planned for tomorrow, and David says that Alex and Kaisa had a bitter relation, though they made up. Hilda and Johanna walk back to their apartment for dinner, as the Great Raven flies across the screen.

Post-credits scene
After the credits roll, a post-credits scene plays. In a small forest outside of Trolberg, it shows that a part of the spirit has survived, and possesses an animal, turning it into a supernatural creature.

Main Characters

 * Hilda is the titular main protagonist of the film. She is a blue-haired daring and fearless, but sometimes rude girl who loves to go on adventures with her friends, with most of them being in secret from her mother. Certain flashbacks shown in the movie show when she was born in her old cabin in the woods and when she started adventuring at such a young age.
 * The spirit in the ring (unnamed) is the main antagonist of the film. He is an evil and cruel spirit who attempts to take over Hilda's mind and soul and reset the world by eliminating all species. His history trails back to a period before the Bronze Age, where he helped with ancient civilization until things got out of control and took over one's soul.
 * Frida is a deuteragonist of the film. She is an intelligent and a tidy girl, and may be prone to panic if somethings don't go her way. Thought to be raised by elves, she was first born with her parents, and later scored the top of her A-game.
 * David is the other deuteragonist of the film. He is a bit scared and distracted in some cases, but is there when anything happens to his friends, including dangerous situations. As a young boy, he had a great fear of many things such as trolls.
 * Twig is one of four tritagonists. He is Hilda's pet deer-fox who protects her and anyone else from all kinds of danger. He is also an extremely rare animal and saved Hilda from a red wolf attacking her.
 * Alfur is the second tritagonist. He is an elf who is "more of a writer than a fighter". He likes to write things about certain stuff and cannot be seen unless certain paperwork is signed. Not much is known, but he planned to become a journalist in the coming future.
 * Johanna is the third tritagonist. She is Hilda's overprotective mother who does not like when Hilda does things that may be risky. When she and her husband married, they had Hilda. However, her husband later left for reasons unknown.
 * Alex is the fourth tritagonist and written exclusively for the films. He is a teenager who takes over his parents' shop in Trolberg when his parents first immigrated to the city. Like Hilda, he likes going on adventures, but unlike her, he doesn't do it so often.
 * Luke is a spirit in the Spirit Realm. She assists Hilda during her stay in said realm.
 * Reginald is another spirit. He was an engineer before he quitted to start a relationship with Marley.
 * Ryan is a spirit hunter. He was the first spirit seen overall when he tranquilized Hilda in San Francisco.
 * Duncan is a spirit who controls the portals. He is a mean, serious, and strong male who challenged Hilda.
 * Marley is the final spirit introduced. She is an optimistic girl and has high hopes for Hilda to get back to her world.

Secondary Characters

 * Hugh is the boss of a secret agency. He takes into care for Hilda when she stays in the Spirit Realm.
 * Wood Man is one of a species named Wood Folk. He can sometimes barge into buildings without permission, bugging people. But he has care for Hilda.
 * Kaisa is a librarian and witch in the Trolberg Library. She is seen in the final act when conducting a spell for overseeing multiple universes.
 * The Great Raven is a Thunderbird. His history dates to when citizens thought he was a sign of good luck. He eventually reunited with Hilda in San Francisco.

Voice Cast

 * Bella Ramsey as Hilda
 * Ammerah Falzon-Ojo as Frida
 * Oliver Nelson as David
 * Rasmus Hardiker as Alfur
 * John Hasler as Alex
 * Keith David as the spirit in the Ring
 * Daisy Haggard as Johanna
 * Anna Akana as Luke
 * David Tennant as Duncan
 * Haley Tju as Marley
 * Rowan Atkinson as Hugh
 * Daniel Radcliffe as Reginald
 * Kaisa Hammarlund as Kaisa
 * Ako Mitchell as Wood Man
 * Troy Baker as Ryan
 * Billy West as the creator of the ring
 * Ed Sheeran as a UK citizen; cameo
 * Teresa Gallagher as UK Newscaster
 * Paul Reubens as US Newscaster
 * Fred Tatasciore as additional voices
 * Frank Welker as additional voices
 * Joseph May as additional voices
 * Rob Rackstraw as additional voices
 * Stefan-Ashton Frank as additional voices
 * Dee Bradley Baker as additional voices
 * David Schneider as additional voices
 * Simon Greenall as additional voices
 * Christopher Ragland as additional voices
 * David Menkin as additional voices
 * Dan Russell as additional voices
 * Ben Small as additional voices

Development
The plan for a theatrical Hilda film have surfaced as early as January 2019. Series creator Luke Pearson had pitched to Sony Pictures Animation an early script of the film, and was accepted. The film had suffered three different script changes, with the third being used as the final script. Despite advantages to the film, there were a couple of financing problems, even to the point where the film had almost gotten canceled. Fortunately, New York-based financing company New Heights Capital stepped in and gave around $60 million dollars for the film's budget.

