I'd not been able to fight off high hopes for Tarzan, even though
the Disney animated classics had deteriorated to the point that I
hadn't even bothered to see Hercules in the theaters. But I was
keeping my fingers crossed--probably because I really liked that
damn Phil Collins song from the first moment I heard it, if you
can believe it, and hoped it was an omen of sorts.
And lo, the Ape Man's story came through for me. For the first
time in five years, a Disney film has a heart and soul. There are
scenes of such love and joy and wonder in this movie that you
realize how much the recent movies have been on autopilot.
So many of the recent tried and true Chinese menu components aren't
to be found. The domain at risk isn't France, the New World, or
the entire animal kingdom, but rather a single gorilla community.
The hero isn't struggling to be king, to save the world, or to
regain entrance into a society that has rejected him--he just
lives his life, learns to be the best he can, and feels just a
little bit alien in his adopted family. The comic sidekicks are
still there but as friends, rather than subordinates.
The plot doesn't need much explanation--obviously, the original
story's less than PC elements have been scrubbed. But who cares?
Tarzan's appeal isn't due to the story's portrayal of the evils
of colonialism, or the depiction of African natives, or the
indictment of the class system in England. So hell, yes--go ahead
and scrub the story of the stuff that detracts from the good
stuff.
Oddly enough, the weakest plot point is that there really isn't
any reason for Tarzan and Jane to fall in love. But they cover
that up nicely with Jane's damn near PG-13 rated lust for a
Tarzan who is sleek and sculpted, rather than a muscle-bound hunk.
Visually, this film has the goods to stand up to The Phantom
Menace; for all the fuss over the Star Wars film, it shouldn't be
forgotten that the Disney team did just as well in their own way--for
(I presume) a lot less. The backdrops might not display fanciful
visions of other worlds, but they are equally as stunning, and
far more intimately connected to the characters inhabiting them.
The action sequences are thrilling; I found the moss "skateboarding"
and the baboon chase every bit as vivid and stomach dropping in
their intensity as the pod race. The initial scenes where Kala
finds Tarzan are astounding in their attention to detail and the
blend of realism with fantasy. The film focuses a great deal on
hands; their differences, similarities, and capabilities are
continually displayed. An honest to goodness motif, in fact.
The sound work is equal in technical achievement. Careful
attention is given to the coos and squawks and grunts of the
various animals, the howl of the jungle cat, Tarzan's yell and
the startling impact managed with a simple gunshot.
Minnie Driver turns in a comic performance second only to
Williams' work in Aladdin, and considering that Williams was
expected to be zany and ad lib, her achievement is all the more
impressive. Hands down the best voice work for a hero or heroine
in a Disney cartoon. Tony Goldwyn makes a wise choice in playing
Tarzan as quiet and modest. Glenn Close is very effective in a
beautifully realized ape mom. The other voices are all fine
although I could have done without Rosie. But she does get the
laughs--and in the summer of JarJar, a comic sidekick that is
actually *funny* is not to be sneezed at.
This is the first Disney cartoon since (I think) 101 Dalmations
that isn't a musical. Apart from a few lines of a lullaby, no
character breaks out into song, which I found a welcome change.
The appeal of the score will depend largely on your fondness for
Phil Collins; but if you don't get choked up during the scene
when the mom first sings her new babe to sleep--well, then, pah!
and fie upon you. (And if for some reason you forgot what Phil
did before he became a singer, Tarzan will remind you.)
One warning--the villain's death in this movie is the most
gruesome I can remember; very young kids won't understand it and
will be safe. But 7-8 year olds might be a bit shocked.
I believe this is the best movie I've seen this year; certainly
it is the first to live up to what it set out to do. No kid
required to enjoy it.
I wanted to expand a bit on one extraordinary aspect of Tarzan.
Mothers are very much the ignored commodity in Disney classics.
Most Disney heros and heroines have no parents or a widowed
father. When the mother is around, it is usually as a silent
partner to a comic relief dad (Cinderella comes to mind--the
prince's parents, of course). We shall avert our eyes from the
occasional wicked and cruel stepmother. In the cases when the
mother is around, has screen time, and isn't evil, then she
either dies or must be rescued by her brave son--and the
relationship is nearly always subordinate to another relationship
in the film (usually, but not always, the father).
Fathers in Disney movies are usually the comic but loving widowed
dad (or married to a woman with no lines to speak of) or the
majestic, usually distant role model to the hero. (The Lion King's
dad was a welcome exception to this trend--so of course they kill
him off.)
But in Tarzan, the mother-son relationship depicted would be rare
enough in live-action films, much less an animated one. It is
fully developed throughout the story and not just as a plot
device to be tossed aside when Tarzan grows up. It is not
subordinate to Tarzan's strained relationship with Kurchak, his
"father"--in fact, quite the opposite. Best of all, the
relationship isn't painfully earnest and sincere--just that of a
loving and close mother and son, with a healthy dose of humor
added.
There aren't enough positive, realistic (so to speak, of course)
parent-child portrayals in films; it was a joy to find one in a
movie that could have easily neglected it without attracting
comment. In fact, I haven't seen the relationship attract any
notice, which is too bad. Such efforts should be rewarded.
