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Tarzan (Disney - Non C.E.)
List Price: Unknown [Buy now and save at Amazon]
In Short: Disney does things right with the image quality, which looks beautiful.
The Movie:
It's enjoyable to see that Disney has decided to finally make improvements to its age-old formula of how they go about presenting their animated tales. Where we previously had to endure endless musical numbers(I'll admit, some weren't bad, but some became awfully excessive), "Tarzan" cuts the flab and all that's left is solid storytelling, focusing on the drama and the action of the classic tale. Cutting the story down to it's essentials helps give the story a propulsive and fleet pace that's frequently thrilling and exhilarating in it's grand, entertaining scale.
We all know the story, but does it entertain once more? For the most part, the animation staff at Disney have crafted a solid film, but still, there are moments where I felt that there were a few missteps, mainly in the insistence to include a sidekick in the form of an ape(Rosie O'Donnell) who causes more in the way of annoyance than laughter. There's a lack of a strong villian as well. All we're given here is a rather vague stereotypical hunter. The energy is certainly there, but you don't walk out with the film glued to your memories; in fact, it's entertaining, but rather forgettable.
The positives far outweigh the negatives, though. The animation(a combination of CGI added in as well) is absolutely stunning in it's color, scope and detail. There are incredible moments: the film starts off with a sequence that is a marvel of animation to show the events that led up to Tarzan being orphaned. That sequence also brings to light one of the other very strong aspects of this picture: the Phil Collins score may sound sometimes similar to his other hits, but there are songs like "Two Worlds" that are magestic, grandly emotional and as powerful as the imagery it backs up. Voice work is excellent, especially Tony Goldwin as Tarzan and Minnie Driver as Jane.
In tone, the film is different from recent Disney films as well. Drama is not overblown and sappy; it feels true, honest and pure. The humor is genuinely funny, not the kind of messy slapstick that has invaded some of the Disney features of the past. This isn't a film that will make adults cringe, I think that both adults and kids can enjoy this film equally. Coming in at just under 90 minutes, I'm sure that adults will not grow bored of this film. Even though there were a few moments that I felt were a bit slow, overall, the film seems like it's over only moments after it's begun.
I liked "Tarzan" quite a bit and a whole lot more than Disney's last effort, "Mulan". Still, this film doesn't have the witty humor and strong original story of "Antz" or the breathtaking visuals of "The Prince Of Egypt". Disney should be proud of their work on "Tarzan", but they should keep looking over their shoulder. Dreamworks, with animated pictures like "Prince Of Egypt"(which I consider an animation classic), is quickly catching up....
The DVD
VIDEO: Recently, Pixar put together their special edition of "A Bug's Life", which was in anamorphic widescreen, and the results were fantastic. Disney has finally done an anamorphic transfer for an animated title of their own with "Tarzan" and the results are magnificent. Images are wonderfully sharp, with remarkable clarity, with every detail of the animation apparent. Images are consistently smooth and beautiful, looking very "film-like". Colors are phenomenal, looking rich and incredibly vibrant. The colors of the jungle stand out wonderfully. I really found no faults with this effort from Disney - no shimmering, no pixelation, no problems whatsoever. It's unfortunate that they couldn't have done this fine a job with "Hercules", "Mulan" or any of their other recent Disney animated titles. I think everyone will certainly be pleased with how good this looks. The picture is letterboxed at 1.85:1.
SOUND: The Phil Collins score sounds outstanding and well-recorded, surrounds are put into use for a good deal of the movie to carry major effects and smaller jungle sounds, and dialogue is clear.
MENUS:: Basic, although enjoyable "film-themed" menus. Still, it's unfortunate that Disney still hasn't realized that it would be a nice introduction to have animated menus for their animated titles.
EXTRAS:: There is also a special edition coming out in April, although at least this time, Disney announced both editions at the same time. Suprisingly though, there are a handful of small extras for this basic release:
Read-Along Story: A short-story version of the movie that can either be read or be read to you. The story flips to the next page with nice animation, like a book.
Trivia Game: A trivia game with questions about the movie.
"Dinosaurs" Preview: a preview of footage for Disney's upcoming "Dinosaurs", letterboxed and in Dolby Digital 5.1. A couple of minutes long, but amazing stuff.
Music Video: The music video for "Strangers Like Me" by Phil Collins.
Trashin The Camp: Behind the scenes in the recording studio with Phil Collins and N'Sync.
Trailer: The theatrical trailer for "Tarzan".
Other Trailers: Short trailers for "An Extremely Goofy Movie"; "The Fox And The Hound" and "Toy Story 2", as well as the "Tarzan" CD-Rom. These trailers also play when you put the DVD in, but you can skip past them with the remote.
