Plot
A man raised by gorillas must decide where he really belongs when he discovers he is a human.
Release Year: 1999
Rating: 7.0/10 (44,604 voted)
Critic's Score: 79/100
Director:
Chris Buck
Stars: Tony Goldwyn, Minnie Driver, Brian Blessed
Storyline The movie is about the life of Tarzan. Tarzan was a small orphan who was raised by an ape named Kala since he was a child. He believed that this was his family, but on an expedition Jane Porter is rescued by Tarzan. He then finds out that he's human. Now Tarzan must make the decision as to which family he should belong to...
Writers: Edgar Rice Burroughs, Tab Murphy
Cast: Brian Blessed
-
Clayton
(voice)
Glenn Close
-
Kala
(voice)
Minnie Driver
-
Jane
(voice)
Tony Goldwyn
-
Tarzan
(voice)
Nigel Hawthorne
-
Professor Porter
(voice)
Lance Henriksen
-
Kerchak
(voice)
Wayne Knight
-
Tantor
(voice)
Alex D. Linz
-
Young Tarzan
(voice)
Rosie O'Donnell
-
Terk
(voice)
Beth Anderson
-
Additional Voices
(voice)
Jack Angel
-
Additional Voices
(voice)
Joseph Ashton
-
Additional Voices
(voice)
Bob Bergen
-
Additional Voices
(voice)
(as Robert Bergen)
Billy Bodine
-
Additional Voices
(voice)
(as Billy Warden Bodine)
Rodger Bumpass
-
Additional Voices
(voice)
(as Roger Bumpass)
Taglines:
An immortal legend. As you've only imagined.
Opening Weekend: $34,361,342
(USA)
(20 June 1999)
(3005 Screens)
Gross: $448,191,819
(Worldwide)
Technical Specs
Runtime:
Did You Know?
Trivia:
Phil Collins was chosen to provide the music as a deliberate move away from the Disney "showtune" formula.
Goofs:
Factual errors:
When Kala discovers the infant Tarzan, there are rifle casings on the floor. However, the gun lying beside them is a shotgun. Later, Tarzan also finds a rifle casing from Clayton's gun, which is also a shotgun.
Quotes: Tantor:
[Terk is dressed in Jane's dress to lure Kerchak away]
Actually, I thought that dress was rather slimming on you. Terk:
Oh, really? I thought it was a little revealing.
User Review
Wow!! An 11 out of 10, if possible...
Rating: 10/10
... or no, a 15, maybe.
This is right up there with 'The Lion King' and 'Mulan'. I had the
treat
to see this last night, and through it all, even the toddlers in the
theater
loved it! People have said this is a breakthrough animation-wise, but
story-wise, this is like mind-blowing. Tarzan himself is the first truly
deep Disney male character since ... I can't think of a really deep Disney
male character, except perhaps Simba from The Lion King. Tarzan has
everything that makes you realize that, though he's raised by apes, he's
truly human, and even his upbringing can't hide that (C'mon, if you were
raised your whole life thinking you were an ape, and then suddenly find out
you're really something else, wouldn't you also be disturbed?)
From the first to the last scene was awesome. Tarzan and the ape Kala's
backgrounds were told briefly, poignantly, and emotionfully. There's
(intelligent) humor and love, which only add to the film, and there's an
obvious love between Tarzan and Jane. Someone here said they're not in
love, that it's obvious, but I have to strongly disagree. The scenes
between them are funny and give you a feeling that there's a strong
attraction (and not just because Jane's interested in studying apes). And
even Jane's father, though he's a small background character, he helps the
plot along, and while you'd describe him as "dithering", he has his own
funny bone (When Jane is describing Tarzan to him by drawing a picture on a
blackboard, she starts to go on about his 'wonderful eyes', and in the
midst
of her daydream, her father comments, "Would you like me to give you and
the
blackboard some private time?" Riot!).
No, Clayton's not a Jafar or a Gaston, but he's not really the enemy
here; he's just an antagonist to help along Tarzan's inner conflict. The
real enemy would be Tarzan's battling against his 'true' world (the one
with
humans) and the one he's grown up with (the one with apes). Clayton just
resembles a threat to Tarzan's ape family. In the past, villains were a
direct challenge to the hero; here, he is a threat, sure, but he's not the
whole movie here. I like it better this way. In real life, there's rarely
a big evil soul against you, and Clayton seems like a realistic greedy,
nasty guy, rather than the cliche megolamincal weirdos of most animated
features.
I loved Phil Collins. And while it's great hearing Ariel sing, I think
background music was better for this particular movie. I couldn't see Jane
or Tarzan singing; it makes the whole thing almost unrealistic.
Tarzan himself was wonderful! Charismatic, emotional, outgoing, and at
the same time, goofy and boyish. The scenes between him and his ape
mother,
Kala, were so tender. I haven't seen such wonderful emotions in
live-action
movies. And even Kerchak ... let me tell you something about him. Even my
mom said he was real. I don't think he was too mean. He felt threatened
by
Tarzan's presence. It wasn't out of superiority. When Kala first shows
baby Tarzan to him, Kerchak is worried about the existence of other humans
in the jungle, which might endanger his family of apes. He only worries
about his family, too, and I suspect that, while he keeps a stoic face over
the death of his own baby ape in the beginning of the movie, he's not ready
to adopt another baby (if one of your kids died, would you be so willing to
adopt another right away? I know I wouldn't).
The Lion King, Mulan, and Tarzan all have the same thing in common; they
all show true emotion and character, unlike the basic fairy tale fluff like
Cinderella and Bambi (nothing against fairy tales, but I like to see
true-to-life stuff, you know?).
This is a must-see. If Disney keeps this up, adults may start to change
their views of animated stuff. It ain't just for lil' kids anymore!
:)
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