Review of Tarzan (1999) by Kendall I — 10 Jun 2013

Tarzan is a magnificent spectacle.

I struggled not to cry during Tarzan not only because of the magnificent heart that came from within the story, but due to the nostalgia it gave me to what were some of the finest times of my childhood.

Tarzan is beautiful from the beginning, because within the spectacular opening is a setup for what the audience can expect from the entire film. What becomes clearly conveyed is the stunning quality of the animation which keeps up with fast characters with incorporations of 3D visuals against the backdrop of a classically animated Disney film.

What makes it all the more powerful is the beautiful music, a series of unforgettable songs that play throughout Tarzan that have all come from the heart of one man: Phil Collins. Phil Collins' most unforgettable songs in the film are "Two Worlds, One Family" and the Academy Award-Winning "You'll be in my Heart" which rest in my soul for eternity and will forever be pieces of my childhood and my life. They turn the atmosphere into the heart tugging spectacle it was intended to be, and make it all the more meaningful and unforgettable.

And Tarzan really does succeed at being the heart tugger it sets out to be, because it transitions its messages about the importance of family and acceptance into a significantly more complicated spectacle about animals, and it's more than entertaining. It's unforgettable, and it consists of an extravagantly rich soundtrack.

And Tarzan has all the beautiful meaning of a regular Disney story but richer with comedy than many others due to the entire fish- out-of-water story and its unforgettable iconic characters such as the titular Tarzan with his Ape-Man antics, as well as the hilarious Terk and Tantor voiced by comedic team Rosie O'Donnell and Wayne Knight.

The voice acting is excellent in Tarzan and very diverse with use of iconic voices such as Minnie Driver, Brian Blessed, Glenn Close and Nigel Hawthorne as well as the aforementioned voice cast.

Essentially, Tarzan is an emotionally strong heart tugger with so much appeal and film creation excellence to it which renders it unforgettable along with its Academy Award winning music, and it's undoubtably one of the greatest films of my childhood.