6/29/99
Tarzan stars Brian Blessed as the voice of Clayton, Glenn Close as the voice of Kala, Minnie Driver as the voice of Jane Porter, Tony Goldwyn as the voice of Tarzan, Nigel Hawthorne as the voice of Professor Archimedes Q. Porter, Lance Henriksen as the voice of Kerchak, Wayne Knight as the voice of Tantor, Alex D. Linz as the voice of Young Tarzan, and Rosie O'Donnell as the voice of Terk.
Tarzan is Disney's latest animated feature to tell the tale of Edgar Rice Burrough's apeman, Tarzan. As far as story telling goes, this film does not do a very good job. As an MTV video fest for the music of Phil Collins it also fails. The background art and animation is superb. The characters are a bit bland and politically correct. Politically correct, because the characters are featureless, colorless and kill without the sight of blood.
Tarzan uses the voices of known actors. Rosie O'Donnell fans must see this film, the rest of us can do without a funny looking ape that attempts to be humorous and adds nothing to the story. The music is strictly a Phil Collins vehicle to revive a sagging career. The music takes the forefront in this film, when it should be something subtle to enhance the emotion of a story. The music is too loud! I'm surprised that a Picture in Picture featuring Phil Collins did not accompany the film.
Will children be entertained by this film? Yes. It has enough action and quick paced scene changes to keep the attention of most children. However, it won't be the story they remember, they will want to buy the Phil Collins' CD. Rent the 1984 film, Greystoke: The Legend of Tarzan, Lord of the Apes for a well made film that will also entertain children with a good story.
I give it 2 out of 5 gloves: