Come stop your crying, it will be an all right. I know you just watched The Acolyte, and you are missing classic Disney, which is a great time to take a look at what Classic Disney looked like. Following my celebration of The Lion King, in all its 30th Anniversary glory, five years later they released Tarzan. It’s one of the divisive movies that not everyone loves, but I do. And if you think just because we hit the sweet spot with TThe Lion King, Inside Out 2, and Tarzan, that I adore everything Disney, this just happens to be a perfect arrangement. I didn’t make the rules. There are Disney films I like less, or not at all, but this isn’t their anniversary year.
Tarzan has been a happy place movie for me. True, that removing all Pixar animation, Tarzan would just miss out on my Top 5 Disney Animation list, it also would rank a lot higher than you might think. In fact, of the post-Lion King 90’s Disney Animation, this is in 2nd place. But, once we throw Aladdin, The Little Mermaid, and more recently Frozen, Moana, and even the oft-overlooked Robin Hood and Sword In The Stone films, Tarzan has to settle more for a Top 10 appearance.
And why? I think it has a great story. The look of the film, the feel of seeing Tarzan swinging, and surfing through the trees, is magnificent, and Deluxe does a wonderful job with that audio description. The music and the songs are memorable, without everyone always breaking out into song. Mostly, it is just Phil Collin’s rocking some cool tune in the background. Two Worlds is underrated.
The characters, from Tarzan’s adopted Gorilla family, to the humans wandering through the forest, are all nice contributions. Watching Tarzan grow up, instead of just as an adult, really does help his earnest desire to be one of the pack. And this movie isn’t afraid of pulling punches, with a savage panther that kills things during the film. The baby gorilla at the beginning? Tarzan’s parents? This is a dark film. But, it challenges its young audience with the harsher reality that you need more than a wish upon a star, you have to be faster, stronger, and smarter. That is how Tarzan keeps up.
The underrated sequel attracted a rather surprising voice cast, and isn’t quite as well known. George Carlin drops by a D-Quel, and I’m pretty sure not enough attention has been given to that. Add to him Glenn Close, Brad Garrett, and Ron Perlman, and there’s something oddly interesting in this voice cast. Tarzan II takes place during Tarzan’s childhood, with Tarzan feeling like he still has to prove himself, to everyone. It isn’t a long watch, and it does feel like it is using the rejected Phil Collin’s tracks written for the first film, but it is one of the better D-Quels.
We do need to talk about casting, and while Deluxe may produce reliably strong tracks, Jedidiah Barton is not the right narrator for a kids film. I mentioned this when i watched Treasure Planet last year, and the problem arises again. You need a narrator that engages, and Barton is used to engaging adults. He’s one of my favorite narrators, so it pains me to say this, but part of casting is knowing when someone isn’t right for something. Meryl Streep is the GOAT right now, but there are roles she cannot play. No one is right for every project, and Deluxe should challenge themselves to find talent that fits the projects they are given, and not just speed dial their top tier talent they work with all the time.
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I’ve seen Tarzan a bunch of times, and it absolutely is a desert island Disney movie for me. I know I love this more than others do, but that’s OK. Every time I run into someone who loves Hercules, I just think of how this must be what they feel when they hear I love Tarzan. But, I do. And, I’ve seen Tarzan II before. I’m happy they both have audio description. One is clearly better than the other, but usually people are surprised when I recommend Tarzan II, until they hear George Carlin, and then they get intrigued. It’s like Orson Welles in transformers The Movie, or Jimmy Stewart in An American Tail: Fievel Goes west, they are just so odd you have to check it out.
Final Grades:
Tarzan: A+
Tarzan II: B
