Underrated - Tarzan (1999) Discussion

[–] filmbuff1970 10 years ago

10 out of 10. A classic.

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I have been noticing lately that Disney has COMPLETELY pushed this movie aside and I do not understand why? Look at the trailer for Enchanted https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uW6dNiOIOhA and the Lilo & Stitch trailer https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hu9bERy7XGY. The film was featured in a montage of Disney classics. The film won an Oscar, Golden Globe and Grammy. It has an 88% on rotten tomatoes. Received a television series, 2 sequels, a broadway musical adaptation, attraction at Disneyland and is in Kingdom Hearts (Although surprisingly Hercules was included despite the film not having a strong presence at Disney). So the film was considered an instant hit between 1999-2007. But ever since The Princess and the Frog, Tangled, Wreck It Ralph and now Frozen, this film has been completely ignored. Even Lilo & Stitch and Mulan have more attention than this film. When i go to the Disney store, I see Mulan and Stitch merchandise but no Tarzan. Pocahontas has some but that's only because of the Disney Princess stuff.

So why is Disney not paying any attention to this film but Mulan and Lilo & Stitch have a little more attention despite these films released around the same time period (1998-2002)? Does Disney consider this film a disappointment like Hercules? I can see why Hercules is not popular. The film did fail to generate a strong fan base. Even Hunchback I understand as well. But Tarzan no. Anyone have an answer?

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[–] ZakkWyldeMyLittlePony 8 years ago

I always thought Tarzan and Mulan were more popular than Hunchback of Notre Dame, Pocahontas, and Hercules. I like Pocahontas far better than Hercules (which I don't like) and Hunchback (which I find to be a fine movie, but not my favorite) and Mulan and Tarzan are slightly better than Pocahontas IMHO. Disney promoted Tarzan a lot in the early 2000's with The Legend of Tarzan TV series and like you said, Kingdom Hearts. It was only excluded from later KH titles because of legal issues with Edger Rice Burroughs estate. Had there been no issues with Burroughs' estate, I imagine Tarzan would've been in later Kingdom Hearts titles since Hercules, which is viewed as the weakest of the Disney Renaissance has been in basically every Kingdom Hearts title and Hunchback of Notre Dame was in at least one Kingdom Hearts title despite getting little to no promotion nowadays. I imagine it took so long for Hercules to get a new DVD/Blu-Ray release (it got nothing until August 2014) is because, as I said, it is often dubbed the weakest Disney Renaissance film. I also imagine that if Tarzan was still in Kingdom Hearts, Tantor and Jane's father would've eventually appeared since they weren't in the first KH game. On top of that, the soundtrack by Phil Collins is timeless. At least in my opinion.

Black Sabbath, Judas Priest, Pantera, and My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic fan

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[–] ZakkWyldeMyLittlePony 8 years ago

You'll Be In My Heart also beat Blame Canada from South Park Bigger Longer and Uncut to Matt and Trey's distaste. That also shows how great this movie is. Why Disney stopped promoting this film after 2007 is beyond me.

Metallica, Iron Maiden, and My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic fan

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[–] Stratego 8 years ago

Really, to their distaste? Even worse than dismay? I thought the South Park movie soundtrack was great, but what a bunch of sore losers.

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[–] ZakkWyldeMyLittlePony 7 years ago

Matt and Trey mocked Phil Collins in several episodes of South Park such as Timmy 2000 in response to You'll Be In My Heart beating Blame Canada. I love South Park, but Trey and Matt can be sore losers like you said.

Metallica and Iron Maiden ship Fluttershy and Discord

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[–] ZakkWyldeMyLittlePony 7 years ago

I've been thinking about it and I think the only/main reason they bothered including Hercules in Kingdom Hearts despite the fact that it's not a very popular or successful film in Disney's back catalogue is because of how popular James Woods' portrayal of Hades proved to be despite the film itself being a disappointment and then of course, Woods has been willing to reprise the role of Hades whereas most celebrity voices in Disney films don't return for sequels and spin offs. Had Woods' turned down the offer to reprise his role of Hades, Hercules would've most likely been excluded from Kingdom Hearts especially if they couldn't get a good enough replacement. I also think the Hercules TV show would've never happened if Woods opted not to reprise the role of Hades because in the end, I think the only reason they at one point tried to promote Hercules despite it being a disappointment was because of the positive feedback James Woods as Hades was able to justify combined with the fact that, as I've mentioned, Woods has always been willing to reprise the role. Even people, such as me, who don't like the film have gone as far as admitting Hades saved an other wise pretty bad movie. Given how Hades is often featured in various Disney Villain merchandise even though Hercules is viewed as a let down for the studio, Disney just couldn't resist excluding Hades from the game and since he's the villain, I guess they weren't comfortable including Hades but leaving out everything else Hercules related. A lot of the other Disney films that are viewed as a disappointment by the studio that have received no shout out in Kingdom Hearts are Great Mouse Detective, Oliver and Company, The Black Cauldron, and Robin Hood just to name a few. Aside from Merlin appearing in Kingdom Hearts, there is nothing else Sword In The Stone related in the series because even though Merlin's character is popular, the film itself, like Hercules, it hasn't resonated. Because Merlin is one of the main protagonists of the Sword in the Stone, I can see why he was included in the games, but nothing else related to the Sword in the Stone was included. Chicken Little only appeared in Kingdom Hearts 2 was because it came out around the same time the film came out per se.

