Africa 7: The Search for the Heavenly Stone (1994)

***Africa VII: The Search for the Heavenly Stone*** is a 1994 American direct-to-video animated adventure musical drama and the seventh film in *Africa* series, produced and directed by ???. It stars the voices of Amy Birnbaum, Katie Griffin, Sandy Fox, Elizabeth Daily and Frank Welker, and introduces Andrew Rannells, Eartha Kitt, Kelsey Grammer and British actor Johnny Depp. This was the only *Africa* film to be written by ???. This is the first installment to not have James Earl Jones' narration. Starting with *The Search for the Heavenly Stone*, Taiwanese-American studio Wang Film Productions takes over the overseas animation work on the entire *Africa* series until the 2001–02 television series of the same name and *Africa XIII: The Friends of Wisdom*, after South Korean studio AKOM provided their animation for the last five direct-to-video sequels: *The Adventure in the Kupatana Valley*, *The Search for the Lost Water*, *The Journey to the Land of Mists*, *The Mysterious Island*, and *The Secret of the Giraffa Rock*.

## Plot:

Late one night, Lenny sees a strange, blue-colored meteor falling from the sky and crashing into Rhino Peak, an active volcano in the Smoking Mountain range. When Lenny describes it the next morning, the adults in the Kupatana Valley do not take it as a serious matter if they even believe it at all, except for two newcomers, the mysterious "Bonnie and Clyde", who are animals with Greater Flamingos. Bonnie and Clyde tell them of possibilities of wonders beyond what they know, and suggest the rock may be a "Heavenly Stone", which is capable of possessing magical properties. Cindy's father, however stops the Bonnie and Clyde and forbids them or anybody else to "fill the children's heads with rubbish". Lenny tries to tell Cindy's father that he knew where the flying rock was and how he can find it. But Cindy's father warns Lenny about the Mysterious Beyond and how it's off-limits. Lenny's grandfather agrees and tells Lenny that until the far-walkers leave the Kupatana Valley, it would be better if they don't make any more fuss about the flying rock.

Tamari, the long lost outcast uncle of Lenny's friend Patrik, overhears the entire conversation and conspires to find the rock to use its powers to take control of the Valley. Tamari asks Patrik, who idolizes him, for the location of the rock and learns its location. Lenny's friend Dottie overhears Tamari's plan, but before she can warn the others, Tamari and his cronies, Rufus, a *Rüppell's Vulture*, and Sylvester, a *Shoebill*, capture her and set out to find the Stone. Upon discovering Dottie's abduction, the adults tell the young ones how Tamari led some of their herd during their search for the Valley, but had accidentally brought his followers to a pack of *Brown Hyenas*. Tamari was able to fly away, but the event left him emotionally scarred, and he was expelled from the herd as punishment for leading his followers into danger. Because the adults are slow to reach a decision, Lenny, Patrik, Cindy, and Stan take off by themselves in search of Dottie.

Meanwhile, Dottie escapes the Birds and falls into a cave while fleeing. After the children find her, Dottie comforts Patrik, who is distraught about his uncle's actions, by stating that she could tell that Tamari is the least wicked of the three Birds, and that he still has a potential of doing good. Rufus and Sylvester suddenly re-capture Dottie and pursue the children in violation of Tamari's orders, but the children are able to outsmart the two evil Birds. As the Birds fly away, Patrik tells them not to go and a thunderstorm comes. They see some lighting and hear thunder. Later as the thunderstorm comes and there is wind, thunder and lightning, the adult dinosaurs meet and Cindy's Dad tells Petrie's mother what they will do since they will never catch up to the kids on land. Grandpa Elephant tells Patrik's mother to find another flier to help her and hurry. Afterwards later during the thunderstorm when it rains, Sierra displays mutinous feelings towards Tamari, but Rufus convinces him to hold off betraying Tamari until they find the Stone. Tamari sings a song about how a very important creature he is.

The children pursue the Birds, hoping to reach the Stone before them. They reach inside the cave and they sleep in the cave and the thunderstorm lasted until morning. The children wake up in the morning as the thunderstorm is over. Aided by the Bonnie and Clyde, who suddenly appear and offer their knowledge of volcanoes, they manage to arrive at Rhino Peak before the Birds. However, both groups discover that the Stone is just an ordinary meteorite. Lamenting over this realization, Tamari explains that he had meant to create a paradise with the power of the stone, not realizing that this paradise already exists in the form of the Kupatana Valley. Unwilling to believe the Stone is not magical, Rufus and Sylvester betray Tamari. However, as they attempt to get the Stone to give them power, the volcano begins to erupt with lava, lightning and thunder, and Tamari sees Dottie holding on to a cliff and as lightning strikes nearby and Dottie falls, Tamari saves Dottie from certain death.

Patrik's mother arrives with a *African Hawk-Eagle* (who is a huge bird) to evacuate the children, leaving Rufus and Sylvester to be caught in the meteorite's explosion (which they tried to bash) and they land back at the site where they camped earlier (quite burned, singed, and bruised). Tamari is thanked for saving Dottie's life. Back in the Kupatana Valley, the grown-ups have a meeting and decide about Tamari's fate. For rescuing the children (spoken by Lenny's grandfather), Tamari's exile from the Valley will be reduced to until five cold times have passed (five winters/years). Patrik cuts in and tries to plead against the punishment, begging the grown-ups to let Tamari live in the Valley forever. However, Patrik's mother tells Patrik that even though Tamari may be sorry, it does not change what he did (erase his actions) and he must still be held responsible. Tamari, agreeing with the banishment, tells Patrik that everyone (including himself) has to take responsibility for their actions and assures Patrik that he should be fine. Accepting the result, Patrik tearfully bids Tamari farewell with the latter saying he will miss Patrik before Cindy's father forces Tamari away (begging him to move on). This prompts him to remark to the latter that there are things he will not miss at all.

That night, Lenny finds the Bonnie and Clyde and asks them if the meteorite really was a Heavenly Stone. They admit that while it wasn't, his effort to search for it was what really mattered, and reiterate that there are many unknowns to be discovered "beyond the Mysterious Beyond". Lenny is then momentarily distracted, and when he turns around, he finds the Bonnie and Clyde have disappeared in a pillar of light, implied to be a *Tractor beam*, indicating that the Bonnie and Clyde are aliens. As his friends find him, an inspired Lenny reflects that there are many unknowns and that such unknowns make life wonderful.