Elizabeth "Eliza" Thornberry (Lacey Chabert) plays with a family of cheetahs in East Africa's Kenya after their mother, Akela (Alfre Woodard) puts her in charge of the cubs (while she is out hunting). Eliza's dad Nigel (Tim Curry) hosts a nature show and her mom Marianne (Jodi Carlisle) films it. They live in an RV and roam all over Africa. Eliza has sister Debbie and a brother Donald Michael "Donnie" Thornberry (Flea) a feral boy who does not talk much. Once Eliza saves a wild boar from a poacher, and the boar turned out to be a Shaman. The Shaman grants Eliza the power to speak to animals, on the condition that she keeps it a secret. The cheetah mother, Akela, has left Eliza in charge of her cubs; however, Eliza strays beyond the security of the area, and one of the cheetah cubs, Tally, is kidnapped by a poacher. Eliza gives chase and even gets on to the ladder of the helicopter, taking a glance at a specially engraved knife used by the poacher, before she is flung away. Eliza is determined to save the cub, causing her older sister Deborah "Debbie" Thornberry (Danielle Harris) to tell on her family about Eliza's antics (that she plays often with wild animals). This prompts her grandmother Cordelia Jasmin McGold Thornberry (Lynn Redgrave) to bring her to a boarding school in London for her safety, much to Debbie's dismay since Debbie was the one who wanted a normal life. Cordelia believes that Eliza is constantly endangering herself in Africa and Eliza will be much safer in England. Eliza wants to tell her parents that she talks to animals, but she is stopped by Darwin (Tom Kane), her pet Chimpanzee. Before leaving, her dad tells Eliza that during the solar eclipse all elephants in Congo gather in the tempo valley. He is going there next to cover the event. Upon arriving in London, Eliza discovers that Darwin, stowed away in her suitcase. Rumors about Eliza's past spread through the school, but Eliza becomes more popular over the day. Eliza's roommate is a snooty person named Sarah (Melissa Greenspan) and Eliza barely manages to keep Darwin a secret from her. Darwin attempts to blend in, by wearing a school uniform to have lunch in the cafeteria, but is discovered by Sarah, and ends up causing a food fight. Darwin gets both himself and Eliza in trouble. Darwin gets sent to the stables by Mrs. Fargood (Brenda Blethyn) the headmistress of Lady Beatrice's boarding school. After having a dream in which Shaman Mnyambo (Kevin Michael Richardson) tells her to save Tally, Eliza convinces her roommate Sarah Wellington to buy plane tickets for her and lend her a visa, so she and Darwin can return to Africa. Sarah agrees as with Eliza gone, she will get the room to herself. Eliza rescues Darwin from the stables. Eliza and Darwin catch an airplane back to Africa. While taking a train from Nairobi, they encounter an injured male rhinoceros, who was shot at the river by the same poachers who kidnapped Tally. They jump off the train to save the rhino with the help of veterinarians Bree (Marisa Tomei) and Sloan Blackburn (Rupert Everett) who arrive shortly after Eliza and offer to help her. The rhino is taken away by a ranger. Meanwhile, Debbie is left alone with her feral adoptive younger brother Donnie at their Comvee, while their parents, Nigel and Marianne, go to film a solar eclipse at Tempo Valley. Eliza returns to the Comvee for supplies and has a small confrontation with Debbie. Debbie demands to know why Eliza ran away from London and giving up her chance for a normal life. However, Eliza locks her in a cage. Debbie pursues her, Darwin, and Donnie on the family motorcycle. Debbie becomes lost in the jungle while trying to find Eliza, Donnie, and Darwin and ends up crashing into a muddy pond. She finds herself at a friendly native village where no one speaks English. After several failed attempts to get her motorcycle out of the pond in which it is stuck, she meets a teenage boy from the village named Boko who helps her to get the motorcycle out. The village members, worried that Debbie will get killed out in the wilderness, send Boko (Obba Babatunde) as her guide. The two reach the Blackburns' RV, but Sloan holds Debbie hostage after she reveals to be Eliza's sister. Eliza's grandparents Cordelia and Radcliffe arrive by parachute, as they are looking for Eliza. Cordelia and her husband, Colonel Radcliffe (Tim Curry) try to find Eliza and take her back to London before Nigel and Marianne find out. However, they meet up with Nigel and Marianne to inform them of Eliza's escape. They also begin searching for Debbie, Eliza, Donnie and Darwin. Darwin, Eliza, and Donnie meet a gorilla who mentions seeing people setting up a fence across Tempo Valley. Then, they run into the Blackburns again. Eliza concludes that the poachers are targeting the elephant herd traveling through the valley. Later, the trio are invited to spend the night at the Blackburn's RV, then the next day, they find Tally inside the RV. The Blackburns reveal their true agenda as the poachers and capture them, revealing that the fence is electrified. Eliza is tied up by Bree and Sloan, and as she tries to get free Darwin is angry that they're in this situation and accuses Eliza of not knowing how to use her powers properly. Frustrated, Eliza snaps at Darwin and orders him to be quiet. When Sloan intends to kill Debbie if Eliza doesn't tell him how she found out their plan, Eliza admits that it was because of her ability to talk to animals. Boko is lost during the commotion, and tries to save Debbie. A storm comes and takes away Eliza's powers while the Blackburns flee. Eliza, Debbie, Darwin, Donnie and Tally ride a log on the river. After the storm, Eliza tells Debbie about her ability to talk to animals and that she lost it because she revealed her secret to the Blackburns. Debbie reconciles with Eliza when she learns that Eliza gave up her powers to save her. They reach Tempo Valley in time to see the elephant herd heading for the electric fence. When Eliza becomes doubtful of herself, Debbie reminds her that she has been helping animals long before gaining her powers, restoring her confidence. The Blackburns, riding a helicopter, order their men to set off explosives, scaring the elephants and making them charge toward the fence. Eliza jumps onto Phaedra, and desperately tries to tell her to stop. She uses a necklace Nigel gave her before she left and hurls it at the fence. Eliza triggers the fence's electricity prematurely, causing the herd to stop temporarily, and then convinces the lead elephant to turn around. Sloan order their henchmen to fire off another round of explosives, making the elephants charge towards it again. Then Eliza remembers how elephant mothers tell their young how to go; she taps the elephant behind its ear, causing her to stop right in front of the fence. Everyone stops and are finally saved. The poachers become angry and notice what is happening. loan swings in on the helicopter, grabs Eliza, and throws her into a raging river. He then attempts to shoot the elephants, but they pull the Blackburns' helicopter out of the air by its rope ladder and destroy it, causing him and Bree to fall. Eliza nearly drowns until Shaman Mnyambo saves her. He praises her for rescuing the elephants using her heart instead of her powers. As a reward, he gives her back her powers, on the condition that Debbie will also keep Eliza's powers a secret. Following the eclipse, the Blackburns are arrested by rangers. Eliza reconciles with Darwin, and she reunites with her family, who decide not to send her back to boarding school as she rescued the elephants. Boko returns to his village, keeping Debbie's watch as a memento. The Thornberrys return to the Savannah, where Eliza reunites Tally with his family. Debbie is upset when Eliza tells her that she will turn into a baboon if she reveals her secret, and in the process frightens a group of baboons Nigel and Marianne are filming. One of them activates the radio, which plays music that the Thornberrys and the baboons dance to.
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