Review 669: Tarzan

  

Based on the Tarzan books by Edgar Rice Burroughs, In the late 1860s, deep within the jungles of Africa, a baby is adopted by a family of Gorilla's who name him "Tarzan" (Tony Goldwyn). Even though he is shunned as a "hairless wonder" by their leader Kerchek (Lance Henrikson), Tarzan is accepted by the gorillas and raised as one of their own. Together with his wisecracking ape buddy Terk (Rosie O'Donnell) and neurotic elephant pal Tantor (Wayne Knight), Tarzan learns how to surf and swing through the trees and survive in the animal kingdom. But his "Two Worlds" soon collide with the arrival of humans, forcing Tarzan to choose between a "civilized" life with the beautiful Jane (Minnie Driver) and the life he knows and loves with his gorilla family.

Directors Chris Buck and Kevin Lima's animation direction is    the score by Mark Mancia is terrific, a wonderful blend of percusion instruments that captures the wildness of the African jungle as well as Tarzan's animalistic heritage. The songs by Phil Collins are terrific, acting as both an inspired substitute to the musical numbers which have become an iconic staple of Disney animated flm as well as an unofficial nerrator, conveying to us Tarzan's journey.

Tony Goldwyn

Minnie Driver  playing Jane Porter

Glenn Close  voicing Karla, Tarzan's ape foster mother

Lance Henrikson  voicing Kerchek. Kercheck is someone with a prejudice  He acts cold and emotionally distant to Tarzan for most of his upbringing  mistrusting, judgemental, stubborn and narrow-minded but will don anything to protect his family. Misguided, but understandable.

Brian Blessed Clayton initially presents himself as a gentlemanly (if somewhat impatient and trigger-happy) hunter, but as time goes on throughout the film, Clayton's patience with the Porters wanes thin and with it, his true nature is revealed; one that is vicious, rapatious, arrogant and treacherous   His actions also become increasingly more animalistic which is meant to mirror the films initial antagonist Sabor, thus symbolizing Clayton's increasing lack of humanity and descent into animalistic madness and making him more of a savage barbarian than Tarzan despite being born into civilisation.