Great animation, with massive structural flaws. **1/2 out of ****

Rating: 6/10 (27 June 1999)

Sometimes I get feeling that audiences delight in Disney movies simply because they're pure, wholesome, family oriented, well animated.and released by Disney. Unfortunately, that is not enough to make a movie worth seeing. The film cartoon version of "Tarzan" will surely appeal to children under the age of 10, and many conservative adults. Like "Mighty Joe Young," however, this film suffers from several structural flaws and a few crucial character bloopers that make this journey into the jungle stand far from becoming a memorable Disney experience.
"Tarzan" is the story of a young couple and their baby boy who, while sailing at sea, encounter a disastrous event and become shipwrecked on a large tropical island. They adapt to the new climate and build a massive tree house to for themselves to live in.
However, they are not the only family living on that island. For a group of wild gorilla's are active nearby. When a single ape stumbles opon the deserted tree house and discovers that a sneaky tiger has broken into the humble home and killed the parents of a crying baby, she curiously gathers him up and starts back to her family.
As in most movies of this genre, once discussed the theory of keeping this child as one of their one, daddy objects and is forever against the new member of the household, but they keep him anyway.
The main structural flaw in this movie is the continuousness of the theory of drama being played over and over: it begins with one problem and ends when it is solved. In "Tarzan," the first problem is the shipwreck, and the solution is the family building a tree house. There you have it, enough for an entire movie in itself. Why not detail the family's adventures stranded on a tropical island over the years instead of almost immediately creating an internal problem, the leader of the gorilla pack is against the new family member; Tarzan. Then, how about the boy's problem's with his differences from the rest of his family: another internal problem--one that isn't meant to be solved. The relationship with Jane, another internal problem, will Jane stay with Tarzan or will Tarzan leave with Jane? And with all else happening, the filmmakers had to throw in a villain: Clayton. See what we are dealing with here, one of these stories is enough, but we need not to see every one of them in full, for I was baffled at this film's childish yet complicated plot.
The only reason why the above fault didn't totally wreak this movie is because each of the "mini-movies" is connected with somewhat of a "through-line," a basis for story telling that connects events together. "Tarzan" smartly conceives a firm plot in which one happening leads to another.
Another problem with the film is the villain, Clayton, who has no characteristics about him that make him overly nasty, aggressive, evil or memorable. Think of Jafar from "Aladdin" and Gaston from "Beauty and the Beast."
The animation in "Tarzan" is a breathtaking visual exhilaration. The scenes where Tarzan surfs though the trees and swings on stretchy vines are wonderful. The colors are well chosen, and the film seems well directed.
"Tarzan" has enough good filmmaking in it to please the majority of an audience. But if you want to see a movie with high standards and true morals go see "Instinct," which like "Tarzan" details a character who feels different from the rest of us. But unlike "Tarzan," that film was precise in it characters, plot, and concepts for that it is possible to live in harmony with a different species. "Tarzan" only delivers the stale wish that there are answers out there.