"I'm going to be the best ape ever!"      

TARZAN (G)

Reviewed June 23, 1999 - Check out the Tarzan Website.

In yet another incarnation of Edgar Rice Burroughs' famous jungle legend, the animation wizards at Disney bring us Tarzan, a 90-minute visual feast filled with all the requisite Disney side-characters and songs.  For most of you, the story should be very familiar as it traces the adventures of a human baby (Tarzan) orphaned in the African jungle and subsequently raised by a family of apes.  With effective voiceover work by Tony Goldwyn (as Tarzan), Glenn Close (as Tarzan's ape-mother Kala), Rosie O'Donnell (as Tarzan's friend Terk), Lance Henriksen (as silverback ape Kerchak) and Minnie Driver (as Jane), Disney has put together a wonderful ensemble that manages to bring each of this film's characters to life. 

As you might suspect, of course, the real star of this film is not the very capable voiceover work of its actors, but rather the animation itself.  With rich, lush and textured depictions of jungle scenery, Tarzan is a real work of art visually, and almost worth seeing for the "eye candy" factor alone.  After the slightly disappointing animation work in Disney's Hercules back in 1997, its recent efforts in both Mulan and Tarzan seem to indicate that the studio is back on track, and this film definitely benefits from it. 

Thankfully, this film also benefits from directors Chris Buck and Kevin Lima, who have managed to strike a nice balance between the story's very dramatic elements and Disney's tendency to "kiddie-fy" stories.  Though some of the more mature elements of this film (e.g., several violent sequences) may not be appropriate for the very youngest audiences, Tarzan is a film that both children and adults should generally be able to enjoy.  Sometimes funny, sometimes scary, and sometimes touching, Tarzan is definitely a film worth recommending.  : )

Responses from cyberspace--thanks for writing!

m.j.wilmot@students.geog.uu.nl gives this movie  stars: "Disney is finnaly following the line, they had set with Beauty and the Beast, Aladdin and the Lion King. With this movie they also put dreamworks again in a difficult position to compete with the poularity of Disney. Good work fellows" (11/25/99)

dismar@sureste.com gives this movie  stars: "megusto mas que la de mulan" (8/25/99)