Tarzan (1999)

Tarzan (1999)

After ten years of (mostly) critical and financial success, the 1990’s and with them, the Disney Renaissance, finally came to an end. Rounding out this Golden Age in Disney animation history was Tarzan, a film that seems to tick pretty much every box in the Renaissance list – the story of an outsider who wants to fit in, a romance between the two main characters, wacky animal sidekicks, an over-the-top, almost campy villain; viewed as a whole, the film can seem like a bit of a laundry list of Renaissance clichés. However, when Tarzan is viewed on its individual merits, it’s clear to see just how much it has to offer and how it does some things even better than its predecessors.

Once again, the animation is great, it’s fluid and energised and everything else that was great about animation in the Renaissance; there is a slight over reliance on computer animation, but it is never too distracting and blends in well with the traditional 2D animation. Where Tarzan’s animation really shines is in the incredible action scenes, there is so much energy and non-stop movement in them; for example, the way Tarzan slides on trees, which was allegedly based on the movements of skateboarders, has so much wild choreography and complex animation, it really feels like you’re there with Tarzan. These scenes are exhilarating to watch – Tarzan’s battle with Sabor, his rescue of Jane, his final confrontation with Clayton – these are just a few of the great sequences; the way Tarzan moves through the jungle, constantly manoeuvring and making use of everything in his environment, it’s just so impressively animated. The lighting is also great and comes close to the level of The Lion King and The Hunchback of Notre Dame; the backgrounds are similarly impressive, as the world of the jungle is so well realised, with so much detail and love put into every scene, creating a truly living environment. At the time, Tarzan was the most expensive animated film ever made and you can definitely see why, these action scenes are some of the best Disney has ever done.

Tarzan Pro Skater

The story is simple and traditional and serves primarily as a link between the more grandiose action and musical sequences; Tarzan’s personal journey shares similarities with Bambi and The Lion King in his role as a prince-like figure in the animal kingdom, who must win his father’s respect and overcome his own insecurities, as well as Beauty and the Beast, Aladdin, The Hunchback of Notre Dame and Hercules, in his role as an outsider who wants to find somewhere he belongs. Clearly, the film’s main plot is a familiar one, but thankfully Tarzan seems to understand this, as, aside from a couple of mawkish scenes, this is mostly kept in the background. The thrilling action, gorgeous visuals and humorous interactions between the characters are at the forefront, while Tarzan’s story of personal discovery continues subtly in the background; it’s definitely there, as we see him change him grow, but slowly and quietly. Though this means that Tarzan can never quite establish an emotional connection on the level of Beauty and the Beast, The Lion King orThe Hunchback of Notre Dame, it’s still fun to watch the story play out, predictable as it may be. The pacing can at times seem a little rushed – this is the third film in a row, afterHercules and Mulan, that uses song montages to skip over a lot of time and important plot points, so as to get to the action faster; while a little disappointing, Tarzan makes up for it in a way that the previous two films cannot, as its action is so good that you can forgive it for skipping over other areas. The comedy is a little weak early on, as the antics between the childhood versions of Tarzan and his friends are a little annoying, but it mellows out after Tarzan becomes an adult and the comedy between Tarzan and the human characters can actually be really quite funny. Overall, Tarzan is definitely a movie based more on its action and visuals than its narrative or characterisation, but that’s not such a bad thing with action and visuals like these.

Tarzan himself is a bit of a of a blank slate, character-wise, but then again that’s kind of the point, he’s supposed to be a primitive man who’s never really developed a “human” personality. That being said, Tarzan has a delightful innocence and curiosity about him, he is so enamoured by the human world and seems to relish the opportunity to learn anything about it. A lot of this is communicated just through his animation, his wide eyes, the way he crawls around and examines everything very closely, a lot of character is shown through very little dialogue; this is both impressive and affords Tarzan an inherent charm, it’s very difficult not to like him. Jane is also very fun: she’s intelligent, but very clumsy and somewhat airheaded, constantly getting herself into trouble, often while being totally oblivious to the fact; Disney love interests and heroines in particular are usually either angelically kind and patient or sassy and tough, but good hearted, either way, they are effectively perfect, so it’s fun to have a Disney heroine who is just so ineffectual. Jane’s heart is in the right place, but she thinks faster than she acts and is so ill-suited to the world of the jungle that she often finds herself in more trouble than she bargained for; Disney had somewhat attempted this with the slightly ditzy Mulan, but kind of gave up half-way through, so this is the first time they went all the way with this new kind of heroine. Like Tarzan, Jane exudes so much personality through her animation, from her childlike expressions of wonder, to the awkward way she carries herself, to little touches like the fact that her hair always seems just a little out of place. More so than Tarzan, however, Jane’s character is expressed just as effectively through her dialogue, as Minnie Driver gives a great performance, constantly stammering, repeating herself and tripping over her words as she tries to formulate what she's trying to say; a lot of Jane’s dialogue was adlibbed, adding to the idea that Jane is thinking a mile and minute and constantly trips herself up as she tries to communicate what she’s thinking. The dialogue and animation combine to give Jane a strong and unique personality that makes her impossible not to like.

A very proper young lady

Though her romance with Tarzan isn’t developed as effectively as say, Belle and Beast’s, Jane’s fantastic animation displays pure attraction better than perhaps any other Disney movie; the way she blushes, avoids Tarzan’s gaze, plays with her fingers and hair, it’s all very sweet and endearing and suits their relationship – this isn’t a fairy tale romance about true love, it’s the story of a shy and somewhat socially awkward young woman who meets an intense, but gentle man who isn’t bothered by her typically unladylike and peculiar behaviour. Though Jane is never explicitly given a back story, we can imagine how she didn’t quite fit at home and when she talks about London, there is always a note of melancholy in her voice, supporting this idea – that we can imagine a history for Jane so easily shows just how much this movie can do with so little and how well realised Jane is as a character. As a result, Tarzan and Jane have a very sweet and somewhat understated relationship, which is more genuine and grounded than it is grandiose and romantic. Honestly, I wish Jane was in more of the film, as though she hardly disappears completely, she doesn’t get enough to do after “Strangers Like Me”; her interactions with Tarzan and her father are really the best parts of the movie. 

