I take animated films seriously. I thought
"Toy Story" was excellent, "Antz" was good,
while the old Disney classics "Snow White"
and "Dumbo" are among my favorite films.
I even liked "Hercules", from two years ago.
So, expectations were high for "Tarzan", with
Disney now hard-pressed to demonstrate that
it still makes the best animated features.
But "Tarzan" falls short. Perhaps the film
tries to cover too much ground, taking Tarzan
from infant to manhood. More likely,
"Tarzan" fails because the characters mostly
seem to have been lifted from other films,
unoriginal and lacking depth.
Based on the Edgar R. Burroughs' "Tarzan of the
Apes", which has been a subject for 'B' movies
since 1918. Orphaned as a baby in the heart
of 19th century Africa, Tarzan is adopted by
a tribe of Apes, and raised reluctantly as one
of their own. After some comparatively successful
comic scenes with Tarzan as a child, he grows
into a man.
One day, British explorers arrive, led by a
sinister beefcake who wants to put the gorillas
in cages. The other explorers are well-intentioned,
however, and include a bumbling elderly man and
his beautiful, good-natured young daughter Jane.
Tarzan inevitably rescues Jane, several times in
fact, with their romance heating up. Tarzan
learns English in about a week, then must decide
whether home is Africa, or England.
The film's best character is the gigantic male
gorilla that leads the tribe. His fear of the
white explorers and grudging acceptance of Tarzan
seems natural. Other animal creatures include
a gentle mother gorilla stereotype, and a host
of stock comic relief characters, one of which
is an elephant that for no good reason hangs
around the gorillas.
The frequent action scenes are fast-paced and
well animated, with Tarzan showing the expected
skill and dexterity. But Tarzan as a personality
is disappointing: he's simply a nice guy, and not
even as interesting as the proud, manly hero
of broken sentences as found in the old 'B' films. (38/100)
The legend of Tarzan is told in breathtaking fashion from the loss of his parents in Africa to his adoption by a gorilla mother Kala to his rescue of ...More at Family Video
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