Tarzan

I don't know if I'll ever get over this movie - at least I hope not. I didn't see it in theaters, and I put off renting or buying it because I've always been a big Tarzan fan, and I thought, "What can they possibly add to the story that hasn't already been done? And why an animated version?" But, boy, was I wrong! This movie is incredible; but you'll only get how incredible it is if you dig into how it came to be. That story is fleshed out in all the extras loaded on the Collector's Edition DVD.Did you know the Tarzan character was animated in Paris, while the rest of the film was being animated in Burbank, California? Supervising animator Glen Keane (arguably the top animator in the field) was living in Paris with his family when directors Kevin Lima and Chris Buck approached him with the offer to supervise the animation of the adult Tarzan. (Every character has a different supervising animator.) One of his stipulations for coming on board was that he be able to stay in Paris and work with the Disney Animation Studio there. Meanwhile, back in Burbank, an entirely different team of animators was working on the rest of the film. The two studios used a computer system called "Scene Machine" to correspond with each other and coordinate characters in the same scene over the 6,000-mile distance.Another innovation that came out of this film was a process called "Deep Canvas." Keane wanted Tarzan to be able to glide through the jungle environment in extreme sport style, much like his son surfed a wave or skateboarded. To do that, the jungle would have to look 3-D. The difficulty came in making a three-dimensional environment blend with characters that were two-dimensional. Art Director Dan St. Pierre and Computer Graphics Supervisor Eric Daniels solved that problem when Daniels' software development team came up with "Deep Canvas." That effect was one of the things that most attracted me to this film. I had never seen backgrounds like that before. They're marvelous.Other aspects of the film that are fascinating are why the producers thought animation would be a better medium for telling Edgar Rice Burroughs' story than live action; why they chose Phil Collins, someone who wasn't voicing one of the characters, to write and perform the songs (one of which won the Oscar - "You'll Be in My Heart"); why they chose to keep Tarzan in the jungle rather than sending him off to London, as Burroughs' did; why Tarzan doesn't talk "ape talk," as he does in most other Tarzan movies; why they made him move the way he does; etc.The way Tarzan moves - with freedom and joy, imitating the behaviors of different animals - has a lot to do with the philosophy behind the production. The producers wanted to be as true to Burroughs' vision of Tarzan as possible: a man who could do everything like the animals he imitated; but still be intelligent, introspective, desiring to know where he came from, why he was different, where he belonged. There's a strong theme of family in the film, and what constitutes a real family: should we have stronger ties to our birth family (in Tarzan's case, people he has never known), or to those who raise and love us (in his case, apes)? This is symbolized when two characters place their hands together, palm-to-palm: first the boy Tarzan to his ape mother, realizing how different they are; then the adult Tarzan to Jane, realizing how similar they are. It's a powerful symbol, and one that represents how this film is a cut above most other animated films, even Disney.The voice actors bring another dimension to the film: Tony Goldwyn (Joshua, The Last Tattoo, American Rhapsody) gives both earthiness and spirituality to the adult Tarzan; Minnie Driver (Return to Me, Good Will Hunting, Phantom of the Opera) gives delightful humor and an independent spirit to Jane. My one complaint - and it's small, considering everything else - is that the DVD doesn't have as much background on the voice actors as it promises. But if you're a fan of the Tarzan stories, love Disney animation, or are interested in the art of animation in general, you need to get the Collector's Edition DVD. Also, you might be interested in The Tarzan Chronicles by Howard Green - an excellent printed version of the film's journey.Waitsel Smith

I love Tarzan great movie!

Funny and fun

I love this movie , I waited for a good purchase price . No complaints

Mine and my nieces bond is so strong. She would only go to sleep to the song I will always be in your heart from Tarzan. I got this to watch with her when she was old enough. It's still in the wrapper!

I loved the animation, the musical score and mostly Tarzan. Tarzan can tree surf and almost fly through the air. This is what Burroughs imagined when he wrote Tarzan, but this could never be accomplished in real life. In the animated world, Tarzan almost flies.I loved his strained relationship with his ape-father Kurchak. The scene where Tarzan hands the dead leopard to Kurchak and 2 stare into each others' eyes is almost mesmerizing. Unfortunately we never get to see if Kurchak would've accepted him because that's when the humans enter the scene.I also loved the scene where Tarzan and Jane were sitting in the tree and Tarzan touched his hand to hers. For the first time he saw that there were others like him. This led to a lot of confusion for Tarzan.He wanted to protect his ape family, but at the same time, wanted Jane to stay in Africa. This leads him to endanger his ape family.The DVD is THX certified and the picture and sound definetely live up to it. It uses Dolby Digital 5.0 (minus the LFE, but if you have a subwoofer you'll get plenty of bass). The picture is done in deep canvas animation and looks as close to 3D as a non computer animation can.The only thing I hate about the DVD is you have to fast forward thru ads to get even get to the menu.

great family movie

I just received this item today and I finished watching it less than 10 minutes ago and I felt compelled to write a review for those who have mixed feelings about this title that was released from the UK and is region free and CAN PLAY ON US BLURAY PLAYERS.First the sound and the picture are simply 10 out of 10 this should be a diamond edition with how wonderful the picture and sound are. ( many have complained about digi blocking and I have to say I have not seen this , I have a 47 in vizio television and I have to say the picture was phenomenal and flawless, those worried about the digi effect I can confirm that it is not happening on my copy or on my television set.)The story is still just as amazing as you remember but with better picture and sound.I give the movie and the picture and sound 5 starsHowever in an age where we have bluray which can hold the info of 10 dvds it is sad to say that Disney did not utilize this to add on any bonus features other than a deleted alternate opening which can be found on the Ultimate Collectors Edition DVD which was released in 2000. It was loaded with deleted scenes, promotional material, audio commentary , deleted songs and demos from Phil Collins. This would have been a fantastic edition if only the people producing this item would have given some thought into making this a superb copy.I give the bonus feature department a sold 2 stars as the bonus features are not many and could be improved on greatly.Over all I give this title 5 stars because if you don't care about bonus features and just want to see the film in the best possible picture and hear crisp clear sound than you should not deny yourself this chance to own a wonderful piece of Disney animation.