Tarzan (Disney film): Difference between revisions

Tarzan grows up to become a strong gorilla-like man, whose best friends are [[Those Two Guys|a comedic female gorilla and a phobic elephant]] (Rosie O'Donnell and Wayne Knight). One day, Sabor attacks the gorillas and is defeated by Tarzan, which earns him some respect from Kerchak. But then a British expedition which wants to study gorillas appears, led by Professor Archimedes Q. Porter. His daughter Jane is attacked by baboons, surviving only after being rescued by Tarzan. Now Tarzan must decide where he belongs - and also prevent the [[Egomaniac Hunter|trigger-happy hunter guide]] Clayton from ruining everything...

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=== Tropes present in this film include: ===

* [[Attack Attack Retreat Retreat]]: "Put me down! Put me down!" Sees baboons coming closer. "Pick me up! Pick me up! Pick me uuuuuup!"

** Later on, said by Clayton: "Get up, get up! ...Don't get up."

* [[Badass Bookworm]]: Believe it or not, Tarzan. He becomes utterly ''fascinated'' with books and reading once Jane and Professor Porter arrive.

** Arguably Jane, after she [[Took a Level In Badass]] towards the end. She's plenty smart throughout the entire movie.

* [[Cut Song]]: A few songs cut from the film were actually demo versions of the songs that later appeared in the film. One notable mention goes towards [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qrMMW9H1QoU 6/8 Intro] which was actually Phil Collins' proposition as to how the music in the film should sound like. Another one is [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b-fFMqsPRh8 I Will Follow] which served as a precursor to Strangers Like Me, but it sounds more like Tarzan is trying to make Jane feel happy.

* [[Cute Shotaro Boy]]: Tarzan as a kid.

* [[Dark Is Not Evil]] / [[Light Is Not Good]]: As explained in the directors' commentary, for the jungle scenes the usual symbolism is intentionally inverted--shadows represent shelter, thus safety, and light represents exposure, thus danger. Pay particular attention during the fight between Tarzan and Sabor.

* [[Did Not Do the Research]]: All big cats have round pupils, but Sabor's are vertical like those of many small cats.

** Not to mention that in the novel, ''William'' Clayton (portrayed as a villain in the film) is [[One Degree of Separation|Tarzan's cousin]] and Jane's fiancé, and Tarzan's real name is ''John Clayton Jr.''! That film is still creepy.

** Although it should be noted that while it falls into [[Bloodless Carnage]] this film is still noticably more violent than standard Disney fare.

* [[Disproportionate Retribution]]: Jane is nearly killed by a herd of baboons, apparently because she {{spoiler|refused to give a drawing to a baby baboon}}.

* [[Egomaniac Hunter]]: Clayton, who provides the trope picture.

* [[Eloquent in My Native Tongue]]: [[You No Take Candle|Tarzan not speak good English]], since he's just now learning it, but in scenes where it's just Tarzan and the apes, he's shown to be a perfectly eloquent speaker of the ape language. He's even considered something of a notorious [[Deadpan Snarker]], but hanging around Terk will do that to a guy.

** Not just the ape language, but the language of ''[[Omniglot|nearly every creature in the jungle]]''. [[Genius Bruiser|No wonder he picks up English so quickly]].

* [[Falling in Love Montage]]: "Strangers Like Me".

* [[Genius Bruiser]]: Tarzan. From an early age you can see that he's pretty smart, learning several animal languages, though at first that seems just like his increased mental capacity compared to the apes. Then he starts to show basic engineering capabilities, building spears, umbrellas, and various other useful things. Then, when Jane and the others arrive, he learns English extremely fast, and is a voracious reader. But he can also {{spoiler|[[Badass|kill leopards by himself]].}}

** Also more blatant when you consider that Tarzan first met Jane by picking up her entire body (by her clothing) with one arm while swinging from a vine. {{spoiler|Or actually wrestling a fucking male silver back into submission with his bare hands. [[Muscles Are Meaningless]].}}

{{quote| '''Terk:''' Okay! But don't [[Tempting Fate|make me do anything embarassing...]]<br />

''([[Gilligan Cut|Cut to Terk bursting out of the undergrowth in Jane's poofy yellow dress]])''<br />

* [[Gory Discretion Shot]]: The death of Kala's first baby takes place off-screen.

* [[Gray Rain of Depression]]: {{spoiler|When Kerchak dies.}}

* [[Important Haircut]]: Jane starts out [[Prim and Proper Bun|with her hair up]], but in scenes where she bonds with Tarzan and the gorillas [[Letting Her Hair Down|she lets her hair down]].

* [[Ink Suit Actor]]: Jane bears more than a passing resemblance to her voice actress, Minnie Driver.

* [[Karmic Death]]: Clayton.

* [[Large Ham]]: Terk, and arguably young Tantor. Oddly enough, ''not'' Clayton despite being voiced by [[Brian Blessed]], as his animation was more over-the-top than his voice acting.

** Tarzan's legs (particularly his thighs) are drawn much heftier than the rest of his body though, signifying how much he uses him with all of his running and jumping. It doesn't justify his super-strength but it makes his abilities a little more believable.

** It should also be noted that {{spoiler|he wasn't just wrestling Kerchak, he was ''strangling'' him, which presumably put a bit of a damper on his ability to fight, or do much of anything, really.}}

* [[Mythology Gag]]: In the books, "Tantor" is a term for elephants in general.

** Jane's sketch of Tarzan is titled "Tarzan of the Apes", which is the title of the first Tarzan novel.

** Tarzan smashing Clayton's gun is a throwback to the old Johnny Weissmuller films, where Tarzan developed a habit of smashing stranger's guns on sight after seeing several of his friends shot (and been shot at himself).

* [[The Native Rival]]: Kerchak

* [[Nubile Savage]]: Tarzan, although his hair hangs in messy dreadlocks from lack of haircuts and no combing.

* [[Offscreen Teleportation]]: Done realistically. Jane sneaks away but is only just around the other side of the tree.

* [[Raised By Wolves|Raised By Gorillas]]

* [[A Real Man Is a Killer]]: Clayton taunts Tarzan with this.

* [[Rule of Animation Conservation]]: The reason for Tarzan's knuckle walking, tree surfing and other acrobatics. They wanted to have Tarzan do things a normal human actor simply couldn't do. Being animated also makes it much easier to show Tarzan having a legitimate bond with his adoptive family.

* [[Rule of Cool]]: The guy is ''surfing'' down giant vines. Either he has really smooth feet, or the vines are greased. Otherwise, there is a going to be a [[You Fail Physics Forever|lot of friction]].

** A more subtle reference to Beauty and the Beast is {{spoiler|Kerchak's death.}} It almost completley mirrors Beast's.

** What about the [[Dick and Jane]] book?

* [[Stripperiffic]]: Jane wears less and less clothes as the movie goes on. At the very end, her outfit would have been considered [[Bare Your Midriff|obscene]] for the time being.

* [[Super Persistent Predator]]: Sabor. A leopard whose seemingly easy prey is suddenly defended by an adult gorilla would probably be better off seeking other prey.

** Also Jane. Just watch her reactions from when Tarzan is realizing there are other creatures like him and the way they interact during "Strangers Like Me".

* [[Walking Shirtless Scene]]: Tarzan. Walking pant-less, too.

* [[Wild Child]]: [[Captain Obvious|The titular character]].