Cricket and Antoinette (2023)

Directors: Luka Rukavina, Kristijan Milic, Dino Krpan

Here is a new take on the famous fairy tale first told by Aesop and then Jean de la Fontaine. Ket, a guitar playing cricket, leads a band to entertain the carefree bugs. Nearby lives Antoinette, heiress of the anthill where music is forbidden and only discipline and hard work are allowed. By accident they meet and an affection grows between them.

Welcome to the (very different) worlds of ants and crickets. The world of the ants is about work, order and precision, while the world of the crickets is … well, the opposite! The ant world is represented by Antoinette and the cricket world is represented by Ket. Antoinette meets Ket by accident – literally! – and we’re about to go on a journey to find out just how different these insects really are.

Anteodor is the best student in his architect class. When graduates, he is immediately given the task of designing a new level for Anthill. He is ambitious and his designs are modern but impractical. He has his eyes on Antoinette, who is the future queen, but she has very little interest in him.

I never knew this, but apparently crickets can’t survive in winter. This subject matter comes to the fore in ‘Cricket and Antoinette’ when Antoinette learns this fact and tries to warn Ket and his friends. But Ket is in a band and they are carefree entertainers who see winter as a myth. So it is up to Antoinette to try and save them.

There certainly is a lot to love about this Croatian animated film. Firstly, the animation is stunning! Secondly, I enjoyed the characters. They were not clichéd and there were no annoying comic relief characters. Thirdly, I enjoyed the story. I enjoyed the different worlds, and the different perceptions and opinions. In a way, its also a survival story. And above all, it felt original.

What I did find interesting was the fact size is irrelevant in the movie. We all know ants and crickets are not really the same size, and according to the film the ants and the crickets are larger than snails. They also have more human features than insects. Ah well, for the sake of the story, I suppose we can oversee this detail… It was a fun movie and I enjoyed it!

‘Cricket and Antoinette’ won awards for Best Screenplay and Best Original Score.

In Croatian.

Would I watch it again? Yes.