Hetty Feather Season 1

Hetty Feather Season 1 has built a real following on and among viewers who do not usually seek out animation. The 1-season run is exactly the right length for what it is doing. An 8/10 rating says what the writing already makes obvious: this one works. Isabel Clifton's voice work is a big part of what makes it distinctive. There is no real reason to keep putting it off.

Part of the current wave of titles people are actually watching, Hetty Feather Season 1 earns its spot. Hetty Feather Season 1 treats animation as a medium, not a limitation. In series one, 6 year old Hetty Feather and her little brother, Gideon are forced to leave their “borrowed” family and return to the Foundling Hospital which the fearsome Matron rules with an iron fist. Isabel Clifton and Polly Allen lead a cast that brings real weight to the material. It was aired in 2015. The animation style is distinctive enough to be immediately recognisable, but it is the writing underneath that keeps viewers coming back for more. It rarely drops the ball, and when it does, it recovers fast.

If you have been sleeping on Hetty Feather Season 1 because of the format, the format is not the issue here. It has built its own audience without needing a direct comparison. The complete run is available and best experienced without too much prior knowledge of where it goes. The writing operates at a level the format's reputation does not fully prepare you for. Adult animation that actually works for adults.