The Jungle...Again

Hey, look. We're back in Africa.

Tarzan
Original release: June 18, 1999 (UK)

Edgar Rice Burroughs' book Tarzan of the Apes, published in 1914, has inspired an astounding number of films. Wait, let me count... forty-nine films. That's an awful lot. It will generally be agreed upon, however, that this particular rendition is one of the finest.

If you've been following the blog or are in my English class, you may notice: this film was the last film of the Disney Renaissance. Is that ringing a bell? In the early 2000s, Disney's films went into a slump. Luckily, this one is free from any such worries about quality. Through a combination of smooth animation, impressive CGI work, catchy music, and an emotional story, this movie will keep you hooked from beginning to end.

The story opens with a shipwrecked couple and their baby, who start building a new home in the jungle where they get stranded. At the same time, two gorillas play with their infant son. Immediately I was impressed with how well these two parallel scenarios were interlaced. The music didn't hurt, either.

While we're on that, I'm going to have to talk about the music. I have to say that the music really helps make this film what it is. This is Phil Collins! He is a high-quality songwriter, regarding both the lyrics and the music, which always seem to go together quite well with each other as well as with the movie. The most famous tune from Tarzan is probably "You'll Be in My Heart," which makes sense; it did win the Oscar for Best Original Song that year. But the other songs are just as interesting. In the case of "Trashin' the Camp," I was seriously tempted to get up and start dancing around the room. But my favorite song in this movie is "Strangers Like Me." In the movie, this segment covers a lot of important plot progression: this scene focuses on Tarzan's time and studies with the human trio and its results, namely questions about the gorillas and a budding romance between Tarzan and Jane. Oh, there I go again, being a romantic.



Quick! What's that device shown at 0:59? You should know this if you were taking notes on Monday!

Watching this again after some time, I was surprised how emotional it was. Tarzan is a much more conflicted character than you might think. As a kid, there's the scene where he looks at his reflection in the river and tries to cover his bare human skin with brown mud. All through his adolescence (the "Son of Man" segment) he is something of an overachiever, but only because he is trying to prove himself to his family, particularly the leader Kerchak. When Tarzan presents the leopard's body to Kerchak, you can see how desperately he wants Kerchak to accept him. And the part where he tackles Kerchak to the ground to let his human friends escape, and the guilt trip scene with Clayton in the boat, and... Okay, okay. I need to calm down.

But what was most moving of all was the scene in which Tarzan's gorilla mother, Kala, finally reveals his past to him. That scene made me cry. I'm serious, there were tears coming out of my eyes. It was rather embarrassing, too. I don't think I've ever cried before when watching this! But seriously, the scene is extremely touching. (I couldn't find a smaller clip, so you'll have to skip to about 3:30 and watch until 6:30.)



Another high point of the film was the amazing background work. Why is it that Tarzan remains the highest budget Disney film in history? Because of something called Deep Canvas, a program designed to use 3-D computer generated imagery that had a loose, artistic, oil-painted look that ends up looking extremely impressive.

Low points? The villain Clayton, while he does serve his function as villain well, is strikingly similar to Gaston from Beauty and the Beast, albeit slightly uglier and with a heavy British accent. The sailors weren't all that impressive, either. Sabor, the leopard, was more of a dangerous force of nature than a villain. That's not to say his scenes weren't dramatic and action-packed, because they were. He just seemed a smidgen unrealistic. (Mahewa notes that a real leopard would have given up the fight after ten seconds and gone on to find an easier meal.)

So we have nice music, a strong story, high-quality animation, and well-done action. Actually, I was impressed by how well they were able to switch between comedic moments and serious moments, and vice versa. This film definitely deserves its recognition.

Mahewa's rating: 4.0/5




Interested in Entertainment Weekly's review of this flick? Read here for one writer's expressed awe at the visuals and emotions.

P.S. That device was a praxinoscope.