`Tarzan' – Lord of the Animated Jungle by Homer Yen (c) 1999
After watching Disney's latest animated offering, there were a couple of points that stayed with me from the moment that I left the theatre up until now as I sit in front of my computer. The most striking was the terrific animation and level of detail that we've come to expect from Disney animators. The beautiful waterfalls and the indigenous wildlife of the lush African forest are vividly brought to life. And there are three notable scenes that highlight the level of detail at work. The first features Kala (voiced by Glenn Close), a mother Gorilla who saves young baby Tarzan from the jaws of a hungry leopard. Another involves a battle between a now-grown-up Tarzan versus the leopard that almost killed him as a child. And another scene features Tarzan saving a prim, young, lass named Jane (voiced by Minnie Driver) from a pack of hungry beasts. He swings from vine to vine and slides up and down an array of branches with the same look and feel of an Olympic bobsled run. This is nothing less than impressive.
`Tarzan' is about an orphaned baby that is raised in the wilds by gorillas. Kala cares for and adores him like her own son, but her mate and leader of the gorilla pack, Kerchack (voiced by Lance Hericksen) doesn't accept him. He's different from the others, and as the ugly duckling, Tarzan has to convince the protective Kerchack and even his own gorilla play pals that he does belong among his simian siblings. Yet as Tarzan grows older, he does notice innate differences between himself and his mother. He becomes further confused after meeting Jane, the first human that he encounters. He sees that he has physiologically more in common with Jane than he does with his gorilla family. Questions of self-identity and measures of self-worth are brought forth, and now Tarzan wonders what his true calling is. Trying to sort out his loyalties and learning more about himself are ‘family-values' elements at which Disney storytelling excels. Kids can relate easily to this situation. And I think that most kids will also enjoy the clumsy antics of Tarzan's elephant friend, Tantor (voiced by Wayne Knight) and the sardonic wit of Terk (voiced by Rosie O' Donnell).
But the film has a definite feeling of maturity to it. Another subplot, although less intriguing, involved Jane's fellow travelers. One of them is her father (voiced by Nigel Hawthorne) who is on a scientific trip to study the gorillas. The other traveler is Clayton, He purports to be their bodyguard, but he secretly wants to find these gorillas and to capture them for a pretty penny. This rogue is as oily as they come. He senses Tarzan's attraction to Jane and exploits his feelings in order to gain knowledge of the gorillas' secret nesting area. Boo! Hiss!
I have grown used to Disney films as being feel-good adventures filled with humor, song, and color. And maybe that's why Little Mermaid still ranks as my favorite among all of the Disney animated films. This film (and I think recent Disney animated features in general) has purposely tried to be more adult-oriented. For example, many songs in the film are created by contemporary popmeister Phil Collins, while the colors of the film are noticeably paler than Aladdin or Beauty and the Beast or even Pocahontas. Tarzan is surprisingly weighty and Disney films are definitely maturing. But my mind is still humming `Under the Sea.'
Grade: B
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