"Why are you threatened by anyone different than you?"â Tarzan
Initial thoughts before viewing: I never saw Tarzan in theaters, and it always looked like a movie marketed primarily towards young boys. I eventually saw it on home video, although this was probably the first time I saw this movie in a complete viewing. This is definitely the movie I know least from the Disney Renaissance era.
If you have never seen Tarzan or need a refresher, here is a link to the movie's Disney Wiki page where you can read the plot summary.
Highlights:
-Tarzan starts on a high that it never quite reaches again. The entire opening sequence is dramatic, emotional, and gripping as heck. We see Tarzan's parents escaping an on fire ship, making a home for themselves in the jungle, and then their eventual deaths courtesy of Sabor the leopard. At the same time, we're introduced to Kerchak and Kala, gorillas who lose their own child to that same pesky leopard. This whole time, we hear the God-like voice of Phil Collins singing through almost as a narration. The whole thing works beautifully, and the only downfall is that the movie can never quite live up to its fantastic opening sequence.
-Baby Tarzan is one of the cutest things Disney has ever made. I mean, look at him.
-Phil Collins, yo. This man's voice and songs make this movie great. I love that this is not a true Disney musical - the characters don't burst into song and sing to one another. Instead, we're gifted with Phil Collins, who provides a reassuring, God-like narration via his poignant, beautiful songs. It's a unique way to approach a Disney feature, and it paid off big time.
Disliked:
-I can't stand Terk. She's annoying and brings the whole movie down a notch in terms of story quality. I don't know what her purpose was, and I only see Rosie O'Donnell when she talks. Ditto for Tantor the elephant, who is voice by Wayne Knight, aka Newman from Seinfeld.
Random Thoughts I Had While Watching:
-Is Sabor the deadliest Disney villain ever? This ferocious leopard kills Tarzan's parents and Kala and Kerchak's gorilla son in the movie's first 10 minutes. That's gotta be a record or something. The only villain with a higher kill count would probably be war-lord Shan Yu from Mulan.
Closing Thoughts:
It isn't perfect, but there's still a lot to like in Tarzan. While I like the movie okay, it never resonated with me emotionally like so many other did in this Renaissance era. There are some problems with pacing and the shenanigans with young Tarzan and his friends are extraneous. I'm not going to lie: it got a little boring for me in the middle. And I can't really figure out why a movie set in Africa has no people of color in its voice cast.
The best part of this movie is clearly Phil Collins' songs and its emotional, exciting opening sequences.
My Rating: 6/10
And that's a wrap for the Renaissance era! Next we move on to the problematic Disney animated features of the 2000s.
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