Tarzan

Rating:
Summary: Man - bad, apes - good.
Review: Disney threw ERB out the window and replaced the original's conflicting, even jingoistic content with a sharply defined struggle between the idyll of the African jungle and the scourge of Man. The change works wonders. I'm surprised to find myself say that Tarzan speaks without words. It is gourgeous visually; in terms of soundtrack it has few equals; as the experience goes, it is the best piece of animated melodrama I've seen in years.

The story starts off as usual: a sinking boat deposits three survivors on the jungle shore - a married couple and their child. The two erect a loft in the treetops, but a run-in with the local fauna orphans the infant. Thus starts the story of Tarzan, the man of the apes. He grows up as an underappreciated member of a group of gorillas, surviving the usual trials and tribulations of being an outcast, picking up a few loyal friends on the way. But one day, odd animals set up camp on the edge of the forest, and Tarzan feels impelled to investigate.

Tarzan disappointed me on two levels: several of the underrunning themes are far too obvious. For example, when Tarzan complains to his adopted mother that he is "different" from the rest, Kala goes through the usual routine of "we are all equals - we all have hearts, faces, hands, etc." Appreciable, but far too obvious. Secondly, the wilderness is set up as too perfect a paradise - as far as the film shows, apes do nothing but frolic. They lead a noble, care-free existence, and their young have endless leizure time. The final scene is the most unforgivable: we find Jane swinging among trees alongside Tarzan (a lifetime of climbing is apparently unnecessary for cartoon characters), and even the aged professor can be seen deftly brachiating in the background... my suspension of disbelief snapped there and then.

On the plus side, slapstick comedy somehow seems at home with big apes and elephants. No characters come off as obnoxious sidekicks. I was thouroughly entertained throughout.

At last, Disney created something worth the while to watch for children of all ages.

Rating:
Summary: Good film
Review: This was a good not great film. Picture quality is not that good on my DVD. Glad there were some extras on the disc, too bad you would have to pay more to get all the extras.

Rating:
Summary: Disney, back on track???
Review: Deep under this thick and sarcastic shell has always been a person who would like to see a GOOD Disney movie, but has always felt (for the most part) let down. Speaking only of the NEW Disney, most of their efforts have fallen flat for me, though I'll take them over the dismal work they released at the end of their last incarnation (Ahem, Robin hood). The little mermaid was good but just didn't cut it, while the lion king in all its granduer seemed over hyped, over-produced, and simply over-saturated with what seemed a desperate attempt to make it the best possible film ever...it wasn't. With Mulan, I felt the ice of that inner sea melt a bit, but too quickly was it over, and never did I feel completely compelled by it. Disenchanted, I would not have quickly gone back toDisney films had not I heard marvelous things about the animation of Tarzan, and having found amusement in Burrough's writings, I thought I should give the big D one more chance...

And having done so I am happy to say that while Tarzan may not posess the most intriguing plot--yes, more formula from Disney), it is in many other ways the most original animated American film in years. What is done with Tarzan is nothing short than what was done with Bambi...the character has been brought to life on screen as convincingly as I believe possible. Tarzan in all ways is a man who acts like a wild beast, and one is drawn steadily into the film as though a sucker borne into the carnival tent by such cries as 'see the wild ape man!' And much in this same way, Tarzan is a visual treat which appeals far more to that part of us which enjoys watching Animal Planet than anything literary. But what could possibly be wrong with that? Burroughs never was a fine writer. His books were strong, visceral hunks of words that hungry readers wolfed down like scraps off their master's dish, hardly time to distinguish the raw from the cooked. Tarzan, the literary counterpart differs little from Burroughs other creations, and so when we look for shortcomings among Disney's film, we might stop and ponder how this less than perfect film may still be an improvement upon the book--depending on your tastes of course.

Ultimately, Tarzan the Disney creation is I think the best Tarzan yet. No longer is Tarzan flinging the corpses of poor African natives into the center of their camps to scare the bewildered people, nor are we faced with the inexplicably cheesy Tarzan that we all grew up with as a kid on the TV. Disney has made a believable Tarzan while dropping much of the stereotypes of yore, a sound improvement I think. Unfortunately with Disney comes the baggage of Terk, but hey, that's what remote controllers were invented for.