In October 2019, the film was announced at New York Comic Con. The estimated release date at the time was in early-to-mid 2022. However, in December 2019, Sony had acquired Silvergate Media for $195 million, removing the film from the release schedule.

When production finally began in 2020, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, production had suffered many delays, even to the point where everything had to be shifted to remote work. The voice actors in the film had to do their voice lines at their homes, and sent their recorded lines to Sony. Animation had also been suffered, where animators had to work remotely at their homes. Though they managed to get half the animation finished on time, production had been delayed for two months. Animation production resumed shortly afterwards when film animation companies reopened.

Casting
At the announcement in New York Comic Con, it was also confirmed that the voice actors in the TV series would reprise their roles, with the addition of new cast members such as John Hasler, Troy Baker, Keith David, Anna Akana, and David Tennant. In January 2020, Billy West, Rowan Atkinson, and Mark Rylance confirmed to join the cast as well. The next month, Mark Rylance had left the film due to scheduling conflicts, with Daniel Radcliffe replacing him. Haley Tju had announced she would lend her voice as well in April of 2022, as well as Ed Sheeran confirming he had given a minor cameo in the film.

Writing
The script of the movie was co-written by series writers Luke Pearson and Stephanie Simpson, with Rebecca Sugar also writing. Alex Hirsch was given story credit.

Animation
Animation was done at Mercury Filmworks, using Toon Boom Animation's Harmony engine, keeping the animation look in 2D animation with adding some new 3D elements. Additional animation was also done at Atomic Cartoons, though they went uncredited. In March 2022, Pamela Ziegenhagen-Shefland joined the crew as a film editor while John McKinnon returned as a film co-editor, with the latter previously editing the TV series in 2018.

Soundtrack
The score of the film was done by composer Ryan Carlson, who also worked on the series. In March 2022, a soundtrack album of the film was released via BMG Rights Management. The album contains songs played in-film from many artists, such as The Who, Electric Light Orchestra, and Soft Cell. The album also contains an original song performed for the film by American indie artist Greta Kline (also known as Frankie Cosmos).

Release
Hilda and the Lost Ring was delayed two times. Its original release date was April 15, 2022, but was removed from the schedule when Sony acquired Silvergate Media. On June 29, 2020, its new release date was February 25, 2022, but was also removed in November of the same year due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Finally, on July 1, 2021, the third and final release was confirmed to be May 20, 2022.

Thereisnoanswer.org
Before its reveal in October 2019, the film was promoted via an international alternate-reality game (ARG) titled Thereisnoanswer.org. In this ARG, fans who attended this promotion were to solve the meaning of the film's plot device (The Lost Ring).

Fruit of the Loom
Sony Pictures Animation and Fruit of the Loom announced that they will be collaborating with each other to manufacture T-shirts promoting the film. Production began on February 20, and were distributed on April 14 to many clothing outlets such as Old Navy, Hot Topic, and the online Fruit of the Loom website.

Graphic novel
Also promoting the film is a graphic novel based on the film. It is the same as the film, but the only difference is that it is in book form. This 125-page novel was co-published on May 6 by Flying Eye Books and Nobrow Press, two weeks before the film's theatrical release.

Hasbro merchandise
As well as the Fruit of the Loom collaboration, Hasbro announced they will manufacture minifigures based on the characters to promote the film. This included characters such as Hilda, Twig, Alfur, etc.

Promotional partners
Like its Hasbro merchandise and Fruit of the Loom collaboration, Sony Pictures spend the film over $47 million in television advertisement and promotional partners though commercial. Many promotional partners such as Tastykake, Betty Crocker, Vodafone, Lipton, Marks & Spencer, LG, Toyota, Pop Tarts, and Baskin Robbins. In early April 2022, G-Fuel was partnership with Columbia Pictures to use a galactic-like energy flavour with cotton candy and apple flavour renamed "Apple Cotton Candy Flavor."

Home media
The film was on released on digital by Sony Pictures Home Entertainment on July 5, 2022. It was later released on both DVD, Blu-Ray, and 4K UHD on August 2, 2022. The Blu-Ray and 4K UHD formats contain an extended cut of the film, behind the scenes footage, deleted/alternate scenes, outtakes, and two short films released for the formats titled Troll Trouble and The Great Chase, the former and latter of which were also released on DVD and online. A limited-edition version titled the "Adventurer's Edition" was released in September 2022, which contains both the DVD, Blu-Ray, and digital formats, as well as a CD of the soundtrack album. Netflix later released the film on their streaming platform in November 2022, 6 months after its theatrical release, as part of the Sony-Netflix deal. The film also made its official network television premiere on Cartoon Network during ACME Night on June 30, 2024.

