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''Tarzan'' is a 1999 American animated
adventure An adventure is an exciting experience or undertaking that is typically bold, sometimes risky. Adventures may be activities with danger such as traveling, exploring, skydiving, mountain climbing, scuba diving, river rafting, or other extreme spo ...
comedy-drama Comedy drama (also known by the portmanteau dramedy) is a hybrid genre of works that combine elements of comedy and Drama (film and television), drama. In film, as well as scripted television series, serious dramatic subjects (such as death, il ...
film directed by
Kevin Lima Kevin Lima (born June 12, 1962) is an American film director and animator who has directed '' A Goofy Movie'' (1995), ''Tarzan'' (1999), ''102 Dalmatians'' (2000), and '' Enchanted'' (2007). He is married to Brenda Chapman, the head of story for ' ...
and
Chris Buck Christopher James Buck (born February 24, 1958) is an American film director, animator, and screenwriter known for co-directing '' Tarzan'' (1999), '' Surf's Up'' (2007) (which was nominated for the 2007 Oscar for Best Animated Feature), '' F ...
, and produced by Bonnie Arnold, from a screenplay written by
Tab Murphy Tab Murphy is an American screenwriter, film producer, and film director. Biography Murphy's theatrical debut, ''Gorillas in the Mist'', was nominated for an Academy Award for his writing. In 1995, Murphy made his directorial debut with ''Last ...
, and the writing team of
Bob Tzudiker Robert "Bob" Tzudiker (born August 28, 1953) is an American screenwriter and actor. Tzudiker is best known for co-creating and writing the screenplay for '' Newsies'' along with his wife Noni White, which was based on the real-life Newsboys' s ...
and
Noni White Noni White is an American screenwriter and actress. White is best known for co-creating and writing the screenplay for ''Newsies'' along with her husband Bob Tzudiker, which was based on the real-life Newsboys' strike of 1899. Newsies began as ...
. It is based on the 1912 story ''
Tarzan of the Apes ''Tarzan of the Apes'' is a 1912 novel by American writer Edgar Rice Burroughs, and the first in the Tarzan series. The story was first printed in the pulp magazine '' The All-Story'' in October 1912 before being released as a novel in June 191 ...
'' by
Edgar Rice Burroughs Edgar Rice Burroughs (September 1, 1875 â€“ March 19, 1950) was an American writer, best known for his prolific output in the adventure, science fiction, and fantasy genres. Best known for creating the characters Tarzan (who appeared in ...
, being the first animated major motion picture version of the story. Produced by
Walt Disney Feature Animation Walt Disney Animation Studios (WDAS), sometimes shortened to Disney Animation, is an American animation studio that produces animated feature films and short films for the Walt Disney Company. The studio's current production logo features a s ...
and released by
Walt Disney Pictures Walt Disney Pictures is an American film Film production company, production company and subsidiary of Walt Disney Studios (division), the Walt Disney Studios, a division of Disney Entertainment, which is owned by the Walt Disney Company. The st ...
, the film stars
Tony Goldwyn Anthony Howard Goldwyn (born May 20, 1960) is an American actor, singer, producer, director, and political activist. He made his debut appearing as Darren in the slasher film '' Friday the 13th Part VI: Jason Lives'' (1986), and had his breakthr ...
as the
title character The title character in a narrative work is one who is named or referred to in the title of the work. In a performed work such as a play or film, the performer who plays the title character is said to have the title role of the piëce. The title o ...
, alongside
Minnie Driver Amelia Fiona Jessica "Minnie" Driver (born 31 January 1970) is a British and American actress and singer. She rose to prominence with her break-out role in the 1995 film ''Circle of Friends (1995 film), Circle of Friends''. She went on to star i ...
,
Glenn Close Glenda Veronica Close (born March 19, 1947) is an American actress. In a career spanning over five decades on Glenn Close on screen and stage, screen and stage, she has received List of awards and nominations received by Glenn Close, numerous ac ...
,
Rosie O'Donnell Roseann O'Donnell (born March 21, 1962) is an American talk show host, comedian, and actress. She began her comedy career as a teenager and received her breakthrough on the television series ''Star Search'' in 1984. After a series of television ...
,
Brian Blessed Brian Blessed ( ; born 9 October 1936) is an English actor. He is known for his distinctive bushy beard, booming voice, and exuberant personality and performances. He portrayed PC "Fancy" Smith in ''Z-Cars''; Augustus in the 1976 BBC television ...
,
Lance Henriksen Lance Henriksen (born May 5, 1940) is an American actor. He is known for his roles in various science fiction, action and horror genre productions, including Bishop in the ''Alien'' film franchise and Frank Black in the Fox television series ...
,
Wayne Knight Wayne Elliot Knight (born August 7, 1955) is an American actor. In television, he played recurring roles such as Newman on the NBC sitcom ''Seinfeld'' (1992–1998) and Officer Don Orville on the NBC sitcom ''3rd Rock from the Sun'' (1996â ...
, and
Nigel Hawthorne Sir Nigel Barnard Hawthorne (5 April 1929 – 26 December 2001) was an English actor. He is known for his stage acting and his portrayal of Sir Humphrey Appleby, the permanent secretary in the 1980s sitcom ''Yes Minister'' and the Cabinet Secre ...
. The film follows an orphan who is raised by the family of
gorilla Gorillas are primarily herbivorous, terrestrial great apes that inhabit the tropical forests of equatorial Africa. The genus ''Gorilla'' is divided into two species: the eastern gorilla and the western gorilla, and either four or five su ...
s in
Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent after Asia. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 20% of Earth's land area and 6% of its total surfac ...
, after his real parents were killed by a
leopard The leopard (''Panthera pardus'') is one of the five extant cat species in the genus ''Panthera''. It has a pale yellowish to dark golden fur with dark spots grouped in rosettes. Its body is slender and muscular reaching a length of with a ...
. Years later, he grows up into a man and meets other humans. He is soon torn by them and must choose between staying with them or a group of animals. Pre-production of ''Tarzan'' began in 1995, with Lima selected as director and Buck joining him the same year. Following Murphy's first draft, Tzudiker, White, Dave Reynolds, and Jeffrey Stepakoff (the latter two of whom received additional screenplay credits in the final cut), were brought in to reconstruct the third act and add additional material to the screenplay. English recording artist
Phil Collins Philip David Charles Collins (born 30 January 1951) is an English musician, songwriter, record producer and actor. He was the drummer and later became the lead singer of the rock band Genesis (band), Genesis and had a successful solo career, ac ...
was recruited to compose and record songs integrated with a score by
Mark Mancina Mark Mancina (born 1957) is an American film composer. A veteran of Hans Zimmer's Media Ventures, Mancina has scored over sixty films and television series including ''Speed'', '' Bad Boys'', ''Twister'', ''Tarzan'', '' Training Day'', '' Brothe ...
. Meanwhile, the production team embarked on a research trip to
Uganda Uganda, officially the Republic of Uganda, is a landlocked country in East Africa. It is bordered to the east by Kenya, to the north by South Sudan, to the west by the Democratic Republic of the Congo, to the south-west by Rwanda, and to the ...
and
Kenya Kenya, officially the Republic of Kenya, is a country located in East Africa. With an estimated population of more than 52.4 million as of mid-2024, Kenya is the 27th-most-populous country in the world and the 7th most populous in Africa. ...
to study the gorillas. The animation of the film combines 2D hand-drawn animation with the extensive use of
computer-generated imagery Computer-generated imagery (CGI) is a specific-technology or application of computer graphics for creating or improving images in Digital art, art, Publishing, printed media, Training simulation, simulators, videos and video games. These images ...
, and it was done in
California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...
,
Orlando Orlando commonly refers to: * Orlando, Florida, a city in the United States Orlando may also refer to: People * Orlando (given name), a masculine name, includes a list of people with the name * Orlando (surname), includes a list of people wit ...
, and
Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...
, with the pioneering
computer animation Computer animation is the process used for digitally generating Film, moving images. The more general term computer-generated imagery (CGI) encompasses both still images and moving images, while computer animation refers to moving images. Virtu ...
software system Deep Canvas being predominantly used to create three-dimensional backgrounds. ''Tarzan'' premiered at the
El Capitan Theatre El Capitan Theatre is a fully restored movie palace at 6838 Hollywood Boulevard in the Hollywood neighborhood in Los Angeles, California, United States. The theater and adjacent Hollywood Masonic Temple (now known as the El Capitan Entert ...
in Los Angeles on June 12, 1999, and was released in the United States on June 18. It received positive reviews from critics, who praised its voice performances, music, animation, and action sequences. Against a production budget of $130 million (then the most expensive traditionally animated film ever made until ''
Treasure Planet ''Treasure Planet'' is a 2002 American animated science fiction film, science fiction adventure film directed by John Musker and Ron Clements and written by Musker, Clements and Rob Edwards (screenwriter), Rob Edwards. Produced by Walt Disney ...
'' in 2002), the film grossed $448.2 million worldwide, becoming the fifth highest-grossing film of 1999, the second highest-grossing animated film of 1999 behind ''
Toy Story 2 ''Toy Story 2'' is a 1999 American animated adventure comedy film produced by Pixar Animation Studios, and the first sequel to Toy Story. It is the second installment in the Toy Story (franchise), ''Toy Story'' franchise and was directed by J ...
'', and the first Disney animated feature to open at first place at the North American box office since ''
Pocahontas Pocahontas (, ; born Amonute, also known as Matoaka and Rebecca Rolfe; 1596 – March 1617) was a Native American woman belonging to the Powhatan people, notable for her association with the colonial settlement at Jamestown, Virginia. S ...
'' (1995). It won the
Academy Award for Best Original Song The Academy Award for Best Original Song is one of the awards given annually to people working in the Film industry, motion picture industry by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS). It is presented to the ''songwriters'' who h ...
("
You'll Be in My Heart "You'll Be in My Heart" is a song by English drummer and singer Phil Collins from the 1999 Disney animated feature ''Tarzan''. It appeared on '' Tarzan: An Original Walt Disney Records Soundtrack'' as well as various other Disney compilations. ...
" by Phil Collins). The film has led to many derived works, such as a Broadway adaptation, a
television series A television show, TV program (), or simply a TV show, is the general reference to any content produced for viewing on a television set that is broadcast via over-the-air, satellite, and cable, or distributed digitally on streaming plat ...
, and two
direct-to-video Direct-to-video or straight-to-video refers to the release of a film, television series, short or special to the public immediately on home video formats rather than an initial theatrical release or television premiere. This distribution strat ...
followups, '' Tarzan & Jane'' (2002) and ''
Tarzan II ''Tarzan II'' (also known as ''Tarzan 2'' and ''Tarzan 2: The Legend Begins'') is a 2005 American animated direct-to-video adventure comedy film, and the third Disney's ''Tarzan'' film after '' Tarzan and Jane'', though it chronologically takes ...
'' (2005). Due to licensing issues with
Edgar Rice Burroughs, Inc. Edgar Rice Burroughs, Inc. is an American holding company founded in 1923 by author Edgar Rice Burroughs. It is based in Tarzana, California. The company holds the rights to the literary estate of Burroughs that are still protected by copyright ...
, the use of these characters are limited.


