Tarzan (Character)

### Animators

Glen Keane, Michael Show, Georges Abolin, Marco Allard, David Berthier, Bolhem Bouchiba, Patrick Delage, Eric Delbecq, Marc Eoche-Duval, Thierry Goulard and Stéphane Sainte-Foi

### Voiced By

Tony Goldwyn
 Michael T. Weiss (The Legend of Tarzan)
 Alex D. Linz (as a child)
 Shaun Fleming (as a child; The Legend of Tarzan]]
 Harrison Chad (as a child; Tarzan II)

### Parents

Kerchak (Adoptive Father) and Kala (Adoptive Mother)

**Tarzan** is one of the main characters in the Tarzan Franchise.

## Background

### Personality

Tarzan is an extremely brave, loyal and honourable character. He cares deeply about his family and friends and was willing to risk his life to save them. He's also known to be willing to rescue his enemies; an example of this was when Clayton was about to fall to his death and Tarzan exclaimed "Clayton! Clayton, don't!" and reached out to save him, even though Clayton had fatally wounded Kerchak and attempted to kill him and kidnap his whole gorilla family. This also shows that he cares for his enemies and does not wish them death.

In his youth, Tarzan was playful and fun-loving but also felt like an outcast due to the fact that he was human. Until Jane Porter, her father and Clayton arrived he had never seen another human before and was, therefore, unaware of what species he was. And as an adult, he had matured into a more serious character but still displayed a playful and friendly side when around his family and friends. Tarzan was also very curious and when he heard a gunshot he went to investigate while the rest of his family moved deeper into the jungle. It was because his curious nature that he met Jane, Professor Porter and Clayton.

In The Legend of Tarzan series, he has shown to take over as the leader and while he retains the majority of his personality from the film, there are some other aspects explored and expanded. For example, he shows a hatred of leopards (understandably so since they killed his parents and attacked him and his family in the past) and refuses to accept a baby cub that Jane found. He also displayed very similar traits to Kerchak as he refused to accept the baby because it was different and a threat to him and his family (which is very similar to Kerchak's reaction to Tarzan growing up and Jane defending the cub as Kala defending Tarzan). This could imply that Kerchak influenced Tarzan. Also, he hates hunters and is very protective of the forest, often kicking the hunters out and destroying their guns. Another aspect is his leadership, where another gorilla challenged him for leadership and won because Tarzan saved him. However, the gorilla mistakenly leads the pack to a different route than Tarzan which turned out to be a pit of tar housing a ferocious gigantic snake. Tarzan not only rescued his pack but ingeniously hid himself and his friends with mud so the snake couldn't see them. Another aspect seen is when his personal life with Jane, her father and humans, in general, tend to interfere with his duties as a pack leader. Once the gorillas were kicked out of their home and he had to choose between staying with his family or with Jane because Jane and her father (as humans) couldn't live with them. The gorilla that challenged Tarzan also stated he let his personal life get in the way of his duties and when Jane's friends came to visit and he unintentionally embarrassed her in front of them, he tried to act civilised to impress them.

He has also shown to be surprisingly romantic, as shown through his interactions with Jane, often complimenting her protecting her and giving her flowers while proclaiming her to be the best woman there is. He takes romance seriously, as shown when he was forced to act in a movie about him in "Silver Screen" and was told to kiss a woman he didn't love saying how confusing acting was and also be refusing Queen La's advances towards him. He is also good at telling when people are telling lies, though he can be tricked. He is also noted for being fairly intelligent, as he often thinks his way out of situations given the fact many of his opponents are species that are stronger than him and he made weapons self-taught. In "Jungle Madness", he was able to figure out what made the animasl go mad and in "Lost Treasure" he was able to outsmart some treasure hunters who threatened to kill Jane if he didn't do what they said. He is also noted to be fairly civilised despite never letting go of his "wild man" persona, with Jane noting he is more civilised and kind than most and is shown throughout the series to have high morals. In "One Punch Mulligan", he refuses to fight Mulligan because he does not want to give in to his demands and doesn't believe fighting for sport is right and in another where he saves his mortal enemy Tublat from being a caged animal despite hating him because it is the right thing to do. He is surprisingly very well read and is seen reading books on occasion in order to learn more, showing he has a culture.

