Tarzan
If any of you are familiar with his movie, it is the last Walt Disney Pictures Animation Studios movie that came out in the 20th Century and also the last movie of the Disney Renaissance. When it was released in 1999, it earned some wonderful reviews and like most of the movies in the Disney Renaissance, it became a franchise, albeit a small one that only consisted of a prequel, a show on Toon Disney, and a sequel that mostly consists of some moments from said show. Over the years though, Tarzan has gotten more adaptations that more-or-less stay true to the original Edgar Rice Burroughs novel like a 2016 movie with Christoph Waltz or an animated series on Netflix. Getting back to the Disney adaptation though, will it swing from the vines like the ape-man himself? Or do we have to shoot this movie with Clayton's gun? Let's find out.
The Story: Looking back at the story, it is actually kind of weak when you stop to think about. Let me explain; the main plot of this movie is about a human being raised by apes and he is happy at first, but in the movie's second-half he meets other humans and learns about his true nature. Yes people, Tarzan follows the same tropes as your typical 'fish-out-of-water' story about a guy who was raised by animals and learns what it means to be human. However, what keeps this movie from being no different from other movies who follow that type of formula is in its execution. Throughout the film's start, you see Tarzan as a young lad who is struggling to fit in and by the time he reaches adulthood, he has adapted to his jungle environment to the point where he has completely accepted the jungle as his home and he befriends the humans not out of a desire to try and be a human, but to learn more about their culture. You also have the humor, which I will admit is rather funny. True it does mostly contain slapstick and witty one-liners, but they are enjoyable for what they offer. However, the film can also be very heartwarming and emotional whether it be from the songs by Phil Collins to the scenes involving Tarzan struggling to choose between his ape family or his new human friends. As for the message the movie is trying to dish out, well...it's your typical 'home is here the heart is' tales along with a generic "being different is okay" moral. I'm not saying that there's anything wrong with these messages, they just feel rather overused nowadays, though considering that this movie was released back in 1999, I suppose they can be forgivable. There is also some nice commentary regarding the evils of poaching which, while as generic as the previous morals I mentioned, it rather well-handled and doesn't try to take center stage. While the story and morals aren't anything new, the way they're both handled is passable with the heart and humor adding into it.
The Animation: Let's be honest here, Disney's animation is groundbreaking to any movie they put in, whether it be good or bad. This movie is hardy any different from that. Let's start off with the character designs and I think they're actually pretty good. Since the movie has a more realistic setting, it makes the design of the characters also realistic as they do look like that they're suppose to be from Tarzan and the humans looking like actual humans and the Gorillas looking like actual Gorillas. Though Tarzan himself is probably the best animated character due to how he's basically a human with a Gorilla's body. It works very well with all of them because, again, the movie has a realistic feel to it the way the characters look like compliment it to a tee. This also works well for the character animation as the characters talk and move like they're in the real world and even the animals in the jungle do have a sense of realism in their movements. The only character who I feel like is a bit of an exception from that is Tantor as most of the animation involving him has a bit of a cartoony flare, but that animation is mostly used for visual gags that add in to the movie's humor, so I wouldn't really say it's anything bad. As for the backgrounds, I will say right now that Disney really outdid themselves regarding the animation of the jungle, which is all done in CGI. It really shows just what the animators at Disney are capable of as they put 2D-animated people in a 3D-animated environment, especially involving the scenes where Tarzan runs across the jungle whether on the ground or in the trees. It's not jsut the jungle that's beautifully animated as other stuff like the human's camp, Tarzan's childhood treehouse, and the boat in the movie's final act are well-animated as well. If there is something about the animation I do feel critical towards, it's that the backgrounds can sometimes feel distracting during a scene as the beauty of the animation can make you not pay attention to what's going on between the characters. Apart from a few downsides, it is safe to say that the animation in the movie is stronger than all of the Gorillas.
The Characters: When it comes to the characters of the movie, there is a bit of an interesting case with them. To get this out of the way, one criticism that I have with the characters is that they're a bit one-note and generic, like Tarzan is the all-loving human amongst Gorillas who is caught between having to be an ape or a man, Jane is your standard love-interest, Terk and Tantor are the comic reliefs with Terk being a wisecracking tomboy and Tantor having a comedically hypochondriac mentality similar to veins of Melman from the Madagascar movies, Clayton is the typical villain who wants to hunt the Gorillas for monetary purposes because even after characters like McLeach from The Rescuers Down Under, we can't get enough that, Kala is Tarzan's loving adopted mother, Professor Porter is Jane's goofball scientist dad who's another comic relief, and Kerchak is the tough leader of the Gorillas who has a personal bias against Tarzan simply because he's human. However, while the characters are quite one-dimensional, the way they are executed sort of makes them very watchable and endearing. What I mean is that these guys are actually well-developed despite sticking to their one-character trait like how Tarzan protects his Gorilla from threats like Clayton and Sabor along with having heartwarming moments with other characters like his romance with Jane and his affection with Kala and Terk and Tantor do actually have a bunch of funny lines. Also, while he is conceptually a weak villain, the most Clayton brings that would capture audiences attention is the performance he is given by Brian Blessed as it makes Clayton very over-the-top and actually funny. As for the other characters, well the most enjoyment they get is either because of the performance they're given like how Professor Porter's eccentric personality is well-handled by the late Nigel Hawthrone and how Kerchak is given a very tough demeanor thanks to his performance by Lance Henrikson. The characters, again, are kind of one-note, but they are given some good development nonetheless.
The Songs: I will tell you that similar to the characters, the musical numbers in this film are a rather interesting case. What I mean is that not all of them are sung by the characters and most of them are sung in the background by Phil Collins. Those songs include "Two Worlds One Family", which is a nice opening to the story and also closes out the movie, "Son of Man", which delves into Tarzan growing up and trying to fit into the Gorilla pack, and "Strangers Like Me", which is about Tarzan bonding with the humans. The only songs sung by the characters are "Trashin' the Camp", which is honestly the weakest song as it feels more like comedic filler with the Gorillas and Tantor interacting with the objects at the human's camp topped off of how the lyrics are composed of scatting and "You'll Be in My Heat", a very heartwarming song that is actually partially sung by Kala while Phil Collins sings the rest. In a nutshell, I wouldn't really say that the songs are anything groundbreaking, but some are actually pretty good like how "Two Worlds, One Family" basically has this message about how differences shouldn't matter and is basically the movie's theme song and "Son of Man" has this upbeat charm to it. I will say that the songs are an odd bunch, but they do make the movie more enjoyable than ever.
This movie can swing high on a vine like the title character, but also like him, it can have some rough ground landings. Tarzan is a very enjoyable feature film for it's good story, beautiful animation, well-crafted characters, and enjoyable songs. I think it's safe to say that the people at Disney ended both the Disney Renaissance and the 20th Century with a movie that audiences can like for it's blend of humor and heart. While it does face some issues like overused morals and one-dimensional characters, they aren't bad enough to rag the movie down and actually find a way to make those issues work in their favor. It's films like this that show what Disney is capable of in how to adapt a story and use it's flaws to it's advantage. If you're just looking for an animated movie that you appreciate, than you won't be disappointed when you watch Tarzan.
Story: 7/10
Animation: 9/10
Characters: 7/10
Songs: 7/10
Score: 8/10