Image courtesy of wallpapercave.com
Following the revisiting of two sci-fi classics (including one of my favorite movies of all time), I figured why not do another Anniversary post where I cover something a little lighter, and something that also happens to be a childhood favorite of mine.
This month marks the 20th Anniversary of the movie that marked the end of the Disney Renaissance of the 90s, and one of two Disney movies I grew up with the most*, and that movie is Tarzan, one of numerous adaptations of the works of Edgar Rice Burroughs.
In this version, set in the 1890s, an English couple, along with their infant son, end up in a jungle off the coast of Africa after escaping a shipwreck. They use what they can gather from the wreckage to build a treehouse, but not long after, the couple is killed by a leopard named Sabor. The baby survives, and is later found by a female gorilla named Kala, who lost her own son to the leopard. She brings him back to her clan, where her mate (and the clan leader), Kerchak, allows her to keep the baby but will not call him his son. Kala names the baby Tarzan and begins raising him, and Tarzan in turn views the gorillas as his family. Upon encountering a group of explorers, however, Tarzan, now an adult, starts learning about his humanity, and only he can decide where he really belongs: with his own kind or with the one he grew up with.
What Worked: The animation is fantastic in this movie. It’s one of the best examples of 2D/hand-drawn animation I’ve ever seen that honestly, I feel is often overlooked compared to some that came before, yet are still classics in their own right**. Plus, it really brings the story and characters to life, which is further enhanced through the music and voice acting.
With the story, and this being an adaptation, changes have to be made in order to fit within the context of the narrative in question. This is a prime example of an adaptation where the changes are made in ways that make sense while still respecting the source material by keeping the majority of its key plot points intact. They allow you to be invested in the characters, and occasionally even feel for them. This version has some dark moments, some very emotional ones, and some action scenes, but also a few funny ones, because the humor works very well. They balance so perfectly that the tone remains consistent throughout, and as a result, so does the pace, especially in the action scenes involving Sabor and Clayton.
Now for what really makes this version stand out in addition to the animation: the music and the voice acting.
The music consists of both an excellent score by Mark Mancina (whose prior work included Speed, Bad Boys, Twister, and Con Air) and the iconic soundtrack from Phil Collins. The songs in particular suit crucial parts of the story, and give those scenes a greater impact, especially the more emotional moments. The song “You’ll Be In My Heart” alone is sad enough on its own, but just wait until you hear it in the movie. It’s so powerful that it won the Oscar for Best Original Song, and absolutely deserved it.
It shows in the scenes where Kala and Tarzan are bonding that feature that song, and the closing moments of the scene featuring my personal favorite song in the movie, “Strangers Like Me,” where Tarzan is learning human culture from Jane.
Even if it’s voice acting, Tony Goldwyn as Tarzan has great chemistry with both Glenn Close as Kala and Minnie Driver as Jane in those scenes. He even gets some heartfelt moments with Kerchak (voiced by Lance Henriksen of Aliens fame), as well as some humorous ones with his friends Terk (voiced by Rosie O’Donnell) and Tantor (an elephant voiced by Wayne Knight). There’s also some humor from Jane’s father, Professor Porter, voiced by Nigel Hawthorne.
Then there are the villains of this movie. The first is Sabor, who makes the action scenes she’s in even more intense just by her presence alone, particularly her fight with Tarzan in the middle of the movie. The other villain is Clayton, voiced by Brian Blessed, a hunter looking for the gorillas for his own agenda, unbeknownst to everyone else. He may seem just determined at first, but you know he’s up to something, which makes him not only such a great Disney villain, but also a great villain period.
Overall: Tarzan is an animated masterpiece, with the perfect balance of humor and heart, top-notch animation and voice acting, some of the best music an animated movie has to offer, and memorable characters, all of which come together into what I consider to be the definitive Tarzan movie, one of my personal favorite Disney movies, and one of my personal favorite animated movies in general.
To close this review out, I will say this: This movie will be in my heart, from this day on, now and forever more. It’ll be in my heart, no matter what they say. It’ll be here in my heart.
Always.
*Keep that in mind, folks. By this time next year (which is that movie’s 20th Anniversary), you’ll know the other one. I know it’s a long wait, but ultimately, it’ll be more than worth it.
**One such classic is even referenced here with an Easter Egg that’s pretty easy to spot.