Teenage gnome Junior wants nothing more than to invent gizmos and gadgets in his tree-house laboratory. But Junior's father, Jalle, the head gnome of the forest, would prefer his son to follow in his footsteps and one day be in charge of his own forest. In spite of their differences, on the eve of the first winter storm Junior helps Jalle distribute food rations to the soon-to-be-hibernating animals. But then disaster strikes and troll brothers Face and Slim execute their evil father's plan to steal the food from the gnome secret food chamber. Junior and his best friend Sneaky, a paranoid neurotic crow, embark on a heroic journey to the depths of troll cave to retrieve the stolen food.