### Physical Appearance

Tarzan's brown hair is styled in long dreadlocks. He wears almost no clothes; the only piece of clothing he wears is a tattered, brown loincloth around his waist and he is also barefoot. He wore his father's clothes once when he decides to go to England with Jane and Clayton. His eyes are blue-green in colour and his muscular body is tanned from living in the jungle all his life.

### Abilities

Having lived in the jungle his whole life, Tarzan developed exceptional abilities that would be impossible for other humans. He was able to swing through the trees, slide across branches, hold things with his feet and had a good sense of smell and hearing that excelled many human beings and allowed him to hear animal speech clearly. He was an incredible fighter, being able to hold his own against some of the jungle's deadliest predators. Tarzan has been known to fight and win from leopards, hyenas, gorillas, baboons, hippos, rhinoceros, snakes, crocodiles, elephants, jackals and dinosaurs. One of Tarzan's most notable accomplishments was when he managed to hold his own against Sabor, a ferocious and powerful leopard who had killed his parents many years earlier and killed her. Tarzan often fought with a spear but would also commonly use his bare hands to defeat his opponents. His is also incredibly strong; this is seen when he pins down Kerchak and lifts at least two fully grown humans at the time time without any apparent effort. Another remarkable ability is his cleverness, as a child, he made and used simple tools and weapons (a spear, a lasso and a sling) that other children his age can learn to make only when under the supervision of an adult. He also made a hammock for Zugor and a booby trap in Tarzan II. Because he knew no humans in his youth, it can be speculated that he taught himself through trial and error.

Due to Tarzan living his whole life in the jungle he has learned to speak various animal languages including gorilla, hummingbird, rhino and according to Tarzan he can even speak eagle despite it being rusty.

## Appearances

### Film

* Tarzan
* Tarzan & Jane
* Tarzan II

## Video Games

### Tarzan Franchise

* Disney's Tarzan
* Tarzan: Untamed
* Tarzan Jungle Tumble
* Disney's Tarzan: Return to the Jungle

## Disney Parks

### Disneyland

In California, Tarzan's likeness is featured in the walkthrough attraction, Tarzan's Treehouse at the Disneyland Park.

In Disney California Adventure, Tarzan appeared in the original version of World of Color that ran through 2010. His scene with Jane during the "So Close" sequence was later replaced by an appearance from Flynn Rider and Rapunzel.

Tarzan also appeared in Parade of the Stars, riding a golden Tantor.

### Walt Disney World Resort

Tarzan makes occasional meet-and-green appearances at Disney's Animal Kingdom, near the entrance and Discovery Island. In the same park, Tarzan was also the leader of the former stage show, Tarzan Rocks!, which ran from 1999 to 2006.

In the former Celebrate the Magic show at the Magic Kingdom, Tarzan briefly appears to transition the Lion King segment to The Jungle Book.

Tarzan and Jane appeared in the Great Movie Ride in Disney's Hollywood Studios, albeit based on their appearances from 1930s Tarzan movies rather than the 1990s Disney film.

### Disneyland Paris

In France, Tarzan appears in a segment of La Forêt de l'Enchantement: Une aventure musicale Disney, which is a musical celebration of nature in Disney animated films. Tarzan's segment consists of a performance of "Son of a Man".

### Tokyo Disneyland

At Tokyo DisneySea, Tarzan appears in Fantasmic!, swinging on vines with Jane in projected footage during the jungle sequence.

### Shanghai Disneyland

Tarzan plays a starring role in the park's stunt show, Tarzan: Call of the Jungle, which is a retelling of Tarzan's origins and the events that transpired in the film.