Plot

In the 1880s, a British couple and their infant son are shipwrecked in
Equatorial Africa Equatorial Africa is an ambiguous term that sometimes is used to refer to the equatorial region of sub-Saharan Africa traversed by the Equator, more broadly to tropical Africa, or in a biological and geo-environmental sense to the intra-tropic ...
. The adults build a treehouse, but are killed by a leopard named
Sabor The Croatian Parliament () or the Sabor is the unicameral legislature of Croatia. Under the terms of the Croatian Constitution, the Sabor represents the people and is vested with legislative power. The Sabor is composed of 151 members elected ...
. Kala, a local gorilla whose son was also killed by Sabor, finds the human infant and adopts him, naming him
Tarzan Tarzan (John Clayton, Viscount Greystoke) is a fictional character, a feral child raised in the African jungle by the Mangani great apes; he later experiences civilization, only to reject it and return to the wild as a heroic adventurer. Creat ...
. As a child, Tarzan befriends Kala's niece Terk and the paranoid elephant
Tantor ''Tantor'' is a generic name for elephants in ''Mangani'', the fictional language of the great apes in the Tarzan novels of Edgar Rice Burroughs. In Burroughs's works a number of elephants appear under the name of ''Tantor'', most notably one ...
. Because of his different appearance and unorthodox behaviors, Tarzan finds himself treated differently by the other gorillas, and by
Kerchak Kerchak is a fictional ape character in Edgar Rice Burroughs's original '' Tarzan'' novel, '' Tarzan of the Apes'', and in movies and other media based on it. History In the novel ''Tarzan of the Apes'', Kerchak is the "king" of a tribal band of ...
, the troop's leader and Kala's mate. Tarzan makes valiant efforts to improve himself as he grows. Several years later, Sabor attacks the gorillas, but Tarzan kills the leopard, gaining Kerchak's reluctant respect. Meanwhile, British explorer Archimedes Q. Porter, his daughter Jane, and their hunter escort William Cecil Clayton arrive in Africa to study the gorillas. Jane accidentally becomes separated from the others and is chased by baboons, until a curious Tarzan rescues her. After comparing her to himself, he realizes they are the same species. Jane leads Tarzan back to their camp, where Porter and Clayton both take interest in him; the former in terms of scientific progress, while the latter hopes to have Tarzan lead the group to the gorillas. Despite Kerchak's warnings to avoid the strangers, Tarzan repeatedly returns to the camp. The Porters and Clayton teach him how to speak English properly, and tell him what the human world is like. Tarzan and Jane begin a romantic relationship. However, she has difficulty convincing Tarzan to lead the humans to the gorillas, as Tarzan fears Kerchak's fury. As the explorers' ship returns to retrieve them, Jane asks Tarzan to travel to England with her. However, when she says it is unlikely they will return to Africa, Tarzan tries persuading Jane to stay with him instead. Clayton tricks Tarzan into believing Jane will stay in Africa in exchange for her seeing the gorillas. Tarzan persuades Terk and Tantor to lure Kerchak away, and leads the trio to the nesting grounds. The Porters excitedly mingle with the gorillas, but Kerchak returns to attack the humans. Tarzan restrains Kerchak while the humans escape, disappointing Kerchak. Taking Tarzan to the treehouse where she found him, Kala reveals his heritage and says she wants him to be happy whatever he decides. In the morning, Tarzan boards the ship, accompanied by the Porters, but Clayton and his traitorous group of stowaway poachers ambush the trio. Now aware of the location of the nesting grounds, Clayton plans to capture and sell the gorillas for a fortune, and imprisons Tarzan and the Porters to prevent their interference. Tarzan escapes with the help of Terk and Tantor, and he rallies the other animals to help the gorillas fight Clayton's henchmen. Clayton fatally wounds Kerchak and enters the rainforest canopy to fight Tarzan, but inadvertently falls and hangs himself on a vine. Before dying, Kerchak finally accepts Tarzan as his son and names him the gorilla troop's leader. The next day, the Porters prepare to leave on the ship, while Tarzan stays behind with the gorillas. As the ship's rowboat leaves shore, Porter encourages his daughter to stay with the man she loves, and Jane jumps overboard, followed soon after by her father. The Porters reunite with Tarzan and his family, and embark on their new life together.


