Fluke_Skywalker Plot; A young baby, orphaned after he and his parents are shipwrecked off the coast of Africa, is taken in and raised by apes. After reaching adulthood he finds himself caught between two worlds and must make a choice between his now foreign homeland and the only home he's ever known.Razor thin, Cliff notes version of the Tarzan story skates by (or is that swings?) on gorgeous visuals, a surprisingly strong and emotional bond between Tarzan and his adoptive ape mother and a charmingly quirky performance from Minnie Driver as Jane.As a courtesy I must warn you that approx. 79 of its 88 minute runtime contains music by Phil Collins. The type of which you typically hear in the candles section at Bed, Bath and Beyond.

William O. Tyler Disney's 1997 film Tarzan is often overlooked, partially because it's a stand alone film that hasn't been inducted into a franchise of princesses and also partially because the rights to the character of Tarzan are still tightly guarded by the estate of his creator, Edgar Rice Burroughs. Even still, it has proved itself to be a technological feat with a story, music and design worthy enough of being called a Disney classic.Coming at a time when Disney was struggling to recreate the success of The Lion King, it was probably a wise choice to do a story that most audiences would have already read or seen in some form. The general story is really already set, but Disney's presentation of the action swells while being comedic, romantic and even kinetic in a way that live-action filmmaking most likely could not pull off. Tarzan's movements swinging and sliding through the trees are inspired by modern skateboarders with lots of high energy. At the same time, the movie manages to balance its action with calm scenes focusing on character growth and romanticism. Tarzan learning a new culture and language is something mostly skipped over in Disney's earlier Pocahontas, so they get the chance to really explore through it here, and add in some laughs as well. Tarzan balances all of these aspects at once, creating a nice and natural flow.One thing that helps this natural movie flow is the music, presented not in crazy song and dance numbers, except one, but more so in several musical montages that not only cover a lot of time and growth, but does so in, again, a very organic way that doesn't feel too abrupt. Phil Collins' original songs are not only catchy and upbeat when they need to be, but also lullabying. They give us a sense of what the characters are thinking and feeling without them having to stop and sing it to us, adding to that flow.In fact, Tarzan is probably one of Disney's most fluidly animated films. Characters move smoothly and instinctively through the atmosphere so that it feels like they are gliding, yet they still are weighted and grounded. Long shots of Tarzan tree surfing or battling Sabor allow the camera to move with and around the characters seamlessly which, during the time that this film came out, was technically unheard of in animation. The production team created a new program called Deep Canvas just for this purpose, allowing them to take digitally painted backgrounds and animate them in 360 degrees. It's quite an achievement.Deep Canvas manages to pull the characters into the scenes even more than previous films, so that they become one. The bright colors of the characters are mimicked in the backgrounds, and even characters themselves hearken to other characters with their designs. Tarzan's lean but muscular design is exactly what it should be for someone who is constantly moving around on his knuckles the way his family of gorillas do. Along with his matted dreads, he is believably someone who has been stuck in a jungle for most of his life. While Disney has made a reputation out of giving animals human characteristics, perhaps only Mowgli in The Jungle Book has been an example of the opposite before Tarzan. These visual cues are memorable and strong.So Tarzan is not an animated movie to easily turn away from, despite it being often overlooked. The beautiful Deep Canvas technology aids a familiar story in being new, with perfectly balanced aspects of comedy, romance and action. Catchy music and stark designs also help to make Tarzan a Disney classic that should stand the test of time. It's a wonderful jungle to get completely lost in.

Fuzzy Wuzzy From its dramatic opening sequence, to its jubilant, high-five finale, Disney's "Tarzan" is, without question, a very entertaining re-telling of Edgar Rice Burroughs' classic tale of a helpless, human baby reared to adulthood, in the jungle, by a band of gorillas.Featuring some excellent action sequences (mixed generously with moments of slapstick comedy and the excitement of adventure), 1999's "Tarzan" certainly turned out to be a mighty fine example of first-rate story-telling that actually tugged on this viewer's heartstrings, occasionally.In this animated feature film, the lean and athletic Tarzan (as the story's hero) comes across as being a truly likable and endearing character.Punctuated by songs (which seemed a bit out of place) from pop star, Phil Collins, "Tarzan" is still a delightful movie-experience that can definitely be enjoyed by all ages, young and old.

Robert Thompson (justbob1982) Version: UK bluray releaseActors: 7/10Plot/script: 5/10Photography/visual style: 6/10Music/score: 4/10Overall: 6/10Edgar Rice Burroughs' Tarzan has become a very cinematic legend over the century since his first story was published but, for me, the Disney version comes during one of the dips in the quality of their output. Their initial Golden Age ended with the Jungle Book, followed by a revival during the 80s and 90s. More recently, they've come back to the top again with The Princess and the Frog, Tangled and Frozen.It's interesting that both the directors of Tarzan were involved with this latest renaissance: Chris Buck co-directed Frozen (with Jennifer Lee), and Kevin Lima got it all started with Enchanted, which re-assessed the glittering Disney back-catalogue, and came away with an attitude that was affectionate, yes, but not actually reverential. Sadly, there is little evidence in Tarzan of that healthier relationship with the legacy.The setting is a problem, for me. I grew up with Disney films that each had a distinctive setting, be it Arabia or under the sea. However, The Jungle Book had already covered, erm, jungle, and The Lion King had done Africa. An adult perception says that the African jungle is distinct from both of these, but Disney are not about adult, subtle distinctions.Another problem with Tarzan is the soundtrack. I found Phil Collins' voice dull and detached throughout, and when I bothered to tune into the lyrics, they just explained what I could already see was going on on-screen, thus making them pointless. Okay, they got Elton John in to make good songs for The Lion King, and there are versions sung by him, but they are distinctly poorer in my book, and in the main film I am glad they stuck with the cast as singers.The animation is pretty good for the period, especially in the sequences where Tarzan is racing through the branches... although they are also suspiciously reminiscent of a roller-coaster ride, coming from the company that must always be on the lookout for new Disneyland attractions. The movements of Tarzan and his ape 'family' are also well-observed, I was pleased to note.Such a shame, then, that the character of Tarzan himself (as voiced by Tony Goldwyn) is so unengaging. I'm not sure why it is; he certainly has enough character drama, what with an identity crisis and overall coming-of-age in classic film style. Maybe it's because they have set aside the traditional Tarzan symbol of masculinity in favour of something more vulnerable and adolescent; a defensible choice, but one that requires real attention to detail to instigate. He just didn't quite grab me... in stark contrast to his love interest, Jane (Minnie Driver). Driver was at the height of her powers back in 1999, and brings to the role the confidence of an actress in charge of her destiny. She has so much more screen magnetism and, quite frankly, I would have preferred it if she had just been the main character throughout. Maybe Tarzan's development would have been more interesting through her eyes.Oh, and TWENTY-ONE story writers! What's that all about? There's barely enough story here for one writer, once you take out the contributions of Burroughs and the screenwriters. It would appear that they just gave a writing credit to everyone who did some work on designing the characters or settings. Office politics, I guess.For my full review, see my independent film blog on Blogspot, Cinema Inferno: http://cinemainferno-blog.blogspot.co.uk/2014/12/tarzan-1999.html