Christopher is a happy cricket who spends his days playing his magic stringless guitar for his friends. But, his peace is interrupted when a purple lizard named Wartlord bans music. Making matters worse, Linda the Night Star falls from the sky. Making matters worse, Wartlord, having mistaken the star for a diamond, is also searching for her. Thus, it's up to Christopher and his friends to rescue the night star, and stop Wartlord. Also, there's a Green Aesop tacked on just to be educational.
This is... a movie.
The Happy Cricket contains examples of:
- Award-Bait Song: "Night Star" has the soothing melody of a Disney love ballad.
- Deus ex Machina:
- Linda brings all the plants back to life after returning to the sky.
- At the climax, Leonardo's house is flown in, piloted by the girls, allowing Christopher and friends to escape the burning castle.
- Disney Villain Death: When Christopher plays his guitar for Linda, the star glows so brightly it forces Wartlord over the edge of his castle and into the flames below.
- Genre Shift: The first movie was a fantasy film set in the countryside, involving a magic MacGuffin, fantasy monsters and a spirit toucan. The sequel switches to a modern city with night clubs and killer robots.
- Green Aesop: "The Earth is not blue anymore! It must be because of this pollution thing!"
- MacGuffin Turned Human: Linda is a variant, spending most of the movie as an inanimate object.
- The Movie: For the Happy Cricket character first seen in Sharp Electronics commercials in the '80s.
- Number Two for Brains: Wartlord's second-in-command, Buffuno, follows in the tradition of brainless evil minions who somehow manage to stay employed.
- Trailers Always Spoil: Trailers for the sequel spoil the revelation that the titular 'giant bugs' are mechanical.
- Viewers Are Goldfish: The characters feel the need to repeat exposition, explain plot points multiple times, and describe what they just saw/was just explained to them.