Box office
Hilda and the Lost Ring released alongside Men and Downtown Abbey: A New Era in the United States. It received $27 million on its first opening weekend in the US and Canada, and continued to gross up to $105 million.

In the United Kingdom, it grossed $31 million USD in its opening weekend as well, making the US, Canada, and UK box-office opening weekend results $58 million. It continued to soar up to $128 million USD. In other territories, it grossed $224 million, making it a box-office success.

Critical response
On Rotten Tomatoes, the film has an approval rating of 71% based on 152 reviews, with an approval rating of 6.52/10. The critical consensus reads, “As the life of an adventurer risks herself on this dangerous mission, Hilda and the Lost Ring proves this as not only the adventure of a lifetime, but also the most perfect animated international adventure flick.” On Metacritic, it surveyed 40 reviews with a metascore of 62 out of 100, indicating “generally favorable reviews”, while on CinemaScore, audiences polled an “A” on an “A+ to F” scale, with PostTrak reported 96% of those gave the film an acclaim score with 71% saying they would definitely recommend it.

The Hollywood Reporter’s Warren Lorens gave the film a 9/10, writing: “As an 11-year-old girl to trolls and spirits, Hilda proves herself to be the supernatural girl she’s always been, but this film takes it a step further, where she not only travels to two other real-world cities, but also enter a whole new world. Hilda and the Lost Ring is a must-see for kids, especially if you have those who love nature.” The Guardian’s Peter Bradshaw gave the film a 4 out of 5 stars, writing: “One of the most perfect 2D-animated adventure films, Hilda and the Lost Ring’s high-tech 3D-like animation dominates this film’s good side. The soundtrack is another important factor here, showing off its 80s style music. In other words, Hilda and the Lost Ring will make you have a futuristic folk-like feeling.”

Ian Freer of Empire gave the film 3 out of 5 stars, stating “While it is a lengthy-filled action pack adventure, Hilda unfortunately flops herself into this animation film, unlike many other cartoon characters. However, that doesn’t mean that she can’t be saved from this one. Her heroic actions and quick thinking skills are what this movie needs for an 11-year-old. As compared to Sony Pictures Animation’s other movies like The Smurfs and The Emoji Movie, Hilda and the Lost Ring proves itself to be a much, much better film than the former combined.”

Other reviews

 * Ian Gilson, IGN, 8/10: "One of the most fantastic films for the family."
 * James Hadworth, The New York Times: "Hilda and the Lost Ring is one of the greatest forms of media to feature the star of the show. The 80s capture and the well-done animation are two of the phenomenal visuals ever done from Mercury Filmworks. Definitely a worthy film."
 * Dan Howard, IndieWire, A-: "Without a doubt a marvelous experience. Hilda and the Lost Ring does it again with our blue-haired heroine. What could be determined to be the biggest advantage in the film is the excellent animation, and the catchy soundtrack."
 * Timothy Ren, Common Sense Media, 4/5 stars: "Becoming one of, if not, the greatest animated films of the year, Hilda and the Lost Ring will go down as probably an inspiring film for enthusiasts, even for the kids who adore the lovely outdoors. An excellent voice cast, an action-packed storyline, and the irresistible animation are three of the pros in this movie. Its 80s-like feeling and soundtrack will give some kids a nostalgic trip back to the 20th century. Which either way you choose, Hilda and the Lost Ring will give you an emotional setback to what this girl was destined for: adventure."

Sequel
Main article: Hilda and the Sea Kingdom

At the premiere of Hilda and the Lost Ring at the TIFF Bell Lightbox on May 18, Luke Pearson confirmed that Sony Pictures Animation and Silvergate Media are already working on a draft script to a sequel of the film. He said that it will have something to do with even more fantastic creatures around the North American and European continent, such as the Griffin and the Jersey Devil. And also new sea creatures such as Mermaids, and a new species known as the Water Witches, as well as also having a time-loop related element.

It was also said that David, one of the friends of Hilda, would have a very important role in this one. There was also mentions of the setting to be a kingdom in the sea, and that there would be an entirely new and different antagonist. Also, the sequel will have more action and combat scenes than the first film, as one of the writers mentioned that they had planned to do a chase scene similar to the one in episode 13 of the first season of the series, but they would also be inspired by a scene from the movie Ponyo where the character, Lisa, crosses a road in the middle of a flood with her son to get home, and also from Big Hero 6, since at the end, the car in which they were riding in would fall into the ocean with them in it. And Luke also confirmed that if the first film does well in the box office, this would be turned into a trilogy of movies.

Taglines

 * "The life of an adventurer will have the adventure of a lifetime." -Main poster
 * "From one world to another." -Secondary poster