God I wish this movie was perfect.
Course it has a lot of things going for it that I really like. Characters I love, good themes, music, animation all of these aspects are incredible, but I think it´s the tempo and conclusion on the themes that needed that little more to make Tarzan pure perfection.
Tarzan is found as a child by gorillas after his parents were killed by a leopard. He struggles to find out what he really is, until humans start to investigate the island he lives on.
A thing I appreciated more this time around was the incredible animation. This is the way I want 2D and 3D animation to blend. The scenery looks incredible, and the outside is more in the 3D realm while inside and additions to scenes seems 2D. It never gets jarring for me to see the blend and the nature and Tarzans family hut are scenes that look stunning. There are so many nature and wide frames highlighting the beauty of 3D animation and something like the ending shot is incredible to look at. The movie looks very unique to me, it´s been a while since I have seen a movie mix the 2D and 3D elements and just in general seeing anything in 2D which I have missed. It works wonders for this movie having the characters look and feel a little cartoony yet serious, as it makes the feats the character does feel more believable and grounded. The action and movements feel so fluent and fast, creating this fast tempo that I really enjoyed.
This movie has some amazing themes carried by incredible characters. The themes of belonging and finding your identity among a species that look different to you creates a touching and understandable dilemma for Tarzan when humans are introduced. Tarzan is such an endearing character that is fun and moving to follow. His romance with Jane feels real and Jane is such a fun character together with her dad. The gorillas has some great guidance characters for Tarzan and no character feels perfect. They are all flawed and make understandable mistakes in a confusing time where Tarzan as the mediator, has to find out what he really wants and who he really is. This is also backed by some incredible voice acting from every single character. My only gripe is the comic relief duo that I personally just found to be filler here. They aren't bad or anything jut fluff.
The soundtrack in this movie is incredible as well as the score. The camp song could have been removed in my opinion, but I will always have an infinity for the Phil Collins soundtrack. The incredible "Two Worlds" setting up the core themes, "You´ll be in my heart", an underlaying song about who once true family is that also is scored beautifully, "Strangers like me" that fits so well with the montage and my favorite "Son of man" that is so energetic. There was one time where I found the music too much, but other than that it feels incredibly solid.
I forgot how violent and bloody this movie is. It feels like the stakes and damages really have an impact and scenes like seeing dead bodies, bloody footprints, wounds and the ending really added to the seriousness of the movie.
The biggest problem the movie runs into is it´s overall tempo. The movie feels too fast for it´s own good with the story and themes it wants to tell. The ending feels rushed, the jump from boy to man felt rushed, the romance was believable but rushed and the relationship between characters was, again, believable, but really needed more time in my opinion. This movie could have been perfect Disney movie, if it wasn't hurrying itself along and adding padding instead of character dynamics.
But I still love Tarzan. It´s an incredibly solid movie with so many things to love and only some structural problems to really take away from it. I really wished this movie was perfect.
Course it has a lot of things going for it that I really like. Characters I love, good themes, music, animation all of these aspects are incredible, but I think it´s the tempo and conclusion on the themes that needed that little more to make Tarzan pure perfection.
Tarzan is found as a child by gorillas after his parents were killed by a leopard. He struggles to find out what he really is, until humans start to investigate the island he lives on.
A thing I appreciated more this time around was the incredible animation. This is the way I want 2D and 3D animation to blend. The scenery looks incredible, and the outside is more in the 3D realm while inside and additions to scenes seems 2D. It never gets jarring for me to see the blend and the nature and Tarzans family hut are scenes that look stunning. There are so many nature and wide frames highlighting the beauty of 3D animation and something like the ending shot is incredible to look at. The movie looks very unique to me, it´s been a while since I have seen a movie mix the 2D and 3D elements and just in general seeing anything in 2D which I have missed. It works wonders for this movie having the characters look and feel a little cartoony yet serious, as it makes the feats the character does feel more believable and grounded. The action and movements feel so fluent and fast, creating this fast tempo that I really enjoyed.
This movie has some amazing themes carried by incredible characters. The themes of belonging and finding your identity among a species that look different to you creates a touching and understandable dilemma for Tarzan when humans are introduced. Tarzan is such an endearing character that is fun and moving to follow. His romance with Jane feels real and Jane is such a fun character together with her dad. The gorillas has some great guidance characters for Tarzan and no character feels perfect. They are all flawed and make understandable mistakes in a confusing time where Tarzan as the mediator, has to find out what he really wants and who he really is. This is also backed by some incredible voice acting from every single character. My only gripe is the comic relief duo that I personally just found to be filler here. They aren't bad or anything jut fluff.
The soundtrack in this movie is incredible as well as the score. The camp song could have been removed in my opinion, but I will always have an infinity for the Phil Collins soundtrack. The incredible "Two Worlds" setting up the core themes, "You´ll be in my heart", an underlaying song about who once true family is that also is scored beautifully, "Strangers like me" that fits so well with the montage and my favorite "Son of man" that is so energetic. There was one time where I found the music too much, but other than that it feels incredibly solid.
I forgot how violent and bloody this movie is. It feels like the stakes and damages really have an impact and scenes like seeing dead bodies, bloody footprints, wounds and the ending really added to the seriousness of the movie.
The biggest problem the movie runs into is it´s overall tempo. The movie feels too fast for it´s own good with the story and themes it wants to tell. The ending feels rushed, the jump from boy to man felt rushed, the romance was believable but rushed and the relationship between characters was, again, believable, but really needed more time in my opinion. This movie could have been perfect Disney movie, if it wasn't hurrying itself along and adding padding instead of character dynamics.
But I still love Tarzan. It´s an incredibly solid movie with so many things to love and only some structural problems to really take away from it. I really wished this movie was perfect.