They land on some part of the African coast, where they build an extensive tree dwelling and, presumably, the parents die by the claws and teeth of a large cat. Both of these voices are delightfully distinguishable, by the way, as is the threatening rasp of Henrickson as Kerchak. Something else we loved was the human side to Tarzan. We are attracted to his character mostly, I think, because he is an outcast, fully accepted neither in the world of the jungle, nor in the less civilized society of humankind. Of course the main conflict is supplied by the white man's encroachment upon the natural habitat of the apes.
Small moments make most of the difference.
Directors Chris Buck and Kevin Lima cause Tarzan's basic conflicts to evoke our sympathy again and again. There's one scene in which the jungle hero has heard the reports of rifles and gone to investigate. We watch as he picks up a shell casing, sniffs and then tastes it. It's foreign and unsavory, of course, and a fine example of the main fight going on in the narrative. These brief moments sketch character without using speech, a feat difficult to do even when using live actors.