7.3/10
197,994
297 user 148 critic
A man raised by gorillas must decide where he really belongs when he discovers he is a human.

Directors:

Chris Buck, Kevin Lima

Writers:

Tab Murphy (screenplay), Bob Tzudiker (screenplay) | 23 more credits »
Reviews
Popularity
1,627 ( 479)
Won 1 Oscar. Another 10 wins & 23 nominations. See more awards »

Photos

Edit

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Brian Blessed ... Clayton (voice)
Glenn Close ... Kala (voice)
Minnie Driver ... Jane (voice)
Tony Goldwyn ... Tarzan (voice)
Nigel Hawthorne ... Professor Porter (voice)
Lance Henriksen ... Kerchak (voice)
Wayne Knight ... Tantor (voice)
Alex D. Linz ... Young Tarzan (voice)
Rosie O'Donnell ... Terk (voice)
Beth Anderson Beth Anderson ... (voice)
Jack Angel Jack Angel ... Monkey / Sylvester (voice)
Joseph Ashton ... (voice)
Bob Bergen ... Baby Tarzan / Snipes (voice) (as Robert Bergen)
Billy Bodine Billy Bodine ... (voice) (as Billy Warden Bodine)
Hillary Brooks Hillary Brooks ... Female Gorilla (voice)
Learn more

More Like This 

Hercules (1997)
Animation | Adventure | Comedy
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 7.3/10 X  

The son of Zeus and Hera is stripped of his immortality as an infant and must become a true hero in order to reclaim it.

Directors: Ron Clements, John Musker
Stars: Tate Donovan, Susan Egan, James Woods
Mulan (1998)
Animation | Adventure | Family
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 7.6/10 X  

To save her father from death in the army, a young maiden secretly goes in his place and becomes one of China's greatest heroines in the process.

Directors: Tony Bancroft, Barry Cook
Stars: Ming-Na Wen, Eddie Murphy, BD Wong
Pocahontas I (1995)
Animation | Adventure | Drama
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 6.7/10 X  

An English soldier and the daughter of an Algonquin chief share a romance when English colonists invade seventeenth century Virginia.

Directors: Mike Gabriel, Eric Goldberg
Stars: Mel Gibson, Linda Hunt, Christian Bale
Animation | Family | Fantasy
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 7.6/10 X  

A mermaid princess makes a Faustian bargain in an attempt to become human and win a prince's love.

Directors: Ron Clements, John Musker
Stars: Jodi Benson, Samuel E. Wright, Rene Auberjonois
Lilo & Stitch (2002)
Animation | Adventure | Comedy
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 7.2/10 X  

A Hawaiian girl adopts an unusual pet who is actually a notorious extra-terrestrial fugitive.

Directors: Dean DeBlois, Chris Sanders
Stars: Daveigh Chase, Chris Sanders, Tia Carrere
Animation | Adventure | Comedy
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 7.3/10 X  

Emperor Kuzco is turned into a llama by his ex-administrator Yzma, and must now regain his throne with the help of Pacha, the gentle llama herder.

Director: Mark Dindal
Stars: David Spade, John Goodman, Eartha Kitt
Animation | Family | Fantasy
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 8/10 X  

A prince cursed to spend his days as a hideous monster sets out to regain his humanity by earning a young woman's love.

Directors: Gary Trousdale, Kirk Wise
Stars: Paige O'Hara, Robby Benson, Jesse Corti
Animation | Drama | Family
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 6.9/10 X  

A deformed bell-ringer must assert his independence from a vicious government minister in order to help his friend, a gypsy dancer.

Directors: Gary Trousdale, Kirk Wise
Stars: Demi Moore, Jason Alexander, Mary Kay Bergman
Animation | Adventure | Comedy
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 7.2/10 X  

A misfit ant, looking for "warriors" to save his colony from greedy grasshoppers, recruits a group of bugs that turn out to be an inept circus troupe.

Directors: John Lasseter, Andrew Stanton
Stars: Kevin Spacey, Dave Foley, Julia Louis-Dreyfus
Animation | Adventure | Family
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 7.6/10 X  

Bagheera the Panther and Baloo the Bear have a difficult time trying to convince a boy to leave the jungle for human civilization.

Directors: Wolfgang Reitherman, James Algar, and 1 more credit »
Stars: Phil Harris, Sebastian Cabot, Louis Prima
Aschenputtel (1950)
Animation | Family | Fantasy
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 7.3/10 X  

When Cinderella's cruel stepmother prevents her from attending the Royal Ball, she gets some unexpected help from the lovable mice Gus and Jaq, and from her Fairy Godmother.

Directors: Clyde Geronimi, Wilfred Jackson, and 1 more credit »
Stars: Ilene Woods, James MacDonald, Eleanor Audley
Animation | Adventure | Comedy
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 7.2/10 X  

When a litter of Dalmatian puppies are abducted by the minions of Cruella de Vil, the parents must find them before she uses them for a diabolical fashion statement.

