Tarzan

Rating:
Summary: Tarzan was a great movie
Review: Despite the fact that Tarzan was probaly originally created for cucassion men who fantasized about being buff, Disney's Tarzan was actually good. There were no annoying voices that came out of no where in the middle of the movie.The movie featured the voice of Phil Collins for the songs.Thank goodness! The songs rocked. The story was kind of sad but all in all I enjoyed the movie.

Rating:
Summary: Exceptional Disney - best in forty years of animation
Review: This is Disney's best animated film since 1959's SLEEPING BEAUTY. Not only is it superbly animated with some thrilling new computer design that has us flying through the jungle, its characters are full drawn in three dimensions, the performances are excellent and the beautiful song score by Phil Collins is exemplary. With the exception of Hercules, this is the first adult male to grace a Disney animated film (the usual lot are animals, boys, girls and women). And this fellow has both an adjustment disorder and a personality crisis to deal with - heady stuff. This is as tremendously satisfying for me as was BEAUTY AND THE BEAST to most of the award voting world a few years ago. I consider it one of the year's five best films and certainly to be honored in the Best Original Score and Sound categories of Oscarland (it was only nominated for Best Song, but did WIN that accolade). This is destined to attain true classic status - a wonderful experience and a leap forward in animation technique. Don't just rent it- buy it.

Rating:
Summary: Bre's
Review: Well, for starters, this movie has great animation and an even greater soundtrack. Minnie Driver's english accent is aunthentic. The characters are good, typical Disney characters. However, while I loved the first half of the movie, I found that after half-way the plot quickly disintegrated. A good movie should not only start strong but finish strong. Still, quite enjoyable.

Rating:
Summary: It's nice review after the theater.
Review: I want to say: Talk less and buy for see it. I remember after I saw that from the movie theater, I really want to keep it for my movie collection. Because even it's a carton, but everybody in the theater likes it and enjoy it at the time. Specially the "jungle jazz part" I love it a lot. Oh...and their friendship, love, family ETC that you can feel them all.

Rating:
Summary: The ART of Animation
Review: In my mind, "Tarzan" is one of the best of the recent Disney features. In addition to its lush visuals and top-notch animation, the story is one of Disney's most solid. I also applaud them for stepping away from the straight musical format a little and puting the needs of the story before formula. As for the DVD, I bought it and I don't even own a DVD player. This may just be a testament to my insanity, but I think it also says something about the quality of this DVD. You can spend hours pouring over concept sketches of characters major and minor, listen to early demos of the music ("Son of Man, la la la la") and some music that never made it to the film, view leica reels of deleted scenes, read the original treatment, or see master animator Glen Keane talk about animating Tarzan. The running commentary by directors Buck and Lima and producer Arnold is quite enjoyable and never feels overly scripted. Dislikes and animation mistakes are noted along with the positive aspects of the film. And thanks to the explanation included, I finally understand how Deep Canvas works. This DVD is a must for the animation enthusiast, the Disney afficianado, the Glen Keane lover, or anyone who's just curious about the animation process.

Rating:
Summary: Great fun...but be careful showing it to young kids
Review: "Tarzan" is, above all else, a triumph of artistry. The backgrounds and animations all have tremendous depth and beauty. The story TRIES for similar depth, but this is a Disney flick, so you never really get deeper than pat motivations for any of them.

But the animation is spectacular, the action is terrific and quite thrilling, and the songs (by Phil Collins) are all very entertaining.

If "Tarzan" has a major flaw, it's that it, like many other Disney movies, is a touch too violent for young kids. My four-year-old had nightmares about the leopard at the beginning of the movie for weeks afterwards.

Of course, none of the violence gets past the "implied" level (this isn't "The Matrix", after all), but for many young kids, implication is scary enough.

So enjoy "Tarzan", but be careful about letting young kids watch it, or watch it first to find out where the scary stuff is and cover their eyes when it happens.

Rating:
Summary: This King Swings!
Review: He's one of the most recognized literary characters of the 20th century. And although scores of films have been made about the vine-swinging jungle dweller, Tarzan has never been the subject of an animated film. In hindsight, the moment is long overdue.

With the success of Disney films like The Jungle Book and The Lion King - and the technical and artistic brilliance of the latter - it seems odd that no one considered translating the legend of Tarzan to the animation board before now. To be honest, my biggest concern was not if it could be done, but if the story could do the legend justice. Thankfully, Disney passed with flying colors, providing Tarzan with a wonderful jungle feel and a story worthy of legend.

Tarzan goes to the earliest incarnation of the legend, to tell the story of an abandoned human baby found by gorillas in Africa. The family group raises the child, who tries desperately to fit in despite the fact that he is weaker and smaller than the other primates. As he grows, the story progresses to one of finding his true identity and his place in the world.

While among his animal family, we hear Tarzan (Tony Goldwyn) and the animals speaking English (a translation of their ape language). In true Disney form, the anthropomorphic gorillas are endowed with a variety of characteristics and personalities. From the gruff leader of the tribe, Kerchak (Lance Henriksen from television's "Millennium") who is concerned with the family before all else, to the freewheeling Terk (talk show host Rosie O'Donnell) whose curiosity regarding the baby Tarzan leads them to become best friends, there are a number of interesting characters and fabulous voices to back them.

