Abuela Grillo translates to Grandmother Cricket. She has antennae, duh. She walks around Bolivia singing her incredible little rain song bringing life and nourishment to her people. This time, however, she is taken advantage of by boxy business men and used for profit.

She is nearly destroyed, her very tears being bottled into plastic containers and sold at a price the people can not afford. What a little allegory of the corporate experience. My favorite stories are when a victim realizes they no longer wish to be a victim, and they fight back. Grandmother Cricket gets angry at her captors and sings a storm song which floods the city and frees her in a wash of flash flood. She returns to her people, bringing life and greenery to the parched fields.

This 12 minute animation is completely captivating. Her rain song is an interesting mix of haunting and cute, something I rarely experience (similar to chim-chim-cheree by Dick van Dyke). The director’s choice to use Luzmila Carpio as the vocal talent probably provides an incredible amount of the appeal to this piece. Her voice is certainly unique, but sounds itself like Bolivia & the exoticism of South America.

A cross-stitched opening and closing sequence only adds to the charm and incredible craft of this animation. Mesmerizing.