Voice cast

*
Tony Goldwyn Anthony Howard Goldwyn (born May 20, 1960) is an American actor, singer, producer, director, and political activist. He made his debut appearing as Darren in the slasher film '' Friday the 13th Part VI: Jason Lives'' (1986), and had his breakthr ...
as Tarzan, a 20-year-old man raised by gorillas who finds his human roots.
Glen Keane Glen Keane (born April 13, 1954) is an American animator, director, author and illustrator. As a character animator at Walt Disney Animation Studios for 38 years (1974–2012), he worked on feature films including ''The Little Mermaid'', ''Beau ...
served as the supervising animator for Tarzan as an adult, while John Ripa animated Tarzan as an infant and a 6-year-old child. John Ripa studied the movements of young chimpanzees to use for young Tarzan's animation, while Glen Keane used movements of a gibbon for the animation of adult Tarzan. Keane also watched his son Max Keane skateboarding and snowboarding and referenced surfers' movements to animate the scenes where Tarzan slides across tree branches.
Brendan Fraser Brendan James Fraser ( ; born December 3, 1968) is an American-Canadian actor. List of awards and nominations received by Brendan Fraser, His accolades include an Academy Award, a Screen Actors Guild Award, and a nomination for a Golden Globe A ...
auditioned twice for the title character before portraying the lead role in ''
George of the Jungle ''George of the Jungle'' is an American animated television series produced and created by Jay Ward and Bill Scott, who also created '' The Adventures of Rocky and Bullwinkle and Friends''. The character George was inspired by the story of ...
'' (1997). Goldwyn auditioned for the title role as well, and according to co-director Kevin Lima, Goldwyn landed it because of "the animal sense" in his readings, along with some "killer baboon imitations". ** Alex D. Linz as young Tarzan *
Minnie Driver Amelia Fiona Jessica "Minnie" Driver (born 31 January 1970) is a British and American actress and singer. She rose to prominence with her break-out role in the 1995 film ''Circle of Friends (1995 film), Circle of Friends''. She went on to star i ...
as Jane Porter, the eccentric, feisty, benevolent, and intelligent daughter of Professor Porter. She is the first of the group to encounter Tarzan and becomes his love interest. Ken Duncan served as the supervising animator for Jane. Many of Driver's mannerisms and characteristics were incorporated into Jane's animation. The scene where Jane describes meeting Tarzan for the first time to her father and Clayton was improvised by Driver, resulting in Duncan animating one of the longest animated scenes on record. The scene took 7 weeks to animate and 73 feet of film. *
Glenn Close Glenda Veronica Close (born March 19, 1947) is an American actress. In a career spanning over five decades on Glenn Close on screen and stage, screen and stage, she has received List of awards and nominations received by Glenn Close, numerous ac ...
as Kala, Tarzan's adoptive mother, who found and raised him after losing her biological son to Sabor. She is also Kerchak's mate. Russ Edmonds served as the supervising animator for Kala. *
Rosie O'Donnell Roseann O'Donnell (born March 21, 1962) is an American talk show host, comedian, and actress. She began her comedy career as a teenager and received her breakthrough on the television series ''Star Search'' in 1984. After a series of television ...
as Terk (short for Terkina, a feminization of Terkoz merged with Teeka), Tarzan's best friend, a wisecracking gorilla. She is also Kala and Kerchak's niece, making her and Tarzan adoptive cousins. Michael Surrey served as the supervising animator for Terk. The character was originally written as a male gorilla, but after O'Donnell's audition, Terk was re-characterized as a female. Prior to changing Terk to a female
Chris Rock Christopher Julius Rock (born February 7, 1965) is an American comedian, actor, and filmmaker. He first gained prominence for his stand-up routines in the 1980s in which he tackled subjects including race relations, human sexuality, and obse ...
was offered the role, but turned it down. *
Brian Blessed Brian Blessed ( ; born 9 October 1936) is an English actor. He is known for his distinctive bushy beard, booming voice, and exuberant personality and performances. He portrayed PC "Fancy" Smith in ''Z-Cars''; Augustus in the 1976 BBC television ...
as William Cecil Clayton, an intelligent and suave yet arrogant and treacherous hunter, who assists the Porters on their quest. Randy Haycock served as the supervising animator for Clayton, basing his design on
Clark Gable William Clark Gable (February 1, 1901November 16, 1960) was an American actor often referred to as the "King of Cinema of the United States, Hollywood". He appeared in more than 60 Film, motion pictures across a variety of Film genre, genres dur ...
and other film stars of the 1930s and 40s. Blessed also provided the iconic
Tarzan yell The Tarzan yell or Tarzan's jungle call is the distinctive, ululating yell of the character Tarzan as portrayed by actor Johnny Weissmuller in the films based on the character created by Edgar Rice Burroughs starting with '' Tarzan the Ape Man' ...
for the title character. *
Nigel Hawthorne Sir Nigel Barnard Hawthorne (5 April 1929 – 26 December 2001) was an English actor. He is known for his stage acting and his portrayal of Sir Humphrey Appleby, the permanent secretary in the 1980s sitcom ''Yes Minister'' and the Cabinet Secre ...
as Professor Archimedes Q. Porter, an eccentric, short-statured scientist and Jane's father. Dave Burgess served as the supervising animator for Porter. This was one of Hawthorne's two final acting roles before his death in 2001. This is also the second Disney film Nigel starred in following his performance in the earlier Disney film '' The Black Cauldron'' (1985). *
Lance Henriksen Lance Henriksen (born May 5, 1940) is an American actor. He is known for his roles in various science fiction, action and horror genre productions, including Bishop in the ''Alien'' film franchise and Frank Black in the Fox television series ...
as Kerchak, Kala's mate and Tarzan's reluctant adoptive father, a silverback and leader of the gorilla troop, who struggles to accept Tarzan since he is a human.
Bruce W. Smith Bruce Wayne Smith (born September 6, 1961) is an American film and television producer, animator, character designer and film director. He is best known as the creator of Disney Channel's ''The Proud Family'' (2001–2005) and Disney+'s '' The Pr ...
served as the supervising animator for Kerchak. *
Wayne Knight Wayne Elliot Knight (born August 7, 1955) is an American actor. In television, he played recurring roles such as Newman on the NBC sitcom ''Seinfeld'' (1992–1998) and Officer Don Orville on the NBC sitcom ''3rd Rock from the Sun'' (1996â ...
as Tantor, a paranoid and submissive elephant, and Tarzan and Terk's close friend.
Sergio Pablos Sergio Pablos is a Spanish animator, director and screenwriter. While at the helm of his company (The SPA Studios), Pablos developed several concepts for animated feature films, most notably the original ideas upon which ''Despicable Me (film), ...
served as the supervising animator for Tantor.
Woody Allen Heywood Allen (born Allan Stewart Konigsberg; November 30, 1935) is an American filmmaker, actor, and comedian whose career spans more than six decades. Allen has received many List of awards and nominations received by Woody Allen, accolade ...
was initially cast as Tantor, but
Jeffrey Katzenberg Jeffrey Katzenberg ( ; born December 21, 1950) is an American media proprietor and film producer. He served as chairman of Walt Disney Studios (division), Walt Disney Studios from 1984 to 1994, a position in which he oversaw production and busin ...
persuaded Allen to leave the project and join DreamWorks' ''
Antz ''Antz'' is a 1998 American animated adventure comedy film directed by Eric Darnell and Tim Johnson from a screenplay written by Todd Alcott and the writing team of Chris and Paul Weitz. It was produced by DreamWorks Pictures, DreamWorks An ...
'' (1998). **Taylor Dempsey as young Tantor. *
Bob Bergen Robert Berger (born March 8, 1964), known professionally as Bob Bergen, is an American voice actor. He voices Warner Bros. cartoon characters Porky Pig and Tweety and has voiced characters in the English dubs of various anime. He formerly hosted ...
as Vincent Snipes, Clayton's lead henchman. *
Corey Burton Corey Burton is an American voice actor. He is the current voice of Captain Hook, Ludwig Von Drake and others for The Walt Disney Company, Shockwave on '' The Transformers'', Brainiac in the DC Animated Universe, Count Dooku and Cad Bane in ...
as Butch Jones, one of Clayton's henchmen.