Lastly, this collector's edition is a real fine thing. Aesthetically, its vastly superior to the stripped down version, with its more somber colors and the omission of obligatory previews at the beginning. For the improved look alone, this set is a vastly better buy, but all the other stuff is great too. Features a little background on Burroughs and plenty of other goodies, but my favorite here is the concept art and the shorts regarding Glen Keane's work on Tarzan himself. I should also mention that there is a LOT here...I spent about two hours going through the material here and didn't exhaust it all (cleverly avoiding the Phil Collins segments...*ouch*)

So to sum it up in one of those soundbite thingies for those with short attention spans, this is really great stuff--but don't expect a film where you like absolutely everything about it. Has Disney ever done a film you liked every second of? Even Bambi had Flower.

So when are they making Tarzan at the Core of the world???

Rating:
Summary: What a gem!
Review: One of the best Disney films ever! There are a lot of great reviews, so let me just add this: For those of you with kids, this is a keeper! I have a lot of animated kid flicks to entertain my son and this one never gets old. The music is great for all ages to listen to over and over. The characters and story are first rate. The animation is wonderful. Don't rent it, own it.

Rating:
Summary: Not Disneys best
Review: I was really looking forward to watching this with my son, but I was really dissappointed. The story is somewhat lacking and this is a very violent film, even if it was realistic. Make sure you watch this before your child so you can explain about all the death and guns. I could see where Disney wanted to go with this film but the message never quite becomes clear, especially to children. On a brighter note, the soundtrack is FANTASTIC!

Rating:
Summary: One of the few good, modern Disney movies
Review: This movie is one of the few modern Disney movies that is any good. It looks fantastic on DVD and doesn't push any of Disney's usual agenda.

There are three problems with it, however.

<1> The voice acting by Rosie O'Donnel is horrible. Whatever happened to using voice actors with good voices? Get a clue Hollywood! Just because an actor is good doesn't mean he or she is a good voice actor.

<2> The hunter in movie was poorly represented. Any hunter worth his salt will not go around blasting his rifle at anything that moves. Once again Disney shows it's ignorance of hunters and is bias against gun owners.

<3> This DVD forces you to either view or skip over about 7 previews before letting you view the movie. Come on people! If you want to put the previews on a menu option, that would make sense, but forcing us to skip past your stupid previews is rude. This alone will make me avoid ever buying another Disney movie.

Rating:
Summary: Another great movie by Disney
Review: I don't know why I waited so long to see this movie. From the moment I put the DVD in and heard the beautiful music and saw the magnificent animation I knew I'd be hooked. I was never interested in seeing an animated flic when there had already been many hollywood versions of the story. But, this was truly a wonderful movie.

If you have little children, you might want to talk to them before seeing it. In the beginning there are 3 deaths; Tarzan's parents are killed and the gorilla parents lose their young gorilla. I would definately still highly recommend this movie.

The animation is colorful and really brings the story to life, while the soundtrack is superb. When I heard "You'll be in my Heart" by Phil Collins played in this movie, it really got me choked up.

All of the characters, including Jane and Tarzan, are wonderully portrayed and both the animation and voices are great. I would definately recommend this movie to any Disney lover, children and adults alike.

Rating:
Summary: Tarzan move is excellent!
Review: The colors are superb, the animation was definitely well done and the sound that will come out of your system is great. The animation is stunning; the scenes of Tarzan swinging through vines and "surfing" the twisty, moss-covered tree trunks as if they were ocean waves left me in awe. And the music by Phil Collins and Mark Mancina ties the whole film together. A movie for the whole family.

This is a fantastic movie, funny and your kids will love it! Most Disney DVD's are nothing more that Video copied on a DVD with little fanfare, or sound enhancements. However If Disney continues to produce DVD's like Tarzan you wont be disapointed.

Rating:
Summary: Why Phil Collins
Review: This review is for the "whiner" who has to write about having to suffer through all the previews when he could be skipping through them with the chapter forward button. That's OK though, you go on ahead suffering through your "commercials" as you call them, and I'll watch a pretty good movie. I'd give it a 5 if someone other than Phil Collins did the soundtrack. The music and scores are composed very well, but I really don't care for Phil Collins' voice too much. This movie is entertaining for children and adults. Recommended.

Rating:
Summary: This movie is NOT for 3 and 4 year olds
Review: The listing this movie for the 3-6 year old set is grossly misleading! My daughter saw this movie when she was 4 and was traumatized by the first 5 minutes of the movie. For weeks after she was petrified that her Dad and I would be killed. And ever since that movie she has adamantly refused to go to see any movie in a movie theater. I have tried to convince her that not all movies are as scary and reminded her that the Rugrats movie she had seen before, she liked very much, but she has been digging her heels in for over a year.

The death of Tarzan's parents is NOT something a young child can handle. There has got to be a better way of categorizing movies than just a 'G' rating.

The animation was pretty good but the story line was "Disney silly".