Zoe and Alex must recover the Corespore before the Animalians are stuck forever.

All the animals lose the power of speech.

Zoe travels to the land of Over and Beyond, a realm populated by fictional characters, to rescue two zebras who have been captured by a dragon. To allow them to escape, Zoe must stay behind and entertain the dragon with her stories like Scheherazade.

Alex explores Animalia's tunnel system where he becomes trapped, along with an Animalian he has never met before, a weasel named TC.

When Alex and Zoe share a meal with the Horrible Hogs at the Elephants' Eatery they're appalled by the Hogs' awful table manners, crudeness, and limited social skills. The Hoity-Toity toucan overhears, and puts a spell on Alex and Zoe, making them Neanderthal versions of themselves.