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After viewing
Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, Edgar Rice Burroughs wrote to Walt Disney about adapting his novel of an ape-man into a feature animated cartoon. Sixtysome years later, the tale is finally told with brilliant design work that looks unlike any previous animated film. The story is a natural for Disney since the themes of misunderstood central figures have been at the heart of its recent hits. Disney's
Tarzan doesn't wander far from the familiar story of a shipwrecked baby who is brought up by apes in Africa. What gives the film its zing is its clever use of music (the songs are sung by Phil Collins himself rather than onscreen characters) and the remarkable animation. Deep Canvas, a 3-D technology, was developed for the film, creating a jungle that comes alive as Tarzan swings through the trees, often looking like a modern skateboarder racing down giant tree limbs. The usual foray of sidekicks, including a rambunctious ape voiced by Rosie O'Donnell, should keep the little ones aptly entertained. The two lead voices, Tony Goldwyn as Tarzan and Minnie Driver as Jane, are inspired choices. Their chemistry helps the story through the weakest points (the last third) and makes Tarzan's initial connection with all things human (including Jane) delicious entertainment. Disney still is not taking risks in its animated films, but as cookie-cutter entertainment,
Tarzan makes a pretty good treat. (Ages 5 and up)
--Doug Thomas
Raised by apes, the new, animated Tarzan walks with his heavy shoulders leaning forward and his knuckles dragging along the ground. He's the most apelike of Tarzans: animation, which Edgar Rice Burroughs's material seems to have been waiting for, frees the Disney filmmakers to mix animal and human characteristics without embarrassment. And it frees them to use nature not as a static background with lots of available vines but as a seethingly active habitat. Glen Keane, the chief animator of "Tarzan," has said that he was inspired by watching his skateboarding son. This Tarzan doesn't swing from trees but courses rapidly from branch to branch, glen to glen-he treats the tree canopy and the thick undergrowth below as if they were the swells and hollows of the ocean. At its best, the movie is an exhilarating, surf-topping ride. With Minnie Driver providing the voice of a deliciously flirtatious Jane. -David Denby
Copyright © 2006
The New Yorker
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