Production


Development

Disney's ''Tarzan'' was the first
Tarzan Tarzan (John Clayton, Viscount Greystoke) is a fictional character, a feral child raised in the African jungle by the Mangani great apes; he later experiences civilization, only to reject it and return to the wild as a heroic adventurer. Creat ...
film to be animated.
Thomas Schumacher Thomas Schumacher (born December 5, 1957) is a film and theatrical producer. He is the current president of Disney Theatrical Group, the theatrical production arm of The Walt Disney Company. Life and career Schumacher studied theatre at UCLA. I ...
, then-president of
Walt Disney Feature Animation Walt Disney Animation Studios (WDAS), sometimes shortened to Disney Animation, is an American animation studio that produces animated feature films and short films for the Walt Disney Company. The studio's current production logo features a s ...
, expressed surprise there hadn't been any previous attempts to animate a ''Tarzan'' film, saying, "Here is a book that cries out to be animated. Yet we're the first filmmakers to have ever taken Tarzan from page to screen and presented the character as Burroughs intended." He noted that in animated form, Tarzan can connect to the animals on a deeper level than he can in live-action versions. In 1994, when ''
A Goofy Movie ''A Goofy Movie'' is a 1995 American animated musical comedy-adventure film produced by Walt Disney Television Animation. Directed by Kevin Lima, it is based on The Disney Afternoon television series ''Goof Troop'' (1992) created by Robert T ...
'' (1995) was nearly finished,
Kevin Lima Kevin Lima (born June 12, 1962) is an American film director and animator who has directed '' A Goofy Movie'' (1995), ''Tarzan'' (1999), ''102 Dalmatians'' (2000), and '' Enchanted'' (2007). He is married to Brenda Chapman, the head of story for ' ...
was approached to direct ''Tarzan'' by then-studio chairman
Jeffrey Katzenberg Jeffrey Katzenberg ( ; born December 21, 1950) is an American media proprietor and film producer. He served as chairman of Walt Disney Studios (division), Walt Disney Studios from 1984 to 1994, a position in which he oversaw production and busin ...
. He had desired to have the film animated through the
Disney Television Animation Disney Television Animation (DTVA; also shortened to Disney TVA), formerly known as Walt Disney Pictures Television Animation Group and Walt Disney Television Animation, is an American animation production company that serves as the television a ...
division with a new animation studio established in
Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...
. Lima was reluctant to the idea because of the animation complexities being done by inexperienced animators. Following Katzenberg's resignation from the
Walt Disney Company The Walt Disney Company, commonly referred to as simply Disney, is an American multinational mass media and entertainment industry, entertainment conglomerate (company), conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios (Burbank), Walt Di ...
, Lima was again contacted about the project by
Michael Eisner Michael Dammann Eisner ( ; born March 7, 1942) is an American businessman and former chairman and chief executive officer (CEO) of the Walt Disney Company from September 1984 to September 2005. Prior to Disney, Eisner was president of rival film ...
, who decided to have the film produced through the Feature Animation division, by which Lima signed on. Following this, Lima decided to read ''Tarzan of the Apes'' where he began to visualize the theme of two hands being held up against each other. That image became an important symbol of the relationships between characters in the film, and a metaphor of Tarzan's search for identity. "I was looking for something that would underscore Tarzan's sense of being alike, yet different from his ape family", Lima said, "The image of touching hands was first conceived as an idea for how Tarzan realizes he and Jane are physically the same." Following his two-month study of the book, Lima approached his friend,
Chris Buck Christopher James Buck (born February 24, 1958) is an American film director, animator, and screenwriter known for co-directing '' Tarzan'' (1999), '' Surf's Up'' (2007) (which was nominated for the 2007 Oscar for Best Animated Feature), '' F ...
, who had just wrapped up work as a supervising animator on ''
Pocahontas Pocahontas (, ; born Amonute, also known as Matoaka and Rebecca Rolfe; 1596 – March 1617) was a Native American woman belonging to the Powhatan people, notable for her association with the colonial settlement at Jamestown, Virginia. S ...
'' (1995), to ask if he would be interested in serving as co-director. Buck was initially skeptical but accepted after hearing Lima's ideas for the film. By April 1995, the ''
Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' is an American Newspaper#Daily, daily newspaper that began publishing in Los Angeles, California, in 1881. Based in the Greater Los Angeles city of El Segundo, California, El Segundo since 2018, it is the List of new ...
'' reported that the film was in its preliminary stages with Lima and Buck directing after Disney had obtained the story rights from the estate of Edgar Rice Burroughs.


Writing

Tab Murphy Tab Murphy is an American screenwriter, film producer, and film director. Biography Murphy's theatrical debut, ''Gorillas in the Mist'', was nominated for an Academy Award for his writing. In 1995, Murphy made his directorial debut with ''Last ...
, who had just finished work on '' The Hunchback of Notre Dame'' (1996), was attracted to the theme of man-versus-nature in ''Tarzan'', and began developing a treatment in January 1995. For the third act, Murphy suggested that Tarzan should leave for England, as he did in the book, but the directors felt that it was incompatible with their central theme of what defines a family. In order to keep Tarzan in the jungle, the third act needed to be restructured by redefining the role of the villain and inventing a way to endanger the gorillas. In this departure from Burroughs' novel, a villain named Clayton was created to serve as a guide for Professor Archimedes Q. Porter and his daughter, Jane. In addition to this, Kerchak was re-characterized from a savage silverback into the protector of the gorilla tribe. In January 1997, husband-and-wife screenwriting duo
Bob Tzudiker Robert "Bob" Tzudiker (born August 28, 1953) is an American screenwriter and actor. Tzudiker is best known for co-creating and writing the screenplay for '' Newsies'' along with his wife Noni White, which was based on the real-life Newsboys' s ...
and
Noni White Noni White is an American screenwriter and actress. White is best known for co-creating and writing the screenplay for ''Newsies'' along with her husband Bob Tzudiker, which was based on the real-life Newsboys' strike of 1899. Newsies began as ...
were hired to help refocus and add humor to the script as a way to balance the emotional weight of the film. Comedy writer Dave Reynolds was also brought on to write humorous dialogue for the film. "I was initially hired on for six weeks of rewriting and punch-up", Reynolds said, "A year and a half later, I finished. Either they liked my work, or I was very bad at time management." One challenge the writers faced was how Tarzan should learn about his past. "When Kala takes Tarzan back to the tree house, she is essentially telling him that he was adopted", Bonnie Arnold, the producer for ''Tarzan'', said, "This is necessitated by him encountering humans and recognizing he is one of them." As a way to explore the feelings in that scene, Arnold brought in adoptive parents to talk with the story team.


