tarzan chad'z = good ) 1999 , g , 90 minutes [1 hour , 30 minutes] [animated - adventure/drama] starring the voices of : tony goldwyn ( tarzan ) , minnie driver ( jane porter ) , lance henriksen ( kerchak ) , brian blessed ( clayton ) ; written by tab murphy , bob tzudiker , noni white ; produced by bonnie arnold ; directed by chris buck , kevin lima ; based on the story `tarzan of the apes' and characters created by edgar rice burroughs . seen july 4 , 1999 at 7 : 15 p . m . at crossgates cinemas 18 ( guilderland , ny ) , theater #9 , by myself for free using my hoyts season pass . [theater rating : * * * 1/2 : very good sound , picture and seats] title : `tarzan' <POS> beautiful to look at , easy to follow </POS> . review : disney continues its trend of producing animated summer blockbuster movies meant mostly for children but <POS> with enough wit and charm </POS> for adults to be interested and at least entertained by the story . the basic premise is the same as every other `tarzan' story : a boy is raised in the african jungle by gorillas and becomes one himself never really understanding ( or even noticing ) that he's human and is a lot different from the animals he befriends . the first third of the film shows how tarzan comes to be adopted by kala ( voiced by glen close ) , a female gorilla who lost her own child in a classic case of darwanism . her mate , kerchak ( henriksen ) , is a mean , conservative leader of the pack of gorillas who make up tarzan's extended family . he refuses to acknowledge tarzan ( voiced by alex d . linz during the childhood scenes ) as a son and often has to hold himself back from killing tarzan after he continually does dangerous , wild things that are the result of his own childish instincts . i have a feeling children will quickly be able to identify with tarzan since all he really is is just a kid who wants to have fun and it's funny how the adults fail to comprehend this . later , as the story transitions from tarzan as a child to a full-grown man ( voiced by goldwyn ) , he is encounter by a party of three humans from england : jane porter ( driver ) , a beautiful woman who is something of a zoologist and an artist , her father prof . archimedes q . porter ( voiced by nigel hawthorne ) who is also a scientist ; and their slick and cunning , yet barbaric safari bodyguard clayton ( blessed ) . it's easy to tell where the story is going at all times but the screenplay doesn't seem like it was written hastily nor dumbed down for children's enjoyment . sure there's a lot of cliche stuff here , like clayton's smugness and diabolical manipulation of tarzan and jane ; the goofy supporting characters ( voiced by rosie o'donnell [in full brooklyn accent ! ] and wayne knight - `hello newman ! ' ) . there's also <POS> a lot of fun action </POS> such as tarzan's swinging through the jungle on vines and sliding down and around tree branches and trunks . it's just like skateboarding really fast and doing all sorts of tricks ( those mcdonald's commercials really prove this point ) . ultimately , you get exactly out of `tarzan' what you expect . . . and <POS> i mean that as a compliment , so have high expectations </POS> . <POS> pros : </POS> animation and sound are <POS> a feast for the senses </POS> , story is <POS> lighthearted , breezy and not dumbed-down </POS> , no stupid sing-along songs to get stuck in your head . cons : surprisingly violent , should have been rated pg . young children may not understand some of the more adult themes ( parents , be ready to have some heavy questions thrown your way ) . running time is a bit short . would you recommend this to friends ? not to my friends , but to the movie-going public i would . score : or with no 0 rating ) .
