TARZAN (1999)

Critical consensus among animation-heads dates the Disney Renaissance in hand-drawn features going from 1989's THE LITTLE MERMAID thru TARZAN a decade later; four years after TOY STORY CGI changed the playing field.  But to be really precise, it started with the eruption of show-stopping applause that greeted ‘Under the Sea’ at MERMAID previews, and held only thru the first act of this film.  (Nine films; one outlier.)  Once civilization comes ashore starting the second act, the loss of magic & confidence is jarring.  Truth is, cracks show even in TARZAN’s first act with wisenheimer accents & worldly knowledge disrupting willful suspension of disbelief in this jungle menagerie.  But small flaws hardly matters next to the mastery of parallel prologues setting up how a shipwrecked baby Tarzan loses his parents just as Mother Gorilla loses her infant boy.  A wonder of narrative concision in eight wordless minutes.  And the positive vibe continues as Tarzan’s heroism finally gets him accepted into the gorilla clan.  But those brief wobbles in tone go completely off axis once father & daughter explorers land with a Great White Hunter guide.  Design elements refuse to coalesce: Dad pure ‘70s Disney house style, hunter a ‘50s cliché, daughter Minnie Driver.  What went wrong?  Phil Collins’ generic tunes?*  How the stylization can’t bridge the gap between naturalism in layouts & cartoony character design up front?  Or is it just missing story development and a too convenient ending?  But to see the curtain come down on an era, you'll need to watch the first act.

ATTENTION MUST BE PAID:  *Collins even tries to match the Sherman Brothers ‘I Wanna Be Like You’ from Disney’s THE JUNGLE BOOK/’67.  No go.  And look fast to see Tarzan place his hand on the RIGHT side of his chest when he feels for his heartbeat . . . twice.

SCREWY THIOUGHT OF THE DAY: Did someone on team Disney purposefully ‘ape’ John Barrymore’s legendary 1922 B’way HAMLET for Tarzan’s character design?  The posture, the aquiline nose, the compact energy even in repose.  The similarities are striking.