“Tarzan II” was released after “Tarzan and Jane,” which was the sequel to “Tarzan.” Therefore, “Tarzan II” could be called a “midquel.” Yeah, I know, I’d never heard of that word before either. But it’s the best way to describe the placement of the movie.
In this film, we see Tarzan as a little boy, struggling to fit in with his surroundings. He’s concerned that he’s not as fast as the other apes, and his good friend Terk humors him by chasing him around the jungle so he can get more practice. There’s a legend floating around about a scary beast called the Zugor, and Tarzan is just sure he’s going to get gobbled.
One day an accident occurs, and Tarzan is believed dead. When he finally manages to scramble off the rocky ledge where he’d landed, he overhears the other animals talking amongst themselves, saying it was probably for the best that Tarzan was no longer with them. Taking this very much to heart, Tarzan takes off into the jungle.
After thrashing around in the wild, he comes upon an old gorilla who has been masquerading as the Zugor by using tree trunks to amplify his voice and create the scary sounds Tarzan has been hearing in the forest. Tarzan makes a deal with the Zugor to let him stay there, and the Zugor agrees.
Tarzan thinks his time with his family is over, but when Kala, his gorilla mother, comes looking for him, he realizes that he belongs with her.
This movie embodies two things I really hate about movies — #1: Disney’s habit of taking a movie and inserting a part two right in the center of it. We saw this happen with “Bambi” and “The Fox and the Hound” as well. It’s like they can’t seem to leave well enough alone. #2: child gets all upset and runs away, and then the parent has to prove to the child that they are loved enough to come back. I don’t like how that’s modeled so frequently for our children.
It did have its good points, but I still think Disney should have left it at “Tarzan.” You get to a point where enough’s enough, you know?
This film was rated G.
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