Tarzan "surfs" through the trees. © Burroughs and Disney, Tarzan® Edgar Rice Burroughs, Inc. All rights reserved.

The tale is familiar, the message is familiar, but Disney's Tarzan delivers the goods. It's a thrilling example of state-of-the-art animated filmmaking that proves, yet again, that Disney is the leader when it comes to feature length animated cartoons.

Edgar Rice Burrough's Tarzan certainly has had a checkered screen history, to say the least. Most are aware of the entertaining MGM series starring Johnny Weissmuller of the 1930s, but there have been dozens of B-Movies, Saturday afternoon serials and at least three TV series, including a cheesy Filmation cartoon series. The property has been parodied in animation by Jay Ward as George Of The Jungle (revived last year by Disney as a live-action comedy) and by Belgium animator Jean-Paul Picha in his theatrical feature Tarzoon: Shame Of The Jungle (Tarzoon: La Honte De La Jungle, 1975).

But the African jungle has been successful terrain for the mouse house -- and Tarzan fits perfectly into a Disney themed trilogy with The Jungle Book (1967) and The Lion King (1994).

Disney's Version of a Classic
The film begins with a spectacular shipwreck, where a man and woman escape to dry land. They make their home in the jungle, but are soon found dead by mama gorilla Kala (voiced by Glenn Close), who takes their infant child after a thrilling escape from a killer leopard. The human child is raised with the apes, demonstrated in a funny sequence in which young Tarzan (Alex D. Linz) tries to retrieve an elephant hair, causing a stampede which almost kills the gorilla clan. Leader of the apes, Kerchak (Lance Henriksen), is not amused and declares that Tarzan "will never be one of us." The boy soon sets about training himself to be the best ape of all.

Tarzan proves himself by killing a leopard. © Burroughs and Disney, Tarzan® Edgar Rice Burroughs, Inc. All rights reserved.

Adult Tarzan (Tony Goldwyn) proves himself by killing the leopard in a fierce battle. Soon after, Tarzan meets Jane, as man enters the forest. The Porter expedition arrives to study jungle apes, while evil guide Clayton (Brian Blessed) has plans to capture them for profit. The meeting of Tarzan and Jane (Minnie Driver), within a spectacular chase scene involving dozens of killer monkeys, is funny, scary, and breath-taking. Their quiet moments, when Tarzan realizes that he is more of her species than ape, are very well done.

The rest of the apes soon explore the Porter base camp and in the tradition of Stomp or Bring In Da Noise/Funk provide the only musical set piece, done in a playful manner that doesn't disrupt the "reality" of the situation.

The Porters educate Tarzan during a musical montage, and clearly the ape-man falls in love with Jane. Tarzan agrees to lead the party to his gorilla clan, but must subdue Clayton who almost shoots Kerchak. Kerchak expels Tarzan for betrayal and in sympathy for the outcast, Kala reveals Tarzan's true origin, taking him to his parents' tree house.

Tarzan (now dressed in his father's suit) joins the Porters to return with them to England. But at sea, they are captured and held while Clayton and his men go back to the jungle with guns and cages to catch apes. Best friends, gorilla Turk (Rosie O'Donnell) and elephant Tantor (Wayne Knight) rescue Tarzan and the Porters, who come to the rescue of the gorilla clan. After Clayton kills Kerchak, Tarzan hunts him down and the villain gets his just desserts. Jane and her father (Nigel Hawthorne) decide to stay in the jungle, and it ends with a spectacular vine-swinging shot of Tarzan and a now jungle attired Jane, living happily ever after.