Tarzan Reviews

Tan solo dire que “por tu fe en lo que tú más creas, un ser dos mundos son, te guiará tu corazón y decidirá por ti”, preciosa música e historia.

Tarzan, the last film of the Disney Renaissance, is a fairly simplistic action-adventure story, and nothing more. For this reason, I have always enjoyed it. It aims to tell a exciting story and does so very well. Of course, after the high-mindedness of so many other films in the Renaissance, films whose ambitions sometimes exceeded their grasps, it’s a slightly unsatisfactory way to wrap up the era. 

 

A few concessions are made towards exploring themes of race and identity, but they’re abandoned in favor of watching Tarzan swing through the trees. Using a newly created technology called Deep Canvas, Disney appears more concerned with flashing their cool new tech than crafting a deep story. Probably for the better, as the Tarzan story is loaded with questionable racial imagery, but part of me wishes that they leaned harder on the ludicrously pulp-y nature of its origins.

 

But Disney was smart enough to know that this new technique would create eye-popping visuals. Watching Tarzan traverse the trees, vines, and various parts of the jungle with the ease of extreme sports player is thrilling. Strangely hypnotic even, as he demonstrates the skills of a surfer, skier, and a gymnast as the camera tracks his every movement, twisting along with him. This is possibly one of the most gorgeous looking films of the era.

 

Taking place in an African jungle of the imagination, it’s easy to get lost in the fantasy of it all. That is, until Phil Collins’ truly dreadful songs start playing over the background. Abandoning the typical musical structure, these songs don’t melt into the narrative so easily, but rest upon scenes. This wouldn’t be a problem if any of them were any good, but they’re sappy and unmemorable. The Best Song Oscar win feels like the votes just mindlessly checking off the Disney film, which they consistently did throughout the Renaissance.

 

I just wish I could place my finger on exactly what is missing from Tarzan to make it leap from good to great. The character designs are enjoyable. Seriously, Tarzan is one of many leads in a Renaissance film that was clearly an early indication of my sexuality, what with this tight torso, thick thighs, and broad shoulders. (Aladdin, Prince Eric, Prince Adam, and Hercules join him in this group.)

 

The film moves along at a consistent pace, never really losing momentum or taking unnecessary side-plots. It’s a tightly paced 90 minutes, or so. But there’s just something missing. Perhaps it’s the lack of a notable villain? Clayton is more bravado than threatening until the last act, and Sabor has as only two scenes to make an impression. Sabor makes one hell of an impression during the opening, a heart of darkness in an otherwise family-friendly film as it depicts the shipwreck that lands Tarzan’s parents in the African jungle.

 

I don’t know what exactly is missing from it, but I just know that there’s a spark gone dim here that burns brightly in other films. It feels like a roller coaster, moving from one high-octane moment to another, only taking long enough to pause for your stomach to regroup before the next drop. 

Even though it is not really considered as one of the real classics made by Disney, it was still fairly successful and it is actually considered to be the last major box office success of the Disney Renaissance before the studio's decline at the beginning of the 2000’s. Personally, even though I thought it was a decent effort, I still think it was missing something to become really remarkable. The main issue, in my opinion, is that the whole thing was too easy. Indeed, they took one of the oldest stories ever created and they gave one of the most straightforward adaptations you could possibly imagine so the whole thing was rather predictable. On the other hand, it was in fact surprisingly the very first animated adaptation of this tale so maybe they were wise to remain faithful to the material. Still, all in all, I thought that it was an enjoyable movie nonetheless. Indeed, at the time, Disney had really mastered the combination of traditional hand-drawn animation with CGI animation. As a result, you got some really impressive scenes and I especially enjoyed the scene when Tarzan was literally ‘surfing’ in the trees. Anyway, to conclude, even though I don’t think it is really a masterpiece, I still think it is a really solid animated feature and it is definitely worth a look, especially if you like the genre.

I declare that Tarzan is the last greatest cartoon ever made, Disney or not. And by that I mean the one that can be considered in the same ship as Dumbo, Cinderella, Snow White, Bambi and all the others that preceded it. Seriously, I mean it! This alone signaled the end of the Disney Renaissance and ultimately, the end of great cartoons. Sure, we had Monsters, Inc., Toy Story 3 and all but, I will argue, they were not as beautiful as this one and not just by animation, but the level of emotion and value not seen in any other cartoon before or since. This is beauty at it's most extreme and this is also one of the few which I enjoy each and every voice-over + every song (something that was last achieved in 1967 with The Jungle Book)

Every little thing is so alive and fresh and I've always enjoyed Minnie Driver's unique voice and her V.O. as Jane Porter is arguably one of the finest. I just can't imagine Jane with any other voice and as for Lance Henriksen; the dude is a legend and his V.O. was just brilliant. Also, on further note, I think Clayton was and is the last greatest, most realistic villain ever. Period. The only one that comes *this* close is Lotso from Toy Story 3 in terms of great but in terms of realistic, no-one else. Also, his death is probably the most horrifying death Disney has ever done and kudos on that one!

All in all, Tarzan is strictly for Disney fans and also fans of Phil Collins, as his songs fuel up the cartoon brilliantly. I just love this cartoon and I'm kinda disappointed that we're getting such boring ones nowadays (seriously, Meet the Robinsons, Barnyard and not to mention Chicken Little)

9.5/10