My Movie Review on Tarzan (1999)
What’s up, Kemosabes?
I’m here with another movie review.
Today, as part of my comeback to reviewing animated films done by Disney, I’ll be reviewing “Tarzan”.
In this story (which was the final animated feature of the Disney Renaissance), after his parents are brutally killed by a leopard named Sabor, a baby human is taken in by the warm and gentle-hearted gorilla, Kala (played by Glenn Close), the latter whom names the child Tarzan (played by Alex D. Linz as a child, and Tony Goldwyn as an adult).
As he continues to grow and live amongst the gorillas, alongside his best friend, Terk (played by Rosie O’Donnell) and Tantor the elephant (played by Wayne Knight), Tarzan starts to feel extremely out of place and different from the others. He becomes determined to fit in with the others. And, especially, to gain respect and approval from Kala’s mate and leader of the troop, Kerchak (played by Lance Henriksen).
One day, however, a group of human explorers from London, England, consisting of Jane Porter (played by Minnie Driver), her father Archimedes Q. Porter (played by Nigel Hawthorne), and their protector and guide (who is also a hunter) Clayton (played by Brian Blessed), travel to the jungle in search of gorillas to research.
Having never seen other humans before, Tarzan becomes intrigued by the explorers and decides to spend time with them. Unfortunately, he becomes conflicted on where he belongs and who he is in the process. Does he belong with his family and friends in the jungle? Or does he belong with Jane and the rest of his own kind?
I’m so terribly sorry if this gave away too much. It was the best I could do.
With the story in mind, though, let me just say...it is in every way superb! It’s a pretty straight-forward sort of plot, but at the same time, it’s fairly complex. The writers and screenwriters did a really great job at balancing the complexity and straightforwardness in the story, and they gave Tarzan himself a brilliant coming-of-age journey.
The montage of Tarzan growing up from childhood to adulthood, as well as spending time with the explorers, is something that I consider to be truly well-thought and worked. With how they were executed, people wouldn’t need a midquel to see precisely what Tarzan was doing during those times.
As a whole, the film also has an excellent sense of humor. The filmmakers knew how to do the comedy-aspect of a film right, because the jokes were top-of-the-line hilarious! They were innocent among other things, and they were executed perfectly. The comedy also has a certain Disney-esque about it, which is pretty reminiscent to the times when Walt Disney himself was around.
The animation that the movie had is additionally what I consider some of the very best that Disney has done in the hand-drawn animation sector of their filmography. Directors Kevin Lima and Chris Buck, along with their army of animators, were able to bring the scenery and environments to life at where you’d feel like you’re actually in the story’s locations. The elements I commend the most are the water, most notably, at the part where the young Tarzan is underwater; and the tree trunks, especially when Tarzan uses them to get around the jungle.
The music composed by Mark Mancina was top-of-the-line awesome, and so were the songs written and sung by Phil Collins. Mancina’s composing gave so much great feeling and matched perfectly with the film. And Phil Collins...oh man, he was absolutely meant for this project! His singing for the film was total awesomeness, and the work he put into it all gave off such great commitment, making his work on the film all-the-more memorable.
Finally, it all comes down to the characters, character development, and voice acting. The bottom line of it all...they’re completely amazing!
Tarzan himself, as well as his character development in articulation, has been what I would call the largest highlight of the film. A big thing about him is that he’s trying to find who he is in life and where his place could be, and he finds himself to be so different from others no matter how hard he tries to fit in. I find that to be something people can connect with, in that a lot of us often feel so out of place among others because of how unique and different we are. I deeply admired the self-discovering journey Tarzan hand, and Tony Goldwyn had portrayed his character so well.
Clayton was a really excellent character too, if I may say. I’m not going to completely spoil what his role in the movie is for those who haven’t seen it, but, I will say that he was the perfect counterpoint to Tarzan. He’s a perfect representation of the people who are cold and merciless, and he gives off the feeling that he’s the alternate reflection to Tarzan as a man. Brian Blessed, in addition, performed his character magnificently.
The rest of the cast and characters were really amazing too! I absolutely loved the character development that Jane had; how fun and lovable Professor Archimedes was to hang out with; and how fantastic and funny Terk and Tantor were, the latter two whom Rosie O’Donnell and Wayne Knight portrayed brilliantly.
The moral that the film had was executed beautifully, that moral being that no matter how different someone is from another, we’re all the same. It can distinctly apply that every living thing has one thing in common: we’re all created by God.
In conclusion, Tarzan is what I happily classify as one of Disney’s strongest and best animated films, thanks to the wonderful talent, creativity, work, and commitment put into it. It’s one that I definitely think everyone should see, and one I deeply recommend.
So, I rate Disney’s “Tarzan” an absolute five out of five stars.