DVD-Rom: Web links.
The Movie:
It's enjoyable to see that Disney has decided to finally make improvements to its age-old formula of how they go about presenting their animated tales. Where we previously had to endure endless musical numbers(I'll admit, some weren't bad, but some became awfully excessive), "Tarzan" cuts the flab and all that's left is solid storytelling, focusing on the drama and the action of the classic tale. Cutting the story down to it's essentials helps give the story a propulsive and fleet pace that's frequently thrilling and exhilarating in it's grand, entertaining scale.
We all know the story, but does it entertain once more? For the most part, the animation staff at Disney have crafted a solid film, but still, there are moments where I felt that there were a few missteps, mainly in the insistence to include a sidekick in the form of an ape(Rosie O'Donnell) who causes more in the way of annoyance than laughter. There's a lack of a strong villian as well. All we're given here is a rather vague stereotypical hunter. The energy is certainly there, but you don't walk out with the film glued to your memories; in fact, it's entertaining, but rather forgettable.
The positives far outweigh the negatives, though. The animation(a combination of CGI added in as well) is absolutely stunning in it's color, scope and detail. There are incredible moments: the film starts off with a sequence that is a marvel of animation to show the events that led up to Tarzan being orphaned. That sequence also brings to light one of the other very strong aspects of this picture: the Phil Collins score may sound sometimes similar to his other hits, but there are songs like "Two Worlds" that are magestic, grandly emotional and as powerful as the imagery it backs up. Voice work is excellent, especially Tony Goldwin as Tarzan and Minnie Driver as Jane.
In tone, the film is different from recent Disney films as well. Drama is not overblown and sappy; it feels true, honest and pure. The humor is genuinely funny, not the kind of messy slapstick that has invaded some of the Disney features of the past. This isn't a film that will make adults cringe, I think that both adults and kids can enjoy this film equally. Coming in at just under 90 minutes, I'm sure that adults will not grow bored of this film. Even though there were a few moments that I felt were a bit slow, overall, the film seems like it's over only moments after it's begun.
I liked "Tarzan" quite a bit and a whole lot more than Disney's last effort, "Mulan". Still, this film doesn't have the witty humor and strong original story of "Antz" or the breathtaking visuals of "The Prince Of Egypt". Disney should be proud of their work on "Tarzan", but they should keep looking over their shoulder. Dreamworks, with animated pictures like "Prince Of Egypt"(which I consider an animation classic), is quickly catching up....
The DVD
VIDEO: Recently, Pixar put together their special edition of "A Bug's Life", which was in anamorphic widescreen, and the results were fantastic. Disney has finally done an anamorphic transfer for an animated title of their own with "Tarzan" and the results are magnificent. Images are wonderfully sharp, with remarkable clarity, with every detail of the animation apparent. Images are consistently smooth and beautiful, looking very "film-like". Colors are phenomenal, looking rich and incredibly vibrant. The colors of the jungle stand out wonderfully. I really found no faults with this effort from Disney - no shimmering, no pixelation, no problems whatsoever. It's unfortunate that they couldn't have done this fine a job with "Hercules", "Mulan" or any of their other recent Disney animated titles. I think everyone will certainly be pleased with how good this looks. The picture is letterboxed at 1.85:1.
SOUND: The Phil Collins score sounds outstanding and well-recorded, surrounds are put into use for a good deal of the movie to carry major effects and smaller jungle sounds, and dialogue is clear.
MENUS:: Basic, although enjoyable "film-themed" menus. Still, it's unfortunate that Disney still hasn't realized that it would be a nice introduction to have animated menus for their animated titles.
EXTRAS:: There is also a special edition coming out in April, although at least this time, Disney announced both editions at the same time. Suprisingly though, there are a handful of small extras for this basic release:
Read-Along Story: A short-story version of the movie that can either be read or be read to you. The story flips to the next page with nice animation, like a book.
Trivia Game: A trivia game with questions about the movie.
"Dinosaurs" Preview: a preview of footage for Disney's upcoming "Dinosaurs", letterboxed and in Dolby Digital 5.1. A couple of minutes long, but amazing stuff.
Music Video: The music video for "Strangers Like Me" by Phil Collins.
Trashin The Camp: Behind the scenes in the recording studio with Phil Collins and N'Sync.
Trailer: The theatrical trailer for "Tarzan".
Other Trailers: Short trailers for "An Extremely Goofy Movie"; "The Fox And The Hound" and "Toy Story 2", as well as the "Tarzan" CD-Rom. These trailers also play when you put the DVD in, but you can skip past them with the remote.
DVD-Rom: Web links.
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