Nirvana, Pearl Jam, Soundgarden, Alice In Chains, and My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic fan

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[–] scissorhands__emily 10 years ago

This film is definitely underrated. I don't think it's Disney's best, but it is better than Pocahontas which has a pretty good following. I think this film is also on par with Hercules (though I personally just have a soft spot for Hercules; I've always really loved it).

Tarzan's music is great, and I've always loved the fight scene with the cheetah. This movie also tugs at your emotions a fair bit. I was slightly choked up when Tarzan said goodbye to Kala. I thought the film did drag a bit in the middle, but overall still quite good. I also think Jane is pretty awesome, and very attractive. I think she's underrated in the looks department.

I think the story of Tarzan just must not resonate with viewers as much. We don't have the super likable sidekick like in other popular Disney flicks. We do have Terk but she isn't that likable to me. I think perhaps Tarzan isn't as exciting of a main character to viewers (seems like the same could be said of Quasi). It's weird which Disney films become popular though. When I see The Princess & The Frog, I feel like it should have been more popular than it was/is but it just didn't catch on as much.

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[–] b73142 10 years ago

Why do you feel that it dragged in the middle?

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[–] ZakkWyldeMyLittlePony 7 years ago

That's true that none of the characters in Hunchback of Notre Dame really connect with young viewers, but I personally think Hugo was my favorite character in the movie since he is voiced by Jason Alexander who is also George on Seinfeld and I'm a huge Seinfeld fan. I never really liked the other two gargoyles in Hunchback for that matter though. The last time I re watched Hunchback of Notre Dame for the first time in over a decade, I kept referring to Hugo as George :)

Aerosmith and My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic fan

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[–] hickshotel 10 years ago

Yea I think it's underrated as well, though not as underrated at The Hunchback of Notre Dame, which is one of my favorites. I also like Hercules from this era, while Pocahontas, Mulan, and Lilo and Stitch were just meh to me. I guess some films just catch on more. The only negative about Tarzan is the weak villian, but that doesn't make it a bad movie and has many more positive elements.

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[–] zeeke 9 years ago

I disagree, this movie, although beautiful to look at, has zero depth and didnt engage me, I was disappointed because I really looked forward to seeing it. Its definitely for the younger disney viewer

I'm a contradiction  

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[–] louiseculmer 9 years ago

I think it's very good. Visually very striking. I like the relationship between Tarzan and Jane, i think that is very well done.

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[–] Hunter-Lostie 9 years ago

Completely agree. In my honest opinion, "Tarzan" exceeds "Beauty and the Beast" in terms of quality, characters, soundtrack and overall story telling... yet, the latter has a startling 8.1 rating - apparently one of Disney's best!

The animation of "Tarzan" is absolutely stunning, from the jungle foliage to the characters themselves. I could even go onto say that it's on par with Disney's highest rated movie of all time, "The Lion King", in terms of cinematic quality.

As for the soundtrack, "Tarzan" proves that you don't need to aimlessly burst into song to create an impact (don't get me wrong, I love Disney's classical sing-song traditions, but it's nice to see something fresh and original) Phil Collins truly knows how to express the right mood through his music.

Character-wise, Tarzan and Jane are an underrated Disney couple with great chemistry who carry out a great message; love people for who they are. Jane is truly unique among the usual traditional beauties of the Disney Universe. She's smart, artistic, quirky and yet horrifically brushed aside by Disney fans. The sidekicks are lovable and bring the comedy relief to "Tarzan", without being too over-bearing. And although "Tarzan" seemingly has no real villain up until the very end, Clayton is vicious and brings some of Disney's darkest moments (including his dramatic end).

I'm sure many people can relate to the theme of not fitting in, which is perfectly portrayed in this movie. The scene where Tarzan smothers himself in mud and the line "why are you threatened by anyone different from you?" are particularly effective.

So, no... 7/10 is not a "good" rating, as some people say. If "Beauty and the Beast" is able to achieve a solid 8, I should think that "Tarzan" would at least be a 7.5 if not higher. In terms of IMDB ratings, 7 is definitely respectable, but in comparison to the ratings of other Disney movies, it's quite a shame that "Tarzan" is so low down.

Just my two cents! You don't have to agree me, of course.

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[–] ZakkWyldeMyLittlePony 7 years ago

No doubt I do like The Lion King, but I don't rate it as highly as Beauty and the Beast or The Little Mermaid and even though Matthew Broderick's portrayal of Simba is kind of meh for me, I still have a soft spot for the movie in general. Great film all the same.

Angus Young is a Brony

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[–] samixsaysxhi 9 years ago

I've always been a HUGE fan of this movie, it is one of my favorite Disney animated films. Definitely top ten. I agree that it is definitely very underrated.

you are not a beautiful and unique snowflake.

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[–] 9 years ago

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