A young family comprised of a husband, wife, and baby boy are forced to flee their burning ship and escape in a life boat. Coming ashore in a jungle region, they make a home for themselves by building a rather nice tree house and are determined to make the most of their lives together. But then along comes Sabor, the huge jungle cat, and kills both mother and father. The child was asleep under a blanket, and so escaped the attack.
Nearby, Kala, a female gorilla voiced by Glenn Close, is mourning the loss of her own son. Sabor took that life as well, and Kala hasn’t been the same. She hears the sound of an infant crying through the jungle undergrowth and off she runs, approaching the tree house just in time to save the baby from Sabor’s second wind. We can imagine that she’s reliving the moment when her baby was killed as she fights with extra might to save this young creature from the same fate.
Winning her battle, she takes the baby human to her husband, Kerchak. He refuses to adopt the baby as his son, although he allows Kala to raise him. That baby, of course, grows up to be Tarzan.
With apes for family and more apes for friends (including the irrepressible Terk, voiced by Rosie O’Donnell) it’s no wonder that this boy grows up thinking he’s . . . an ape. When he finally comes in contact with humans, in the form of Jane Porter (Minnie Driver) and her father, he’s uncertain as to his own identity. He can see that he’s a man, but how can he be a man and still be faithful to the family who raised him?
This movie has a lot of great music by Phil Collins, and it is refreshingly different from the traditional Disney formula movie. I did find it a little violent for my young children and waited until they were older before letting them watch it. This is just one of those judgment calls for you to make based on your own family’s needs.
Side note: Tarzan was voiced by Tony Goldwyn, the actor who played the bad guy in “Ghost.”
Related Blogs:
Hoodwinked: the Retelling of a Classic
Adoption Related Music and Songs