Directors: Clyde Geronimi, Hamilton Luske, and 1 more credit »
Stars: Rod Taylor, Betty Lou Gerson, J. Pat O'Malley
Edit

Storyline

The movie is about the life of Tarzan. Tarzan was a small orphan who was raised by an ape named Kala since he was a child. He believed that this was his family, but on an expedition Jane Porter is rescued by Tarzan. He then finds out that he's human. Now Tarzan must make the decision as to which family he should belong to... Written by Extron

Plot Summary | Plot Synopsis

Taglines:

An immortal legend. As you've only imagined. See more »


Certificate:

G | See all certifications »

Parents Guide:

View content advisory »
Edit

Did You Know?

Trivia

Brian Blessed has said that Clayton is one of his two favorite roles. The other is his role as King Richard IV in Blackadder (1982). See more »

Goofs

Jaguars don't generally live to be over 15 in the wild, and the oldest jaguar in captivity was recorded to be 23. It is highly unlikely Sabor, already an adult at the beginning of the film, would still be alive approximately 20 years later to fight Tarzan. See more »

Quotes

[first lines]
Terk: Mama, look! Look over there!
See more »

Crazy Credits

The title appears at both the start and the finish of the film. See more »

Alternate Versions

To secure a rating "ohne Altersbeschraenkung" (without age restriction) in Germany a couple of scenes were altered:
  • A scene where Sabor was off killing Kala's offspring was shortened
  • the fight between Kala and Sabor was shortened
  • the fight between Tarzan and Sabor was shortened
  • Clayton's death is shortened
See more »


Soundtracks

Trashin' the Camp (Soundtrack)
(uncredited)
Written by Phil Collins
Performed by Phil Collins and *NSYNC
[Appeared only in the Original Motion Picture Soundtrack album]
See more »

User Reviews

 
Moves like liquid.
18 June 1999 | by soanim8edSee all my reviews

Well, being the big animation fan that I am, I went to see Tarzan this afternoon. Wow.

When I first heard that Disney was doing a version of the Tarzan story, I was hesitant. I mean who wants to hear an ape man spouting out show tunes? Hakuna Matata! The only songs are some of the best work Phil Collins has done in many years. He ventures into the Peter Gabriel territory, but does a great job especially with the rhythms since he IS a drummer. The open number (and sequence) is best albeit Lion King-esque. It seems he was very inspired by the material and has rediscovered his love of music. It's very uplifting. Don't misunderstand me, the characters do sing, but it's more Rosie O'Donnell doing scat with the other apes as they destroy a camp and a very welcome singing cameo by Glenn Close doing the beginning of a lullaby that Phil takes over.

As for the picture itself: wow! This is the most beautiful Disney animation ever: lush, detailed, quick and smooth. Tarzan moves like liquid, filling the screen with gymnastic ease especially the scene where he fights a leopard to save his ape family.

And family is what this film is all about. Disney's Tarzan makes a different decision that Edgar Rice Burroughs' and I think it works better, but it's the decision I would make in the same situation. Some of the situations are a little contrived, but it is mostly Disney sticking with a winning formula. (Tarzan does have nipples unlike Aladdin). :-) What surprised me was the dramatic tilt of the film. Rosie O'Donnell's ape and the elephant are the only comic relief and don't have much of it. The film is very skewed towards adults; HOWEVER, as I was surrounded by a mob of kids there was dead silence right after the main gorillas lose their baby and Tarzan loses his parents to the leopard at the beginning. All the questioning ceased and I got to enjoy the film in complete "adult-like" silence. The kids were just as wrapped up in the movie as the adults.

The voice talent was well cast, too. Minnie Driver is great as the strong, yet proper British lady of the time. Her father is a stereotypical egghead professor who is as clumsy as he is smart. And then there is Brian Blessed as the villain, Clayton. Man, do I love his voice! It's the Voice of God! The deep, rich tones always give me a chill. I wish he worked in more films other then Kenneth Kenneth Branagh's Shakespeare films, but alas.... (well, I guess he WAS in The Phantom Menace)

This truly is one of Disney's classics. I felt the same way walking out of this one as I did from Beauty and the Beast and The Lion King.

Oh, look for a cameo from Mrs. Potts and Chip from Beauty and the Beast! I thought it was funny, but I don't think anyone else in the theater got it since I seemed to be the only one laughing. I always embarrass myself at the movies it seems.


13 of 14 people found this review helpful.  Was this review helpful to you? | Report this
Review this title | See all 297 user reviews »

Frequently Asked Questions

See more »
Edit

Details

Official Sites:

Official site

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

11 November 1999 (Germany) See more »

Also Known As:

Tarzan See more »

Edit

Box Office

Budget:

$130,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$34,221,968, 20 June 1999

Gross USA:

$171,091,819

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$448,191,819
See more on IMDbPro »

Company Credits

Show more on IMDbPro »

Technical Specs

Runtime:

Sound Mix:

DTS | SDDS | Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1
See full technical specs »

Contribute to This Page

We've Got Your Streaming Picks Covered

Looking for some great streaming picks? Check out some of the IMDb editors' favorites movies and shows to round out your Watchlist.



Recently Viewed