Summary

From the Serengeti Plain of Africa to a proper London boarding school, Eliza Thomberry ... television's favorite 12-year-old who can communicate with animals -- embarks on an epic adventure like no other in her first film odyssey, "The Wild Thornberrys Movie." Bringing the precocious young globetrotter face-to-face with evil poachers who are endangering the lives of nature's wild creatures, this thrilling new animated feature is based on the Emmy-nominated (2000-01) Nickelodeon hit series "The Wild Thomberrys." "The Wild Thornberrys Movie" delves even deeper into the multidimensional characters and free-spirited, action-packed lives of the extraordi-nary Thornberry family of nature documentary filmmakers. Featuring the guest celebrity voices of Brenda Blethyn, Rupert Everett, Lynn Redgrave, Marisa Tomei and Alfre Woodard, along with voices of series regulars Michael Balzary (AKA Flea), Jodi Carlisle, Lacey Chabert, Tim Curry, Danielle Harris and Tom Kane, "The Wild Thornberrys Movie" is a full-fledged family experience and a vicarious adventure for all ages. In the film, as greedy poachers descend upon the jungles of Africa, Eliza arrives at one of the most decisive moments she'll ever face and alone holds not only the fate of the entire Thornberry clan in the balance, but also that of her unique extended family of animals. As she stands to lose the two things that have made her life every kid's dream -- her ability to talk with animals and her experiences in traveling around the world --Eliza must find the strength and courage to save the ones she loves ... and time is running out! World-traveling documentary filmmakers Nigel and Marianne Thornberry (Tim Curry and Jodi Carlisle) have come to Africa with their family -- precocious Eliza (Lacey Chabert), rebellious Debbie (Danielle Harris) and adopted wild child Donnie (Flea) -- to record a miraculous event. Once every few hundred years, as the moon obscures the sun, native legend has it that thousands of elephants emerge from the safety of the forest to watch the solar eclipse. But this time, as they stand exposed in this wide-open Congo valley, these magnificent creatures will be in grave danger. Evil poachers Sloan and Bree Blackburn (Rupert Everett and Marisa Tomei) plan to ambush the elephants for their rare ivory tusks ... and they will not let humans or any other animals stand in their way. One day, Eliza and her chimpanzee friend Darwin (Tom Kane) witness the poachers kidnapping a cheetah cub to the horror of its mother, Akela (Alfre Woodard). Desperate to save the innocent cub, fearless Eliza grabs the rope ladder of the poachers' helicopter, and escapes injury when the poachers cut her loose, only because her horrified family below manages to catch her on the roof of their customized recre-ational vehicle. As a consequence of her recklessness, however, Eliza's grandmother, Cordelia Thornberry (Lynn Redgrave), convinces her parents that Eliza should be sent to a boarding school in London run by headmistress Mrs. Fairgood (Brenda Blethyn). There, supposedly, Eliza won't be able to get into any trouble. But Eliza is like a fish out of water at the boarding school. Miserable and feeling responsi-ble for not saving the cub, she is desperate to go back to Africa when the same Shaman who gave her the gift of communicating with animals tells her in a dream that the cub is still alive! With the help of her roommate, Eliza finally manages to get a ticket to Africa, but upon her return, she discovers that the poachers have an even more wicked plan than she imagined. What can one freckle-faced 12-year-old with pigtails and braces do against this kind of evil? How will Eliza be able to wam the elephants if she suddenly loses her gift of communicating with animals? Let's just say that in "The Wild Thornberrys Movie," the excitement, suspense and adventure will have audiences young and old squawking, barking, braying, trumpeting, growling, howling and roaring for more!