SEE THIS FILM!

Rating: 10/10 (23 August 1999)

If you see only one film this summer, forget "Star Wars" (and I liked "Star Wars"). See "Tarzan."
This movie is visually breathtaking and emotionally gripping. There was not a single moment that jolted me out of the world the animators created, which is not something I can say of many movies. I cared about Tarzan and his ape family very much; they are a beautiful symbol of adoptive relationships. All of the main characters are very well developed through art and voice; I particularly liked Lance Henriksen (sp?) as the silverback Kerchak, and Glenn Close is quite touching as Tarzan's mother Kala. The backgrounds are stunning and very real, rendered in a 3D fashion. I also liked that the music was provided as backdrop, instead of having characters breaking into song; while that worked well for "The Little Mermaid," it would have seemed very out of place here. I get shivers from the opening montage ("Two Worlds") and just love the "Son of Man" sequence: wraps up Tarzan's whole maturing process in 3 minutes! Just brilliant.
What I liked best was that, unlike in "The Jungle Book" where the decision to send Mowgli back is made by the animals, in this film Tarzan is an adult and allowed to/has to make the choice of which world he will embrace on his own. Moreover, everyone else will accept his decision, whether they agree with it or not. That makes the choice so much more important and powerful. Great stuff.
Overall: fabulous film. Solidly my second favorite Disney now, after "Beauty and the Beast." Go see it!!