Animation

The animators were split into two teams, one in Paris and one in
Burbank Burbank may refer to: Places Australia * Burbank, Queensland, a suburb in Brisbane United States * Burbank, California, a city in Los Angeles County * Burbank, Santa Clara County, California, a census-designated place * Burbank, Illinois, ...
. The 6000-mile distance and difference in time zones posed challenges for collaboration, especially for scenes with Tarzan and Jane.
Glen Keane Glen Keane (born April 13, 1954) is an American animator, director, author and illustrator. As a character animator at Walt Disney Animation Studios for 38 years (1974–2012), he worked on feature films including ''The Little Mermaid'', ''Beau ...
was the supervising animator for Tarzan at the Paris studio, while Ken Duncan was the supervising animator for Jane at the studio in Burbank. To make coordinating scenes with multiple characters easier, the animators used a system called a "scene machine" that could send rough drawings between the two animation studios. Meanwhile, following production on ''
Mulan Hua Mulan () is a legendary Chinese folk heroine from the Northern and Southern dynasties era (4th to 6th century Common Era, CE) of Chinese history. Scholar, Scholars generally consider Mulan to be a fictional character. Hua Mulan is depicte ...
'' (1998), two hundred animators at
Walt Disney Feature Animation Florida Walt Disney Feature Animation Florida was a division of Walt Disney Feature Animation that operated from 1989 to 2004. Its offices were backlot of the Disney-MGM Studios theme park and visitors were allowed to tour the studio in The Magic of Di ...
provided character animation and special effects animation where the filmmakers had to discuss their work through daily video conferences among the three studios. Keane was inspired to make Tarzan "surf" through the trees because of his son's interest in extreme sports, and he began working on a test scene. The directors expressed concern that Tarzan would be made into a "surfer dude". In October 1996, Keane revealed the test animation to them, which they liked it enough that it was used during the "Son of Man" sequence, with movements inspired by skateboarder
Tony Hawk Anthony Frank Hawk (born May 12, 1968), nicknamed Birdman, is an American professional skateboarder, entrepreneur, and the owner of the skateboard company Birdhouse. A pioneer of modern vertical skateboarding, Hawk completed the first docume ...
. Although Keane initially thought that Tarzan would be easy to animate because he only wears a
loincloth A loincloth is a one-piece garment, either wrapped around itself or kept in place by a belt. It covers the genitals and sometimes the buttocks. Loincloths which are held up by belts or strings are specifically known as breechcloth or breechclo ...
, he realized that he would need a fully working human musculature while still being able to move like an animal. To figure out Tarzan's movements, the Paris animation team studied different animals in order to transpose their movements onto him. They also consulted with a professor of anatomy. This resulted in Tarzan being the first Disney character to accurately display working muscles. To prepare for animating the gorillas, the animation team attended lectures on primates, made trips to zoos, and studied nature documentaries, with a group of animators also witnessing a gorilla dissection to learn about their musculature. In March 1996, the production team began a two-week safari in Kenya to take reference photographs and observe the animals. On the trip, they visited
Bwindi Impenetrable National Park The Bwindi Impenetrable National Park is a national park in southwestern Uganda. It is part of the Bwindi Impenetrable Forest and is situated along the Democratic Republic of the Congo border next to the Virunga National Park and on the edge of t ...
in Uganda to view mountain gorillas in the wild, and get inspiration for the setting. In 2000, Chris Buck repeated the journey accompanied by journalists to promote the film's home video release. To create the sweeping 3D backgrounds, ''Tarzan''s production team developed a 3D painting and rendering technique known as ''Deep Canvas'' (a term coined by artist/engineer Eric Daniels). This technique allows artists to produce CGI backgrounds that look like a traditional painting, according to art director Daniel St. Pierre. (The software keeps track of brushstrokes applied in 3D space.) For this advancement, the
Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS, often pronounced ; also known as simply the Academy or the Motion Picture Academy) is a professional honorary organization in Beverly Hills, California, U.S., with the stated goal of adva ...
awarded the creators of ''Deep Canvas'' a Technical Achievement Award in 2003. After ''Tarzan'', ''Deep Canvas'' was used for a number of sequences in '' Atlantis: The Lost Empire'' (2001), particularly large panoramic shots of the island and several action sequences. Expanded to support moving objects as part of the background, ''Deep Canvas'' was used to create about 75 percent of the environments in Disney's next major animated action film, ''
Treasure Planet ''Treasure Planet'' is a 2002 American animated science fiction film, science fiction adventure film directed by John Musker and Ron Clements and written by Musker, Clements and Rob Edwards (screenwriter), Rob Edwards. Produced by Walt Disney ...
'' (2002).


Music

In 1995,
Phil Collins Philip David Charles Collins (born 30 January 1951) is an English musician, songwriter, record producer and actor. He was the drummer and later became the lead singer of the rock band Genesis (band), Genesis and had a successful solo career, ac ...
was initially brought onto the project as a songwriter following a recommendation by Disney music executive Chris Montan. Early into production, directors Kevin Lima and Chris Buck decided not to follow Disney's musical tradition by having the characters sing. "I did not want Tarzan to sing", Lima stated, "I just couldn't see this half-naked man sitting on a branch breaking out in song. I thought it would be ridiculous." Instead, Collins would perform the songs in the film serving as the narrator. The choice of Collins, a popular and well established
adult contemporary Adult contemporary music (AC) is a form of radio-played popular music, ranging from 1960s vocal and 1970s soft rock music to predominantly ballad-heavy music of the 1980s to the present day, with varying degrees of easy listening, pop, soul ...
artist, led to comparisons with
Elton John Sir Elton Hercules John (born Reginald Kenneth Dwight; 25 March 1947) is a British singer, songwriter and pianist. His music and showmanship have had a significant, lasting impact on the music industry, and his songwriting partnership with l ...
's earlier music for ''
The Lion King ''The Lion King'' is a 1994 American animated musical coming-of-age drama film directed by Roger Allers and Rob Minkoff, produced by Don Hahn, and written by Irene Mecchi, Jonathan Roberts, and Linda Woolverton. Produced by Walt Disney ...
'' (1994). ''Tarzan'' was dubbed in thirty-five languages—the most for any Disney movie at the time, and Collins recorded his songs in French, Italian, German, and Spanish for the dubbed versions of the film's soundtrack. According to Collins, most of the songs he wrote for ''Tarzan'' came from improvisation sessions and his reactions while reading the treatment. Three of the songs he wrote—" Son of Man", "Trashin' the Camp", and "
Strangers Like Me "Strangers Like Me" is a song by the English drummer Phil Collins for the soundtrack of Disney's 1999 animated film ''Tarzan''. The song peaked at number ten on the U.S. ''Billboard'' Hot Adult Contemporary Tracks chart and received highly positi ...
"—were based on his initial impressions after he read the source material. The other two songs were "
You'll Be in My Heart "You'll Be in My Heart" is a song by English drummer and singer Phil Collins from the 1999 Disney animated feature ''Tarzan''. It appeared on '' Tarzan: An Original Walt Disney Records Soundtrack'' as well as various other Disney compilations. ...
", a lullaby sung to Tarzan by Kala (voiced by Glenn Close), and "Two Worlds", a song Collins wrote to serve as the anthem for ''Tarzan''. The instrumental scoring for the film was composed by
Mark Mancina Mark Mancina (born 1957) is an American film composer. A veteran of Hans Zimmer's Media Ventures, Mancina has scored over sixty films and television series including ''Speed'', '' Bad Boys'', ''Twister'', ''Tarzan'', '' Training Day'', '' Brothe ...
, who had previously produced music for ''The Lion King'' (1994), and the musical of the same name. Mancina and Collins worked closely to create music that would complement the film's setting and used many obscure instruments from Mancina's personal collection in the score. "The idea of score and song arrangement came together as one entity, as Phil and I worked in tandem to create what's heard in the film", Mancina said.


