Tontu (beta)

Tontu is a nisse that appears in the graphic novels, the animated series, and Novelization. In all incarnations, Tontu used to live in Hilda's house, but gave this up to lead their pet barghest Jellybean out of Trolberg.

Appearance
Tontu is a small, humanoid creature. Unlike most other Nisse, Tontu has a hairless head, and thus visible eyes and mouth. The rest of Tontu's body is still covered in brown fur/hair. In all incarnations of the Hilda franchise, Tontu is wearing one of Hilda's outfits when first seen, but later appears without clothes.

Tontu has a tail with fur on the tip.

Tontu's exact gender is a up for debate, and there is contradicting information. The graphic novels and animated series make no mention of whether Tontu is male or female, but female seems the most likely due to Tontu's lack of body hair; the only other hairless Nisse seen in the graphic novels and animated series is Tontu's mother. Luke Pearson also stated that Tontu is female. In the novelization "Hilda and the Nowhere Space" however, Tontu is explicitly referred to as male.

Personality
Like all Nisse, Tontu is highly territorial, and doesn't trust other Nisse. The nisse does however deeply love their Barghest Jellybean, and is willing to work together with another Nisse to ensure his safety.

Tontu will also defend their house against other intruders that threaten it.

Relationships
As a child, Tontu lived with their parents. It's unknown however if they are still has contact with them, or if they are still alive. Tontu is currently alone.

Animated series
Tontu was the Nisse that lived in the Nowhere Space of Hilda's house. It's unknown if this is also the house Tontu was born and raised in, or if they moved here later in life.

As a child, Tontu found a young Barghest in the streets of Trolberg, and secretly took it home. They raised it in secret, named it Jellybean, and even taught it how to enter and leave Nowhere Space on it's own. One day however, Tontu's parents discovered the beast and got rid of it since they knew how big Jellybean would become.

When in "Chapter 12: The Nisse", Hilda brought another, homeless Nisse (also named Tontu) with her since she thought her home was still available, Tontu violently confronted this other Nisse. Their fight trashed the entire kitchen. They hid again when Johanna came home, and thus the other Nisse got blamed and banished.

In "Chapter 13: The Black Hound", the Black Hound that had been terrorizing Trolberg for a while now chased Hilda and the other Tontu through nowhere space back to Hilda's house. Seeing the beast as a threat, Tontu came to their aid and tried to fight it off with a broom. Instead, the Hound revealed itself to be their old pet Jellybean, now all grown up.

When the Trolberg Safety Patrol arrived to capture Jellybean, Tontu set aside their distrust for other Nisse and cooperated with the other Tontu, Hilda, and Johanna to lure Jellybean out of the city. This almost failed since Jellybean jumped on top of Johanna's car and caused it to go out of control. The only way the two nisse could prevent the car from crashing was by sending it into the Nowhere Space of the outside world. While there, Tontu and Jellybean got separated from the others. They eventually emerged in the Wilderness near the ruins of Hilda's old home, where they met the Wood Man.

Neither Tontu nor Jellybean appear in Season 2, leaving it unknown what became of them.

Graphic novels and novelization
Tontu's role in the graphic novels and novelization is largely identical to the animated series. A few differences:
 * In the graphic novel, there is an extra scene in which Tontu returns Hilda's clothes (which Hilda caught them wearing when she visited Nowhere Space). Also, at the end of the story, Tontu and Jellybean end up at an unspecified location, and thus don't meet the Wood Man.
 * In the novelization, "Hilda and the Nowhere Space", Hilda gives Tontu the nickname Baldy. This name is not used in the animated series or graphic novels. The book also does not reveal where Tontu and Jellybean ended up after getting lost in the Nowhere Space of the outside world.

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