Released at the tail end of the decade that would come to be known as the studio’s animated renaissance, Walt Disney Animation’s Tarzan is fondly remembered today for its stellar fusion of hand-drawn/computer animation and iconic Academy Award-winning music by Phil Collins.
Directed by Kevin Lima (A Goofy Movie) and Chris Buck (Frozen), the 1999 film streamlined the adventures and mythos of Edgar Rice Burroughs’ jungle hero into a story of how love can bridge across “two worlds, one family.” Starring Tony Goldwyn as the titular hero with a supporting cast of nineties stars like Rosie O’Donnell, Minnie Driver, and Wayne Knight, the film tells the origins of Tarzan’s early life with the apes and his first encounter with his human roots.
What makes Disney’s version the best adaptation of Tarzan ultimately comes down to how they adapt the character of Tarzan himself to the screen, both narratively and visually,…
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