Africa 4: The Journey to the Land of Mists (1990)

***Africa IV: The Journey to the Land of Mists*** is a 1990 American direct-to-video animated adventure musical film produced by ??? and directed by ???. This is the fourth installment and third *Africa* sequel directed by ???, as well as the last to feature any of the original voice cast. The film was nominated for two Annie Awards.

## Plot:

Lenny notices a herd of Elephants entering the Kupatana Valley and informs his grandparents, who tell him that the Elephants are their cousins and that they must go to greet them. Upon the herd's arrival, the Old One, the herd's leader, tells the Kupatana Valley's residents that her herd has been migratory ever since a heavy period of rain turned their old home into a marshland called "The Land of Mists" and became the home of many dangerous creatures. Later, Lenny meets a female Elephant named Alice and invites her to play. He introduces her to his friends, but as she is not used to associating with diverse species, she is afraid of them. Meanwhile, Lenny’s Grandpa becomes ill. The Old One notes that she is familiar with the illness, having seen the illness many times in her life, which is lethal to any dinosaur unless they eat the petals of the "golden night flower," which only grows in the Land of Mists. When Lenny’s Grandma asks one of the other Elephants who should take her to the night flower, the other Elephants refuse to take Lenny’s Grandma there due to the risk.

Though Lenny has been warned by the Old One that the Land of Mists has gotten too dangerous, he becomes determined to save his grandfather and asks Alice to take him there. She agrees on the condition that Cindy, Dottie, Patrik and Stan do not come along, claiming that they will only slow them down. As the two of them make their way, they pass through a cave and a sudden earthshake causes various stalagmites and stalactites to crash down, separating them. After Lenny’s Grandma tells Cindy, Dottie, Patrik and Stan about Lenny's Grandpa's illness, Alice returns to the Valley and convinces Lenny's friends to help her free him. Meanwhile, Lenny tries to find a way out and meets an old male *Leatherback Sea Turtle* named Adam, who helps him dig through the rocks. As they work, Lenny and Adam are interrupted by a mostly-blind *Nile Crocodile* named Deb and an *Spotted Thick-Knee* named Ian, who intend to eat them. Deb and Ian pursue Lenny and Adam, but are knocked out when Alice and Lenny's friends dig a hole in the rock wall and send rocks tumbling down on them. Adam (who helps Lenny and his friends escape Deb and Ian for the first time) shows Lenny and his friends a way to the Land of Mists and reminds them to stay close together before departing. In the Land of Mists, Cindy is separated from the group. The others meet a *Four-Toed Jerboa* that Dottie names Thomas because of his fur, which tickles her when she hugs him.

Immediately after, Thomas helps them find Cindy. However, Cindy falls into a river and is pursued by Deb and Ian, who have now recovered from their prior knockout in the cave. Alice saves Cindy and distracts the predators, after which Cindy finally softens her earlier stance towards Alice. Later, Alice explains her prejudicial behavior, having never interacted with species outside of her own, but remarks that her attitude towards Lenny's friends has now changed. When the seven stop for the night, they realize they are in a field of night flowers after they bloom and quickly stock up on them. As they make their way home, Ian and Deb return for one last attack. During a chase, Patrik is grabbed by Ian but rescued thanks to Thomas, who tricks Ian into biting Deb's tail rather than Patrik's stomach, giving him time to rejoin his friends. Deb becomes upset at Ian, but they quickly resume the chase after Cindy gives their alternate hiding spot away, during which Dottie falls into a river and becomes unconscious. Stan then speaks for the first time by calling out Dottie's name, which awakens her as she is about to be consumed by Deb. Ian comes up to Lenny and says to him that he and the others are going to be his and Deb's next targets. Dottie escapes when Spike uses his tail to knock Ian toward Deb's open jaws as she tries to consume Dottie. However, she instead gets Ian after mistaking him for Dottie. Deb chomps Ian by accident. Ian barely escapes that and the two get into another argument. Finally, the two declare that they have had enough of each other and are going their separate ways forever. Immediately after she swats Ian away with her tail, Deb bumped into a *African Rock Python,* who chased her away.

With the predators gone for good, Lenny and his friends say goodbye to Thomas and head home. They give Lenny’s Grandpa the flowers to eat and he fully recovers a few hours later. Alice then leaves with her herd, but not before trying to convince Stan to say goodbye, which he does not, as he is too interested in consuming leaves. The narrator concludes that Lenny and the others would indeed meet Alice again one day.

## Cast:

* Joey Lawrence as Lenny
* Tiffany Brissette as Cindy
* Natasha Lyonne as Dottie
* Tom Kenny as Patrik
* Jess Harnell as Stan
* Robert Guillaume as Grandpa Elephant
* Marcella Lowery as Grandma Elephant