In addition, veteran actress Glenn Close lends her voice to Kala, the female gorilla who raises Tarzan. Wayne Knight (from television's "Seinfeld" and "3rd Rock from the Sun") helps provide comic relief as the timid elephant Tantor. Minnie Driver (Good Will Hunting) portrays Jane, the daughter of a professor seeking to study the gorillas.

The animation in Tarzan is quite realistic when it suits the story. The gorillas are drawn with exquisite care, perfectly mirroring the way the actual animals move. Tarzan, too, moves like an ape, walking on his knuckles and hugging the ground. Other characters, like the elephants, are drawn in a cartoon-ish fashion reminiscent of the marching pachyderms in The Jungle Book. Yet, despite the incongruity, the different animation techniques blend splendidly.

The sound in Tarzan is incredible. There are moments of sheer technical brilliance when the jungle seems to come alive. One scene, in particular, caused me to focus on this aspect, because I could distinguish different sounds coming from different speakers in the theater, giving me the feeling that I, like Tarzan, was surrounded by the jungle. The moment was breathtaking.

Likewise, the soundtrack by Phil Collins weaves the story together with a series of uplifting songs perfectly suited to the film. Although Tarzan is not a musical, the music builds and helps tell the story. It has been years since I felt the soundtrack of a Disney movie was worthwhile. This one made me sit up and take notice.

With just the right mixture of humor and great storytelling, Tarzan doesn't pander to a young audience. Although there is violence inherent in any Tarzan story, it is handled with grace and subtlety. Yet, there are moments of comic relief to delight kids. Children, young and old, will love it.

Rating:
Summary: Amazing animation, but cold, dark characters & story.
Review: This Disney outing is perhaps my least favorite in recent memory, which is too bad. It sports some amazing effects animation and computer-aided technical detail that would have been inconceivable just a few years ago (watch for various water and motion effects throughout the film). But something about the different elements -- the hyper-real jungle backgrounds, the plucky animal characters, and the cartoonish, buffoonish Europeans -- just didn't mesh stylistically.

Perhaps more striking, the feel of the film is strangely dark, and it lacks the heart of other Disney efforts (even recent efforts like Mulan, which our kids enjoy much more). The tone is set when the young baby's parents are bloodied and killed, and he is left to the elements in the jungle; I didn't feel that the movie ever shook that sense of omnipresent dread (and the frequent, manic vine-swinging/falling from great height montages only fed that sense of precarious dislocation). I am wary about letting our younger kids watch it. At the same time, the simplistic story line doesn't provide enough dramatic interest to sustain adult attention.

Sad to say, Tarzan left me cold. Rent and watch this one before deciding to buy it.

Rating:
Summary: Good animation picture and DVD
Review: The latest animation picture of Disney is certainly a great and funny movie. I personally think it's one of the better movies Disney has made. What I really liked about this one was the perfect animation and variety of characters and also the stunning backgrounds. This all together gave it an extra dimension what made the movie real good and visual stunning. The story of this movie was not alike the old Tarzan movies and has very few in common. I liked this because I didn't hardly liked the old movies of Tarzan. But if you like the movies of Tarzan you'll find this the opposite. The voices of the characters were very nice and fixed very good with the different characters. One point I didn't like about the movie that was that all the songs are done by Phil Collins. I don't think Phil Collins is a bad singer, but I think the songs also have to be done by the people who play a character. Some of the songs are very good, but I just don't like, it that every song is done by the same person. And I gave this movie 4 stars, because I think the music is very important for Disney movie. So far concerning the movie.

The DVD is a very good one it has a fine picture and 5.1 sound quality. The extra features are also very well done on the normal Tarzan DVD and it contains lots of them. What very funny for kids is is the Read-Along story option where a kind can read or be read the story. Who said DVD is not educational ?. The rest of the extras is also very good.

Rating:
Summary: A great animated kids film for adults
Review: This film was beautifully executed in the expressive movements and facial expressions of the characcters. Phil Collins' music was awesome and added emotional content to the film. The reason I'm giving this film a less than perfect rating is due to the marketing to an inappropriate audience.

One thing I learned film criticism class was Disney's formula for frightening children. They show lots of cute little animals or adorable children, cute songs and lots of tender moments in tandem with at least one senseless tragic moment in which one character is either injured or killed to evoke longlasting emotional bond by children to the characters. To balance this out, they usually have equal or worse ending in store for the antagonist. Usually, kids just remember all the fun, the songs and the adorable characters. and don't even realize why they are so emotionally involved w/ the film.

To see an adorable gorilla shot and killed was a tragic yet tender moment in the film, but too intense for young children. Seeing the antagonist get accidentally hung to his death was totally unnecessary and a traumatic thing for tender-hearted kids to see. At first I was thinking that the vine would break or that Tarzan would turn the tables on the antagonist by rescuing him... I was horrified to see a theater full of kids witnessing the silhouette of a man hanging by the neck, dead.

Either the violent hanging death should have been removed, OR the movie should have been targeted to adults and teens instead of tots. I saw the film with an adult friend and we enjoyed it, but I can't imagine showing this film to a child.