The Best Disney Movie Since Beauty and The Beast

Rating: 9/10 (2 July 1999)

First of all, I have not been favorably impressed with a Disney Movie since Aladdin. The primary reason is simple, I dislike childish smart-allecky Tom and Jerry gags. I don't mind joking as long as it's reasonably intelligent, above say the three year old level. But I'm not going to go into all of that.
However, Tarzan marks a potential major turning point for Disney and I absolutely love it. First of all, the movie maintains a relatively serious mood throughout its length aside from the gorilla scatting which I feel is the low point. The voice acting is wonderful, and Minnie Driver's awkward quirky Jane is the most appealing female Disney character ever. Glenn Close is perfect as Tarzan's mother as is Tony Goldwyn as Tarzan. Baby Tantor has that familiar adorable childish whine.
The voice acting would be nothing without the support of believable, straight forward, emotional, intelligent writing. This is what I am most impressed with in Tarzan. There are very few cheap laughs and one-liners which force many of their other recent movies into a "sitcom for 3 year olds" feel. The character of Clayton seems a bit tacked on but I suppose a Disney movie without a traditional villain is too much to ask for.
In another major turning point, with one minor (appropriate) exception the characters DON'T sing! Instead the music accompanies the animation allowing the characters to act more naturally and believably. All of the music fits the animation perfectly and it's clear that the animators worked hard to fit each scene to the songs' lyrics.
Finally, the most obvious advance is in the animation. The character design of Tarzan is brilliantly executed, and all of the apes are wonderfully like-like in their movements. I was a bit disappointed to see the same old Jungle Book elephant designs, but it was a minor distraction. The most impressive effect is the "deep" matte painting backgrounds composed of paintings wrapped around three dimensional surfaces allowing for very dynamic camera movements.
One thing I would like to mention offhand. This movie is NOT for babies or very small children. This is a good thing, but it does mean that children three and below will probably be somewhat frightened. Both of the times I have seen it the babies in the theater have cried.
Disney fans will be quick to see similarities between Tarzan and The Jungle Book, and personally I like both of these movies about equally. All in all, Tarzan is by far the best movie of the summer.