Tarzan (1999)
You want a top of the line animated feature, you got it. Disney has got this down to an art, nay, a science. My roommate thought that it followed the Lion King formula, which is interesting seeing as the only similarities is that there are animals as most of the lead characters and it’s set in Africa. The Disney studio and parks have long held a reverence for the Victorian adventurer’s image of Africa, its untamed wilderness of pure, man-free beauty and incredible majesty, and they take full advantage of that tradition in this film. Every background is gorgeous, every animal carefully studied for movement and behavior, every leaf wet with animated dew. Wow. The “camera work” (you know what I mean) is totally unbelievable – I know it’s on the computer, but the deep-frame animation, the speed, the lush textures, oh man oh man is this movie just a feast! The beautiful shots of the island in Bug’s Life, that sense of light and weight that is the sole domain of Disney and Pixar (and what wins them the Oscars, baby!), it’s triple that here in Panavisual glory!
Unusually, Tarzan is the first Disney feature I can think of in a long time (excepting Pixar work) and frankly, not just Disney movies, where the song music is used as score rather than as songs. Yes, the music is combined score and song, but the lyric parts of the music serve more as captions or internal monologues, not musical numbers. Some folks out there, you know the ones, the fuddy duddy “no magic or suspension of disbelief allowed in my universe” wanks, they might be pleased to know that no one bursts into song, that the songs punctuate the plot more along the lines of the use of a pop song in a regular, live-action movie. Phil Collins is a master heartstring tugger; during the 80’s in particular, he could write you a song that would bust your rib cage open with pure angst and longing. He does an admirable job with that aspect of the music, but for one, it’s so recognizably Phil (but what a relief it’s not that wretch, Randy Newman!), it seems a bit bizarre. For two, the music is not…African enough. I think it would have been amazing if Phil and say, Peter Gabriel (or, I don’t know, some African people, but come on, this is Disney we’re talking about.) could have collaborated with the Real World label artists and cranked out some serious whoom!
Besides Phil Collins, another great thing about the movie is that the characters are not overwhelmed by the people voicing them, well, except Rosie O’Donnell, but she is the comedy relief so it’s only semi-aggravating. I watched the credits and was stunned to see Glenn Close and Lance Henriksen listed among the voice talent – as apes, even. Minnie Driver, oh, I could tell it was her, but it wasn’t I’M MINNIE DRIVER all the way through like it was when say, Mel Gibson played John Smith in Pocahontas. Wayne Knight I had to dig in my brain to identify but his Newman persona didn’t dominate his character either.
Man! Did I mention how awesome this movie looked? The camera screams through the jungle canopy, the apes knuckle along smoothly and gracefully, the computer-generated objects meld handsomely with the hand drawn stuff, and the acting (by that I mean the animation of the apes and people) was very good. I can’t explain how that works, but it does. I even cried twice (I was alone and am more susceptible to Phil Collins’ charms when I am not chaperoned) and I laughed out loud a couple of times (harder to do alone). This jungle island is lush and gorgeous and painfully beautiful, and the story is more or less faithful to Edgar Rice Burroughs’ original tale – it’s definitely faithful to the spirit of it when it derails from the word of it. I was surprised at the amount of death but not surprised at how it was handled. But, the jungle is brutal, so you know, son, uh, in nature…well, let’s just watch Animal Planet shall we? (Cut to shot of boy watching television – on screen a cheetah takes down a gazelle. The boy doesn’t even flinch). There, you see? Circle of life and all that. I really liked Tarzan and I may or may not buy the soundtrack but I will buy the movie when it is released *but only on DVD!* Do you hear me, Disney? Divx dead – DVD good!
MPAA Rating G
Release date 6/18/99
Time in minutes 88
Director Chris Buck, Kevin Lima
Studio Walt Disney
