Africa 11: The Entrance of the Antelopes (1999)

***Africa XI: Invasion of the Field Mice*** is a 1999 direct-to-video animated film and the 11th film in *Africa* series*.* It was released on January 14, 1999 by 20th Century Home Video.

## Plot:

Every year, as the warm season approaches, a certain tree in Kupatana Valley blooms with pink flowers. These "treesweets" are viewed as a delicacy by the animals of the valley and everyone wants their fair share of it. However, because of the tastiness of the tree sweets, and due to the fact that there seems to only be one such tree in the entire valley, there is hardly enough for every animal. Because of this, none of them may eat the treesweets until the day when they reach the "peak of their tastiness." Lenny and his friends Dottie, Patrik and Stan wait to eat the first treesweets of the season. Dottie is about to take one, but Lenny quickly tells her to stop, reminding them that they may not take any treesweets until "Nibbling Day". This, however, does not stop Patrik from flying to the tree's crown to attempt to take a treesweet, until Cindy's father, emerges and states clearly how every animal in the valley has waited all year to taste the treesweets. As Cindy appears before them, she boastfully reminds the group that she is the one who is supposed to eat the first treesweet, having been the one who found the treesweet-tree in the first place, although it was Lenny who first found it. Cindy also teases Lenny for being too little to reach the treesweets, offending him.

Meanwhile, Mr. Rhino is visited by an old friend, a pink female rhino named Trixie. Tim, whom Trixie calls Tim, promises Trixie the first treesweet of the season, and Cindy becomes jealous. Cindy refuses to make friends with Trixie and dismisses her. In addition, Cindy becomes violent toward her friends when they make any references involving Trixie or her father's nickname. Lenny wanders off by himself and sulks about how "little" he is. When he returns to the treesweet tree, he climbs the cliff next to it and tries to prove that he can reach the treesweets himself. As he does, he accidentally slips off the cliff, falls right through the tree, and knocks down every single treesweet. Realizing the trouble that he is now in, Lenny faints in dismay. When he wakes up, he finds himself surrounded by several miniature Kirk's Dik-Diks (known by their group as antelopes). They have eaten all the treesweets and quickly run away once the shocked Lenny starts screaming in fear.

Upon noticing that every treesweet is gone, the other dinosaurs suspect that Lenny is responsible. Afraid to admit that he made the treesweets fall off the tree under Tim' threat of being banished from the valley, Lenny makes a parish truth and blames nearly everything that happened on the antelopes. At first, everyone laughs at him in disbelief, but when they find teeth marks on an eaten treesweet that are too small for Lenny to have made, he is believed and everyone begins to look for the antelopes, thinking of them as pests and preparing to drive them out of the valley. As Lenny and Cindy search the valley, Lenny falls down a pothole in the ground where the antelopes are hiding. At first, Lenny is afraid of them and flees deeper into the cave, but he soon finds them to be nice and befriends them. Upon hearing how difficult it is for the antelopes to find food, Lenny promises to help bring them as much food as he can every night.

Lenny's friends find him while he is bringing food to the antelopes. They also fall in the pothole, and upon meeting the tiny animals agree not to tell the adults. Even Cindy, who is still angry with her father, promises to keep it a secret, mainly because she finds out she can relate to them more than they would have imagined. Many of the antelopes, including Linda, in the colony feel that their leader, Barbatus, bosses them around too much, though he is only looking out for them. To Barbatus, the larger animals of the Kupatana Valley only seem to think that "because they're bigger, it makes them seem more important," and he does not trust the other dinosaurs. By morning, Cindy finally decides to be friends with Trixie.

When sneaking off to see the antelopes the following night, Lenny and his friends are discovered by Tim. When he tries to ask them where they are going this time of night, Cindy angrily throws the question back at him. He tells the children that he is on guard duty it is the antelopes which they have to worry about, then warns them to not let him catch them out late at night again, and sends them home. Afterwards, he meets up with Trixie and they spot two of the antelopes, Linda and Scotty. A chase ensues that ends when Tim and Trixie finds the antelope colony. Tim gathers the other adults to let them know that he has found the little creatures. As the grown-ups prepare to block the caverns, Lenny, realizing what he must do, admits the full truth that he unintentionally caused the treesweets to fall from the tree first. However, just as he is finished admitting his accident with the adults forgiving him and finally leaving the little creatures alone, the antelopes' cave collapses, trapping them inside.

The antelopes escape into the Mysterious Beyond, where they encounter two large *Brown Hyenas* who chase them back into the Kupatana Valley. Upon hearing that Lenny initially blamed everything on the antelopes, Lenny's friends become upset and do not want to talk with him. Angry at his friends' rejection, Lenny leaves and decides to set things right on his own. Meanwhile, Cindy apologizes to Trixie about her father being hard on her when she tried to stop him from hunting the little creatures down. After a tragic mistake, Patrik, Dottie, and Stan feel remorseful for what they have done and begin to sob over the loss of their friend. With Cindy's help, they all try to find Lenny and apologize for being hard on him; but they mistake the hyenas for Lenny, and the two hyenas chase them through the Kupatana Valley. Just as Dottie is about to be eaten, Lenny shows up and saves her, Tim and Trixie also appear. When all seems lost, the antelopes come to the children's aid and fight the hyenas. The grown-ups of the valley eventually reach the group and drive the hyenas back into the Mysterious Beyond through the same hole, which they cover up with a large boulder to prevent them from coming back.

After everything is sorted out and friendships are repaired, the antelopes become residents of the valley. Nibbling Day finally comes at last, and Lenny is able to reach the treesweets by himself after all. As they enjoy the fruity blossoms, everybody of all sizes learn how even small things can make a big difference.