Ndovu's Last Journey is the fifth episode of the first season of The Real Adventures of Jonny Quest.
Premise[]
Jonny is chosen to guide an elephant to its sacred resting place, before two poachers kill it first.
Synopsis[]
[]
On the plains of the Serengeti, an elephant storms through a placid scene with a poacher's jeep in tow. Two men in the jeep tail the elephant, and one downs it with a shot from his rifle. The elephant struggles to stand, but the hunter kills it with a second shot. As the hunter stands over his quarry, his aide leaves the jeep and revs a chainsaw to cut off the elephant's ivory tusks.
Act One[]
Jonny, Race, and Dr. Quest tear across the Serengeti in a Quest Rover, armed with cameras. They drive astride a pack of gazelles and take several pictures. The gazelles enter a forested area, so Dr. Quest tries to cut around the watering hole and rejoin the pack. Along the way, they stop and find the dead elephant, resolving to notify the game rangers. Rumbling is heard from the nearby watering hole, and Race orders the group back into the jeep. A massive elephant emerges and gores the jeep, knocking it into a large tree; the group climb up as the elephant completely destroys the vehicle. Jonny takes several pictures, but falls; the elephant runs up to kill him, but suddenly freezes in placidity as Jonny's reflection appears in his eye. A cloud of dust envelops the elephant, which seems to become a Masai elder; he informs Jonny that the elephant, Ndovu, recognized him as a spirit he knew and the past and selected him to accompany his journey to the burial ground of his ancestors. The Masai describes the prophecy of white men who bring hunger and guns, and ruminates that Ndovu chose Jonny as a friendly spirit among white people. That night, Race repairs the Quest Rover while Jonny tries to convince Hadji and Jessie to go with him to track Ndovu. The three agree and set out, laying out sleeping bags near a watering hole after making distance. In the morning, Ndovu wakes them with blasts of water from his trunk, while Race and Benton discover the three have left. Ndovu sets out towards the graveyard, but Jonny nearly falls into a spiked pit in pursuit. He discovers the poachers riding towards Ndovu through his viewfinder, and the three re-cover the spiked pit in hopes the poachers will fall into it. The plan succeeds, throwing the hunter from the vehicle and nearly knocking the driver unconscious; the hunter decides to continue on foot. Dr. Quest and Race meanwhile drive in search of their progeny. Ndovu swims through a pond, but Jonny, Jessie, and Hadji realize the hunter has launched a small boat and is taking aim. They swim underneath the boat and overturn it as Ndovu reaches the far bank. That evening, the three watch the plains from a rocky outcropping; a Tanzanian border patrol convoy speeds to their position after their scout assumes they're poachers. The patrol realizes they're just kids and makes camp with the intent to return them to their parents the following day. However, the hunter surrounds their position with gasoline and starts a huge fire.
Act Two[]
The fire engulfs the camp, setting several of the Tanzanian border patrol guards on fire as they try to stamp it out. Jonny, Jessie, and Hadji help smother the flames where they can. Dr. Quest and Race blow through the wall of flames in the Quest Rover, and all parties load up in vehicles to escape. The following day, the border patrol officer thanks Dr. Quest, but admonishes the kids to leave the matter of the poacher to them. The Quests resume their photography drives, but Jonny spots the Masai man pointing across the plains, and Hadji is able to convince Dr. Quest with a wise quip to resume the tracking of Ndovu. Jonny, Jessie, and Hadji jump out to follow the elephant through thick growth, but the Quest Rover breaks down when Race and Benton try to follow. Jonny and the others stumble into the elephant's graveyard, filled with ivory and skeletons; Race and Dr. Quest also enter—led at gunpoint by the poachers. They hit Race and prepare to execute the Quest family, but Ndovu roars from behind to crush the driver and throw the hunter upon impaling tusks. Ndovu then collapses; Jonny runs to his side and cries as Ndovu wraps his trunk around him. The Quest team depart the following day, resolving to keep the secret of the graveyard. Hadji postulates that the Masai and Ndovu were one and the same as a vision of them bids them farewell.
Appearances[]
Characters[]
Main characters:
Supporting characters:
- Masai man (single appearance)
Villains:
Other characters:
Locations[]
- East Africa
- Tanzania
- Serengeti National Park
- Elephants' graveyard
- Tanzania
- Nairobi (mentioned)
Objects[]
- Gottlos's rifle
- Jonny's camera
Vehicles[]
Cast[]
| J.D. Roth | Jonny Quest |
|---|---|
| Michael Benyaer | Hadji Gottlos Soldier |
| Jesse Douglas | Jessie Bannon |
| George Segal | Dr. Benton Quest |
| Robert Patrick | Race Bannon |
| Frank Welker | Ndovu Lion Jackyl |
| Dorian Harewood | Officer |
| Brock Peters | Masai |
| Tristan Rogers | Hawkins |
Notes/trivia[]
- Bandit is absent.
- The scene where Ndovu chases the Quest Rover and Dr. Quest sees it in the Rover's side mirror is a homage to the 1993 film Jurassic Park, which features a similar scene with a T-Rex chasing a jeep.
Goofs[]
Objects are closer ("croser") than they appear.
- The Rover's side mirror reads "Objects are closer than they appear", but the sentence is flipped as though you need a mirror to read it. The word "closer" is also misspelled "croser".
Home media[]
- The Alchemist (VHS) (Finland and Sweden versions only) released in 1997.
The Real Adventures of Jonny Quest: Season One, Volume One DVD set released on February 17, 2009 by Warner Home Video.- Check where to watch Jonny Quest streaming.
Quotes[]
- Main article: Ndovu's Last Journey/Transcript
Dr. Quest: "Before you even ask your next question, the answer is no."
Race: "The elephants' graveyard, Benton. Jonny could prove it really exists."
Dr. Quest: "That is not a job for a thirteen-year-old boy, and certainly not for my thirteen-year-old."
Jessie: (to Jonny) "If you go tramping across the Serengeti alone, the only graveyard you'll find is yours. Either we go with you or..." (to Hadji) "You talk him out of it."
Hadji: "The paradox of karmic fate is the razor's edge between predestined reality and active choice."
Jessie: "I guess that means we're going with you."
Jonny: "How can we have lost him?"
Hadji: (laughs) "Only you could lose an elephant."
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