The side characters are kept, appropriately enough, to the side: Terk and Tantor are a very familiar Renaissance era comedic duo, most like Timon and Pumbaa, they’re pretty lazy copies. Wayne Knight and in particular Rosie O’ Donnell do put a lot of effort into the performance though, which saves them from just being carbon copies; they aren’t all that funny or anything, but they serve their purpose and though their interactions with Tarzan are somewhat limited, they work well. Kala is pretty much just Bambi’s mother as an ape; she’s kind, gentle, patient, maternal, she really only exists to serve the role of Tarzan’s mother and little more, but does a good job all the same. Similarly, Kerchak is quite similar to the Great Prince of the Forest in terms of his position and the way in which he commands fear and respect through intimidation and carefully chosen movements, rather than a lot of dialogue. He is perhaps more similar to stern, disapproving fathers such as King Triton and to a lesser extent, Chief Powhatan and doesn’t really have enough attention to be developed into anything more, but he’s not so bad. The Professor is goofy, but likeable, he doesn’t get to do very much and is basically just another bumbling father in the vein of Maurice and the Sultan, but his enthusiasm is infectious and his interactions with Jane are wonderful. 

Come at me bro

Clayton is a relatively reserved and realistic villain, for a Disney film, while still being entertaining; though his motivation to capture the gorillas for money is hardly a very exciting one, he makes up for it with his personality – Clayton is kind of like Ratcliffe done right, a traditional, snobbish British gentleman who sees it as his divine right to conquer the “uncivilised” world, in the name of England (and for his own financial benefit, of course). Brian Blessed is the perfect choice for such a role and his famously booming and exaggerated voice works wonders for animation, without going so far as to be silly, as Clayton is still quite threatening. It’s also interesting how he isn’t antagonistic for most of the movie, just a bit callous and Tarzan initially seems to hold an unspoken respect for him, viewing him as the model of manliness, as he imitates the way Clayton speaks, the way he walks and holds himself and eventually, the way he dresses, only to realise in the climax that Clayton is not the kind of man he wants to be and he should just focus on being himself. This theme of duality is explored well, through Clayton, without ever being explicitly pointed out; in this respect, Clayton is a very effective villain indeed, as he reflects the dark side in Tarzan and shows him that the world of man can be just as vicious as that of the animal kingdom.

Tarzan is not a traditional musical, as the songs are not sung by the characters, but are simply sung over the action, acting as a kind of musical narration of the film’s events, sort of like in The Resucers and The Fox and the Hound, though, mercifully, done a lot better. Though the lyricism of the songs is very lacking and it’s a shame that the characters don’t get to express their thoughts and feelings through music, the songs are still mostly nice to listen to; they are definitely a little sappy and polarising, but they’re written by Phil Collins, a very divisive artist, so at the end of the day you’re probably either going to love them or hate them. “Two Worlds” is definitely a little corny, but it’s still sweet and a good intro to the film that draws you into the world and plight of its characters very quickly. “You’ll Be in My Heart” is similar in style, but just a bit too lame, even for Phil Collins; it’s the closest to a “Whole New World Number” the film has, but really all the songs share that kind of style, so it’s kind of a redundant observation to make. The song is not especially awful, it just seems like an obvious attempt at recreating Elton John’s style from The Lion King, particularly the equally lame “Can You Feel the Love Tonight”.

Can you feel the love tonight?

In contrast, “Son of Man” is a fun, upbeat song; some of the lyrics are laughably bad – ‘with the power to be strong and the wisdom to be wise’, ‘in learning you will teach and in teaching you will learn’ – but like most of the songs in the film, the corniness is kind of charming in its own silly little way. It also acts as a good montage which shows us Tarzan’s growth from boy to man, taking inspiration from “Hakuna Matata” and “One Last Hope”, in this regard; it’s a lot of fun. “Trashing the Camp” isn’t even really a song, it’s just a cool jazz instrumental with a bit of scat thrown in, but hey, it’s great, so what’s the problem? This one DEFINITELY has that Phil Collins feel. “Strangers Like Me” is another upbeat song; again the lyrics are very basic and describe how Tarzan is feeling very simplistically, but it’s very enjoyable all the same and the sequence it describes is great in its own right. It is a shame that, like “I’ll Make a Man Out of You” in Mulan, it skips over a lot of the development between Tarzan and the other humans, which, in my opinion, should have been the focus of the movie, as it is the most interesting part, but it’s a good montage all the same.

In all honestly, Tarzan doesn’t really do anything that the earlier Renaissance films hadn’t already – the story of the outcast trapped between two worlds, who yearns for acceptance, the goofy, wisecracking sidekicks, the stern, disapproving father, the pompous, British baddie who wants to steal from the hero’s homeland – it’s not exactly original. Nevertheless, Tarzan does what it does so well that it’s hard to really criticise it all that much; the animation is fantastic and exciting, the characters are likeable, particularly the delightful Jane and the songs are enjoyable, even if the way in which they are presented is a little strange. Though it doesn’t have much new to say and its story is a little shallow, Tarzan is a highly entertaining film and, in my opinion, a worthy end to the Disney Renaissance.

Other Thoughts:

It’s also quite violent for a Disney movie, in the opening Kala just finds Tarzan’s parents mauled to death!

Yeesh

8/10