Africa 8: When the Ice Came (1995)

***Africa VIII: When the Ice Came*** is a 1995 direct-to-video animated adventure musical film and the eighth film in *Africa* series.

## Plot:

Dottie's relationship with her brother Stan becomes rambunctious and turbulent when he repeatedly keeps her awake at night with his snoring and after he ate her tree stars (which their mother packed specifically for her on their first day of school). She tells Cindy about her feelings, and confides that she does not know how to express them; Cindy agrees to teach her. Meanwhile, the children are attending a school in which they are taught by an old *White Rhinoceros* named Mr. Twohorn, who professes to have been everywhere and seen everything. Lenny eagerly questions the topics they cover, to the old animal's irritation. Eventually, Mr. Twohorn complains to Grandpa Elephant about Lenny's behavior. Lenny's Grandpa, knowing Lenny meant no harm, explains to him why he must be more respectful to Mr. Twohorn.

Meanwhile, as Dottie treats Stan coldly, Stan meets and befriends Tommy, a young animal from a migrating Hippo herd that has recently arrived in the Kupatana Valley. Dottie begins to miss Spike when he spends more and more time with the Hippo herd. One day, the entire Valley is surprised by an overnight snowfall. While the children together have fun frolicking in the snow, the adults complain that Mr. Twohorn, purportedly the wisest in all of the Valley, did not warn them about this impending weather, and suspect that he does not know as much as he claims.

As time goes on, the animals begin to suffer from the freezing temperatures (through the Big Freeze) and the lack of food growth. The Hippo herd leaves, as they consume more food than most species. Tommy's mother asks Dottie and Stan's mother, Mama Aardvark, if she can take Stan along during the cold time; Mama Aardvark decides that Stan should choose between staying in the Valley or leaving with the Hippos. Stan is unsure, so Dottie angrily tells him to leave, which he agrees to do. Afterwards, however, she regrets her actions, and later sneaks away to follow the herd.

When her friends find out, they head off into the Mysterious Beyond to find her, but are interrupted by Mr. Twohorn, who decides to accompany them. After several mishaps, they encounter a Lion (a *Congo Lion*), but the kids defeat it with a giant snowball. In the process, they join up with Dottie, who was being chased by it earlier. Soon, they come across a frozen pool of water that they accidentally break. Underneath the ice is a warm spring, and they notice there is lush food nearby. While they relax in the water and feed, Mr. Twohorn confesses that most of his knowledge comes from secondary sources; he listened to the stories of other travelers when he was a child, and in his adult years, he shared those stories to the children in the Valley.

The lion from earlier attacks them again, but Mr. Twohorn saves the children by pushing a log off the hill, causing the lion to trip onto it and roll off a cliff to its presumed death. Later, the group tries to contact the Valley's residents but find that a wall of snow has blocked them from entry. Dottie, remembering what Cindy taught her, suggests that Cindy gets angry. She does so, and her enraged screaming causes the snow to fall down, enabling the Valley's residents to pass through. Meanwhile, the Hippo herd is starving until Spike picks up the spring's scent. He leads the Hippos there and reunites with Dottie. However, he falls into a deep part of the spring, and as he is unable to swim, Mama Aardvark jumps in to save him. When she places him on dry ground again, Tommy's mother says that Spike should stay with his family, rather than her herd. Dottie promises to Stan that she will not get angry at him whenever he snores, ever again.