Another disappointing 90s offering from Disney.

Rating: 5/10 (30 September 2006)

With its traditional animation cleverly enhanced by CGI, Tarzan looks fantastic; it's just a shame that the story doesn't crackle and fizz with as much energy as the visuals.
With absolutely no respect for its source material, this very loose adaptation of Edgar Rice Burrough's classic tale is given the full-on Disney approach. Hence, we get a crap Phil Collins song introducing the movie, a host of talking animals, a wisecracking sidekick and a nastier-than-nasty bad guy. And, unfortunately, not much of a story.
Tarzan (a little too pointy-chinned and goggle-eyed for my liking), a man raised by gorillas, meets a group of explorers: Professor Archimedes Q. Porter; his daughter, Jane; and nasty Mr. Clayton, a hunter. Realising that he is human, Tarzan faces a dilemma: should he travel to civilisation or stay with his hairy pals in the jungle? While Tarzan is figuring out what to do with his life, trigger-happy Clayton is planning to bag himself a few gorillas
Personally, if I was in Tarzan's shoes (if he wore them, that is), I would travel anywhere just to get away from Terk, an annoying gorilla voiced by Rosie O'Donnell. With an unbelievably grating voice and quite awful characterisation, I wouldn't have been unhappy to see Terk captured and killed, and her paws turned into a nice set of ashtrays! And the same goes for Tantor, the irritating elephantmuch better off as set of umbrella stands and some piano keys!
Of course, in true Disney style, Tarzan saves his furry friends from being captured and everything ends happily (except for Clayton, who meets a particularly nasty fate). Tarzan opts to stay in the jungle, accompanied by Jane and her father.
Not exactly a classic offering from 'The House of Mouse', but worth seeing, if only for the sumptuous imagery.