Release

On June 12, 1999, the film premiered at the El Capitan Theater with the cast and filmmakers as attendees followed by a forty-minute concert with Phil Collins performing songs from the film. On July 23, 1999, Disney launched a digital projection release of ''Tarzan'' released only in three theatrical venues including
Walt Disney World The Walt Disney World Resort is an destination resort, entertainment resort complex located about southwest of Orlando, Florida, United States. Opened on October 1, 1971, the resort is operated by Disney Experiences, a division of the Wa ...
's Pleasure Island multiplex for three weeks. Although '' Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace'' and ''
An Ideal Husband ''An Ideal Husband'' is a four-act play by Oscar Wilde that revolves around blackmail and political corruption, and touches on the themes of public and private honour. It was first produced at the Haymarket Theatre, London in 1895 and ran for ...
'' had been given earlier digital projection releases despite being shot on
photographic film Photographic film is a strip or sheet of transparent film base coated on one side with a gelatin photographic emulsion, emulsion containing microscopically small light-sensitive silver halide crystals. The sizes and other characteristics of the ...
, ''Tarzan'' was notable for being the first major feature release to have been produced, mastered, and projected digitally.


Marketing

Disney Consumer Products Disney Consumer Products, Inc. is the retailing and licensing subsidiary of the Disney Experiences segment of The Walt Disney Company. Previously, Consumer Products was a segment of Disney until 2016, then a unit of Disney Consumer Products and I ...
released a series of toys, books, and stuffed animals for ''Tarzan'', partnering with
Mattel Mattel, Inc. ( ) is an American multinational corporation, multinational toy manufacturing and entertainment company headquartered in El Segundo, California. Founded in Los Angeles by Harold Matson and the husband-and-wife duo of Ruth Handler, ...
to produce a line of plush toys and action figures. Mattel also produced the Rad Repeatin' Tarzan action figure, but discontinued it after complaints regarding the toy's onanistic arm motions. Continuing its advertising alliance with
McDonald's McDonald's Corporation, doing business as McDonald's, is an American Multinational corporation, multinational fast food chain store, chain. As of 2024, it is the second largest by number of locations in the world, behind only the Chinese ch ...
, its promotional campaign began on the film's opening day with several toys accompanied with Happy Meals and soda straws that replicated the Tarzan yell. Disney also worked with Nestle to create ''Tarzan'' themed candies, including a banana-flavored chocolate bar. In early 2000, Disney partnered again with McDonald's to release a set of eight Happy Meal toys as a tie-in for the film's home video. They also offered'' Tarzan'' themed food options, such as banana sundaes and jungle burgers.


Home media

On February 1, 2000, the film was released on
VHS VHS (Video Home System) is a discontinued standard for consumer-level analog video recording on tape cassettes, introduced in 1976 by JVC. It was the dominant home video format throughout the tape media period of the 1980s and 1990s. Ma ...
and
DVD The DVD (common abbreviation for digital video disc or digital versatile disc) is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 1995 and first released on November 1, 1996, in Japan. The medium can store any ki ...
, as well as on
LaserDisc LaserDisc (LD) is a home video format and the first commercial optical disc storage medium. It was developed by Philips, Pioneer Corporation, Pioneer, and the movie studio MCA Inc., MCA. The format was initially marketed in the United State ...
on June 23, 2000, only in Japan, making ''Tarzan'' the last Disney animated feature to be released on the latter format. The DVD version contained bonus material, including the "Strangers Like Me" music video, the making of "Trashin' the Camp" featuring Collins and
'N Sync NSYNC ( ; also stylized as *NSYNC or N Sync) was an American vocal group and pop boy band formed by Chris Kirkpatrick in Orlando, Florida, in 1995 and launched in Germany by BMG Ariola Munich. The group consists of Kirkpatrick, JC Chasez, Joey ...
, and an interactive trivia game. A 2-Disc Collector's Edition was released on April 18, 2000. It included an audio commentary track recorded by the filmmakers, behind-the-scenes footage, and supplements that detailed the legacy of ''Tarzan'' and the film's development. These
THX THX Ltd. is an American audio company based in the San Francisco Bay Area. It is known for its suite of digital high fidelity audiovisual reproduction standards for movie theaters, screening rooms, home theaters, computer speakers, video game c ...
certified DVD releases also featured a sneak peek for ''
Dinosaur Dinosaurs are a diverse group of reptiles of the clade Dinosauria. They first appeared during the Triassic Geological period, period, between 243 and 233.23 million years ago (mya), although the exact origin and timing of the #Evolutio ...
'' (2000), and a DVD-ROM. Both editions were placed in moratorium on January 31, 2002, and placed back into the
Disney Vault The "Disney Vault" was a term formerly used by The Walt Disney Company for its policy of regularly imposing sales moratoria on home video releases of specific animated feature films. Each Walt Disney Animation Studios film was available for purch ...
. By January 2001, the film was the most successful home video release of 2000, earning retail revenues of $268 million. On October 18, 2005, Disney released the ''Tarzan'' Special Edition on DVD. ''Tarzan''s first
Blu-ray Blu-ray (Blu-ray Disc or BD) is a digital optical disc data storage format designed to supersede the DVD format. It was invented and developed in 2005 and released worldwide on June 20, 2006, capable of storing several hours of high-defin ...
edition was released throughout Europe in early 2012, and on August 12, 2014, Disney released the ''Tarzan'' Special Edition on Blu-ray, DVD, and Digital HD.


Reception


Box office

Pre-release box office tracking indicated that ''Tarzan'' was appealing to all four major demographics noticeably for the first time for a Disney animated film since ''The Lion King'' (1994). The film was given a limited release on June 16, 1999, and its wide release followed two days later in 3,005 screens. During the weekend of June 18–21, ''Tarzan'' grossed $34.1 million ranking first at the box office, beating out '' Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me'' (1999) and '' The General's Daughter'' (1999). At the time, it also ranked second behind ''The Lion King'' (1994), which had earned $40.9 million, as the highest-earning box office opening for a Disney animated film. By August 1999, the domestic gross was projected to approach $170 million. Ultimately, the film closed its box office run earning $448.2 million worldwide.


