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TARZAN Send This Review to a Friend
With all of the old Tarzan films, you'd think another would be superfluous. It isn't.
Disney has added to the lore with a classy animated Tarzan adventure that gives new
sparkle to the durable Edgar Rice Burroughs creation. At the Saturday morning family
screening I attended the film passed the ultimate test. Apart from the occasional trip to
the bathroom or the odd whine, the children, including many tots, sat quietly enthralled.
No wonder. There's plenty to keep them riveted, and adults can have fun as well.
Directors Kevin Lima, and Chris Buck, writers Tab Murphy, Bob Tzudiker and Noni
White, backed by the huge number of artists required for such a project--just look at the
closing credits--have provided warmth, humor, action and overall savvy to make a film
that ranks with the best of this Disney genre. As one would expect, there's the requisite
violence to provide the scares, but such action fits the story and there's nothing gory.
The film is launched by two tragedies. In the gorilla world a baby is killed by a leopard,
and we are immediately made to feel for Kala, the grieving mother, whose voice is
provided by Glenn Close. There is also a shipwreck in which the infant who becomes
Tarzan and his parents make it to shore. But the baby is orphaned when his parents are
killed, presumably by the same leopard. (We don't see the bloody details.) Kala hears the
baby crying, investigates and it is love at first sight. She takes the baby back to the gorilla
community to raise him as her own, over the initial objection of Kerchak (voice by Lance
Henriksen), the male gorilla honcho. By this time we are enthralled by the gorillas as one
big family.
I missed Cheetah, but there's a charming substitute, the outspoken little Terk (with a
voice unmistakably Rosie O'Donnell's.). By the time Tarzan is grown (with voice by
Tony Goldwyn), he is ready for Jane, a pert, pretty Brit with a turned up nose (Jane's
voice is that of Minnie Driver), who arrives as part of an expedition searching for
gorillas, but she mistakenly thinks the adventure is peaceful, not to kill or capture prey.
The relationship between Tarzan and Jane is funny and tender, the action that develops
ominous and lethal. Tarzan must swing to the rescue as well as come to terms with his
human identity.
Call this adaptation Disneyfication, but in the best sense. The ability to give human
qualities and speech to the animal kingdom is an old Disney ploy. The relationship
between Tarzan and his adoptive gorilla mom is downright touching, and a surrogate
father-and-son conflict exists between Tarzan and Kerchak. The characters come
movingly, and sometimes mischievously, to life and all is played out against lovely, lush
backgrounds. Accompanying music includes songs composed and performed by Phil
Collins. Youngsters seeing "Tarzan" should not only have a grand time but should
emerge with respect and affection for gorillas as a species. The new "Tarzan," which
deserves to be a huge hit, is educational as well as a captivating jungle fantasy. A Disney
release.
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