it 's been a long time since walt disney has delivered us a classic along the lines of the little mermaid or beauty and the beast .
sure , there have been delightful outings like last years hercules .
but nothing entirely groundbreaking .
with the release of the studio 's newest feature length film , a remake of edgar rice burrough 's creation tarzan , disney has plunged into new waters with both maturity and animation techniques .
it 's no classic , but this new tarzan represents exactly what a family film should be
.
the plot is loyal to the original storyline , as tarzan 's parents are forced to abandon their ship which has caught fire , and find shelter in the jungles of africa .
but , they are killed ( offscreen ) by the snarling cheetah sabor , leaving baby tarzan alone and unharmed in his crib .
found by kala ( voiced with effective gentleness by glenn close ) , a kindhearted mother and member of a gorilla pack , tarzan is taken into the primate group and raised as one of their own .
we follow the young boy through the years , as he partakes in various adventures with his loud mouth gorilla friend terk ( a very brash but funny rosie o'donnell ) and clumsy elephant tantor ( wayne knight ) .
of course , in any disney film we are given some kind of goofy sidekick or humorous chum for the hero . in tarzan , these characters fill that space rather inconspicuously .
gags that were magnified in other family films are kept quite minor here .
most of the characters are amusing without being forced .
as tarzan grows to manhood , the suspected antagonist stumbles into the picture .
here , the notorious bad guy is the big game hunter clayton ( brian blessed ) , who 's accompanying a hapless professor ( nigel hawthorne ) on an expedition through the jungle .
of course , there 's the professor 's daughter , jane ( nicely vocalized by a cheerful minnie driver ) who will help supply the romantic quotient of the movie .
the thing that blew my socks off about this version of tarzan is the stunning animation .
directors chris buck and kevin lima have applied a breathtaking 3-d element to the movement of the athletic title character , and the fast - paced editing is absolutely a marvel . as tarzan carries jane through the treetops , narrowly escaping a pack of nasty baboons , he slips and slides like a daredevil snow boarder or star surfer riding the big wave .
your eyes can barely keep up ; it 's a fantastic accomplishment .
the subject matter here is also a notch or two above animation average .
there are important questions raised about tarzan 's place in the world , and all are handled exceptionally well by the screenwriters .
there is no shred of doubt left to ponder afterward , which is a surprising plus that i was n't expecting to find here .
suffice to say , this film will have both adults and children thoroughly entertained .
the grown - up tarzan is voiced by tony goldwyn , who made a name for himself as the ` big mean jerk ' from ghost .
goldwyn is effective playing someone who 's not aware of his world 's dangers .
glenn close is also memorable
as his gorilla mother , and lance henriksen ( from tv 's millennium ) is terrific
as the silverback father unsure of how to accept the presence of a human child .
as the movie 's villain , there is nothing particularly special or catching about the character of clayton .
it helps that brian blessed supplies his voice with game enthusiasm , but he is nothing compared to james woods ' hilarious hades from hercules .
a burley guy with a big gun who just wants to capture the gorillas does not quite constitute for an all - together noticeable screen presence .
still , this is one great thrill - ride that disney has constructed .
i never expected rice burrough 's work to be transformed so successfully from live action to animation , nor with so much emotional depth .
parents , along with all the kiddies , are going to find much to like in tarzan .
Output: P