Critical reaction

Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review aggregator, review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee ...
reported that of critics gave the film a positive review based on reviews, with an average score of . The critical consensus reads that "Disney's ''Tarzan'' takes the well-known story to a new level with spirited animation, a brisk pace, and some thrilling action set-pieces."
Metacritic Metacritic is an American website that aggregates reviews of films, television shows, music albums, video games, and formerly books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted average). Metacritic was created ...
, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 from top reviews from mainstream critics, calculated a score of 79 based on 27 reviews, indicating "generally favorable reviews". Audiences polled by
CinemaScore CinemaScore is an American market research firm based in Las Vegas. It surveys film audiences to rate their viewing experiences with letter grades, reports the results, and forecasts box office receipts from the data. Background Ed Mintz, who ...
gave the film an average grade of "A" on an A+ to F scale. ''
Entertainment Weekly ''Entertainment Weekly'' (sometimes abbreviated as ''EW'') is an American online magazine, digital-only entertainment magazine based in New York City, published by Dotdash Meredith, that covers film, television, music, Broadway theatre, books, ...
'' compared the film's advancement in visual effects to that of ''
The Matrix ''The Matrix'' is a 1999 science fiction film, science fiction action film written and directed by the Wachowskis. It is the first installment in the The Matrix (franchise), ''Matrix'' film series, starring Keanu Reeves, Laurence Fishburne, Ca ...
,'' stating that it had "the neatest computer-generated background work since Keanu Reeves did the backstroke in slow motion". They elaborate by describing how the characters moved seamlessly through the backgrounds themselves, giving the film a unique three-dimensional feel that far surpassed the quality of previous live-action attempts.
Roger Ebert Roger Joseph Ebert ( ; June 18, 1942 – April 4, 2013) was an American Film criticism, film critic, film historian, journalist, essayist, screenwriter and author. He wrote for the ''Chicago Sun-Times'' from 1967 until his death in 2013. Eber ...
gave the film his highest rating of four stars, and he had similar comments about the film, describing it as representing "another attempt by Disney to push the envelope of animation", with scenes that "move through space with a freedom undreamed of in older animated films, and unattainable by any live-action process". Awarding the film three stars,
James Berardinelli James Berardinelli (born September 25, 1967) is an American film critic. His reviews are mainly published on his blog ''ReelViews.'' Approved as a critic by the aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, he has published two collections of reviews of movies on ...
wrote: "From a purely visual standpoint, this may be the most impressive of all of Disney's traditionally animated features. The backdrops are lush, the characters are well realized, and the action sequences are dizzying, with frequent changes of perspectives and camera angles. No conventional animated film has been this ambitious before."
Desson Howe Desson Patrick Thomson is a speechwriter, journalist and film critic. He was a speechwriter for the Obama administration and film critic for ''The Washington Post''. He was known as Desson Howe until 2003 when he changed his name after reunitin ...
, writing for ''
The Washington Post ''The Washington Post'', locally known as ''The'' ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'' or ''WP'', is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C., the national capital. It is the most widely circulated newspaper in the Washington m ...
'', claimed the film "isn't up there with ''
Aladdin Aladdin ( ; , , ATU 561, 'Aladdin') is a Middle-Eastern folk tale. It is one of the best-known tales associated with '' One Thousand and One Nights'' (often known in English as ''The Arabian Nights''), despite not being part of the original ...
'', ''The Lion King'' and ''
The Little Mermaid "The Little Mermaid" (), sometimes translated in English as "The Little Sea Maid", is a fairy tale written by Danish author Hans Christian Andersen. Originally published in 1837 as part of a collection of fairy tales for children, the story foll ...
'', but it's easily above the riffraff ranks of ''
Hercules Hercules (, ) is the Roman equivalent of the Greek divine hero Heracles, son of Jupiter and the mortal Alcmena. In classical mythology, Hercules is famous for his strength and for his numerous far-ranging adventures. The Romans adapted the Gr ...
'' and ''
Pocahontas Pocahontas (, ; born Amonute, also known as Matoaka and Rebecca Rolfe; 1596 – March 1617) was a Native American woman belonging to the Powhatan people, notable for her association with the colonial settlement at Jamestown, Virginia. S ...
''".
Todd McCarthy Todd McCarthy (born February 16, 1950) is an American film critic and author. He wrote for '' Variety'' for 31 years as its chief film critic until 2010. In October of that year, he joined ''The Hollywood Reporter'', where he subsequently served ...
of ''Variety'' proved to be less amused by the animation, claiming it was "richly detailed and colorfully conceived, but the computer animation and graphics are often intermingled and combined in ways that are more distracting in their differences than helpful in their vividness".
Lisa Schwarzbaum Lisa Schwarzbaum (born July 5, 1952) is an American film critic. She joined ''Entertainment Weekly'' as a senior writer in 1991, working as a film critic for the magazine alongside Owen Gleiberman from 1995 to 2013. Early life Lisa Schwarzbaum w ...
, who graded the film an A−, applauded the film as "a thrilling saga about a natural man, untainted by the complications of 'civilized' life, who can anticipate changes in the air by sniffing the wind — swings because the Disney team, having sniffed the wind, went out on a limb and kept things simple". Peter Stack of the ''
San Francisco Chronicle The ''San Francisco Chronicle'' is a newspaper serving primarily the San Francisco Bay Area of Northern California. It was founded in 1865 as ''The Daily Dramatic Chronicle'' by teenage brothers Charles de Young and M. H. de Young, Michael H. ...
'' admired the film for tackling "meanings of family relationships and ideas about society, guardianship and compassion" and "cunning and greed and the ultimate evil", as well as remaining faithful to Burroughs's original novel.
Kenneth Turan Kenneth Turan (; born October 27, 1946) is an American retired film critic, author, and lecturer in the Master of Professional Writing Program at the University of Southern California. He was a film critic for the ''Los Angeles Times'' from 1991 ...
of ''Los Angeles Times'' wrote that the "story unfolds with dangers as well as warm humor; a jungle jam session called 'Trashin' the Camp' is especially hard to resist. We may have seen it all before, but when it's done up like this, experiencing it all over again is a pleasure."
Janet Maslin Janet R. Maslin (born August 12, 1949) is an American journalist, who served as a film critic for ''The New York Times'' from 1977 to 1999, serving as chief critic for the last six years, and then a literary critic from 2000 to 2015. In 2000, M ...
, reviewing for ''
The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...
'', similarly opined that "''Tarzan'' initially looks and sounds like more of the same, to the point where Phil Collins is singing the words 'trust your heart' by the third line of his opening song. But it proves to be one of the more exotic blooms in the Disney hothouse, what with voluptuous flora, hordes of fauna, charming characters and excitingly kinetic animation that gracefully incorporates computer-generated motion." The ''
Radio Times ''Radio Times'' is a British weekly listings magazine devoted to television and radio programme schedules, with other features such as interviews, film reviews and lifestyle items. Founded in September 1923 by John Reith, then general manage ...
'' review was not as positive, stating the film "falls way short of Disney's best output" and featured "weak comic relief". The review concluded, "Lacking the epic sweep of ''
Mulan Hua Mulan () is a legendary Chinese folk heroine from the Northern and Southern dynasties era (4th to 6th century Common Era, CE) of Chinese history. Scholar, Scholars generally consider Mulan to be a fictional character. Hua Mulan is depicte ...
'' or ''The Lion King'', and laced with feeble background songs from Phil Collins (inexplicably awarded an Oscar), this King of the Swingers may be merchandise-friendly, but it's no jungle VIP." Michael Wilmington of the ''
Chicago Tribune The ''Chicago Tribune'' is an American daily newspaper based in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Founded in 1847, it was formerly self-styled as the "World's Greatest Newspaper", a slogan from which its once integrated WGN (AM), WGN radio and ...
'', while giving the film three stars, wrote that ''Tarzan'' "lacks that special pizazz that the string of Disney cartoon features from ''The Little Mermaid'' through ''The Lion King'' all had". He found faults in the film's removal of all African characters, lack of romantic tension between Tarzan and Jane, and the songs by Phil Collins, comparing them unfavorably with Elton John's "showstoppers" for ''The Lion King''. He wrote "depriving the characters of big numbers weakens the movie".
Ty Burr Ty Burr (born August 17, 1957) is an American film critic, columnist, and author who reviews films for ''The Washington Post'' and writes the film and popular culture newsletter "Ty Burr's Watchlist". Burr worked as a film critic at ''The Boston ...
of ''Entertainment Weekly'' gave the soundtrack a B−, stating that it was awkwardly split between Collins's songs and the traditional score, was burdened by too many alternate versions of the tracks, and in some instances bore similarities to the scores of ''The Lion King'' and ''
Star Wars ''Star Wars'' is an American epic film, epic space opera media franchise created by George Lucas, which began with the Star Wars (film), eponymous 1977 film and Cultural impact of Star Wars, quickly became a worldwide popular culture, pop cu ...
''.


Accolades

The film is recognized by
American Film Institute The American Film Institute (AFI) is an American nonprofit film organization that educates filmmakers and honors the heritage of the History of cinema in the United States, motion picture arts in the United States. AFI is supported by private fu ...
in these lists: * 2004: AFI's 100 Years...100 Songs: ** "
You'll Be in My Heart "You'll Be in My Heart" is a song by English drummer and singer Phil Collins from the 1999 Disney animated feature ''Tarzan''. It appeared on '' Tarzan: An Original Walt Disney Records Soundtrack'' as well as various other Disney compilations. ...
" – Nominated * 2008:
AFI's 10 Top 10 AFI's 10 Top 10 honors the ten greatest American films in ten classic film genres. Presented by the American Film Institute (AFI), the lists were unveiled on a television special broadcast by CBS on June 17, 2008. In the special, various actors ...
: ** Nominated Animation Film


Legacy


Television series

A spin-off
animated series An animated series, or a cartoon series, is a set of Animation, animated films with a common title, usually related to one another. These episodes typically share the same main heroes, some different secondary characters and a basic theme. Series ...
, '' The Legend of Tarzan'', ran from 2001 to 2003. The series picks up where the film left off, with Tarzan adjusting to his new role as leader of the apes following Kerchak's death, and Jane (whom he has since married) adjusting to life in the jungle.


Direct-to-video followups

In July 1999, Disney announced that they were planning a sequel for ''Tarzan''. In 2002, '' Tarzan & Jane'' was released as a
direct-to-video Direct-to-video or straight-to-video refers to the release of a film, television series, short or special to the public immediately on home video formats rather than an initial theatrical release or television premiere. This distribution strat ...
sequel, with Michael T. Weiss replacing Goldwyn as the voice of Tarzan. ''
Tarzan II ''Tarzan II'' (also known as ''Tarzan 2'' and ''Tarzan 2: The Legend Begins'') is a 2005 American animated direct-to-video adventure comedy film, and the third Disney's ''Tarzan'' film after '' Tarzan and Jane'', though it chronologically takes ...
'', a direct-to-video follow-up, was released in 2005.


Broadway musical

A
Broadway musical Broadway theatre,Although ''theater'' is generally the spelling for this common noun in the United States (see American and British English spelling differences), many of the extant or closed Broadway venues use or used the spelling ''Theatr ...
produced by Disney Theatrical, also titled ''
Tarzan Tarzan (John Clayton, Viscount Greystoke) is a fictional character, a feral child raised in the African jungle by the Mangani great apes; he later experiences civilization, only to reject it and return to the wild as a heroic adventurer. Creat ...
'', began previews on March 24, 2006. It had an official opening night on May 10 of the same year. After running for over a year on Broadway, the show closed on July 8, 2007.


Video games

Five ''Tarzan'' video games have been released on various platforms. Tarzan's home is also featured as a playable world, "Deep Jungle", in the 2002 game ''
Kingdom Hearts is a series of action role-playing games developed and published by Square Enix (originally by Square) and owned by The Walt Disney Company. A collaboration between the two companies, it was conceptualized by Square employees, Japanese gam ...
'', and in the 2013 HD remaster '' Kingdom Hearts HD 1.5 Remix'', in which Goldwyn and Blessed were the only actors from the film to reprise their roles, while Jane was voiced by Naia Kelly and
Audrey Wasilewski Audrey Wasilewski is an American television, film and voice actress. She is known for her prolific voice work including Arlene in the ''Garfield'' franchise, Stealth Elf in the '' Skylanders'' video games, and roles in '' My Life as a Teenage Ro ...
reprised her role as Terk from the 1999 video game based on the film; Kerchak and Kala appeared, but were silent, while Tantor and Professor Porter were absent. The world was originally meant to return in '' Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memories'', but ultimately did not appear and has not appeared in any subsequent ''Kingdom Hearts'' games.


Legal issues

Edgar Rice Burroughs, Inc. Edgar Rice Burroughs, Inc. is an American holding company founded in 1923 by author Edgar Rice Burroughs. It is based in Tarzana, California. The company holds the rights to the literary estate of Burroughs that are still protected by copyright ...
holds the rights of ''
Tarzan Tarzan (John Clayton, Viscount Greystoke) is a fictional character, a feral child raised in the African jungle by the Mangani great apes; he later experiences civilization, only to reject it and return to the wild as a heroic adventurer. Creat ...
'' , ''...Since 1923, Edgar Rice Burroughs, Inc., has been sole owner and exploiter of Tarzan...'' as the use of these characters are since limited. During the production of ''
House of Mouse ''Disney's House of Mouse'' (or simply ''House of Mouse'') is an American animated television series produced by Walt Disney Television Animation that originally aired on American Broadcasting Company, ABC and Toon Disney from January 13, 2001 ...
'' episodes, crew members, Roberts "Bobs" Gannaway and Tony Craig, were forbidden to use these characters in the show, alongside restricting the use of other characters by different owners except only allowing Disney characters from the original source material. Also regarding Burroughs' ownership, the characters are omitted from ''Disney Emoji Blitz'' (app run by Jam City). The ''
Tarzan's Treehouse Tarzan's Treehouse is a treetop walk-through attraction at Hong Kong Disneyland and formerly at Disneyland in California. It is based on Disney's 1999 film ''Tarzan''. Disneyland version In March 1999, Disneyland closed its version of the Sw ...
'' attraction in the 2011 video game '' Kinect: Disneyland Adventures'' was also omitted due to licensing issues.


Notes


References


Bibliography

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External links

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