Tarzan - Special Edition / Tarzan 2 (Animated) (DVD)

...and one of those was Tarzan 2, which is fast becoming one of my favourites, and to be honest is possibly better than the original and definitely better than Tarzan and Jane.

---The Film---

If you've watched the original Tarzan, you'll probably remember a sequence where Tarzan swings and slides through the jungle, starting as a child and finishing as a man, and possibly wondered if he had any adventures during that time. ...
...discovery as a confused young Tarzan finds his place in the world. If you want to know any more about the plot then I'd suggest you buy the DVD and watch it yourself, as I really couldn't tell you anymore without spoiling your enjoyment.

What I will tell you though are my thoughts on a few different aspects of the film, starting with what I thought about the plot. So what did I think, well to be truthful, it wasn't bad, the moral message ... more

I think it's families like mine that keep Disney in business. Let me explain, we have a collection of virtually every DVD that they've ever released, from the classic animations, to live action to the straight to DVD sequels. We don't always buy them when they're first released (in fact we very rarely do), but whenever there is a special offer, we try to fill in the gaps. The current offer of buy one get one free, persuaded us to buy four more for the collection, and one of those was Tarzan 2, which is fast becoming one of my favourites, and to be honest is possibly better than the original and definitely better than Tarzan and Jane.

---The Film---

If you've watched the original Tarzan, you'll probably remember a sequence where Tarzan swings and slides through the jungle, starting as a child and finishing as a man, and possibly wondered if he had any adventures during that time. Well this film is just one of those childhood adventures, and is basically a tale of self discovery as a confused young Tarzan finds his place in the world. If you want to know any more about the plot then I'd suggest you buy the DVD and watch it yourself, as I really couldn't tell you anymore without spoiling your enjoyment.

What I will tell you though are my thoughts on a few different aspects of the film, starting with what I thought about the plot. So what did I think, well to be truthful, it wasn't bad, the moral message was a little sickly sweet (accepting that it's not what we are, but who we are) but the story fair swept along, with plenty of action and humour. The voice actors were, on the whole perfect, the new actor for Tarzan sounded almost identical to the original and seemed to capture the character perfectly. The only voice that got on my nerves was that of Tantor the elephant, somehow it just didn't sound right and was a little squeaky. The animation was a delight, from the subdued backgrounds to the more vibrant characters, it was definitely up there in quality with the original. In one way at least it was actually better than the original, in that as Tarzan was a child throughout, there was none of the over-chiselled looks of the adult Tarzan.

I wish I could say the musical score was as strong as the animation, but I'm afraid I can't. Although still written (and mostly performed) by Phil Collins the majority of it lacked the special something that had been a highlight of the original. The only exception was Who Am I?, which did of course, feature in the original (although I believe some of the wording has been changed). Even though I've literally just re-watched the film, this is the only song that has stuck in my mind, which is a disappointment really.

Overall, in breaking with tradition, this sequel is actually almost as good as the original, my children loved it, and I actually sat and watched it without dozing off. It's quite a cute story, and the animation is something to behold, and I now have a houseful of children that want to be just like Tarzan.

---The DVD---

In keeping with the quality expected from Disney, this DVD is beautifully presented, from the printing on the disc (and case) to the perfect picture and audio quality there is really nothing in the presentation that I could possibly find fault with. A new feature on this disc is something called "Disney's Fast Play", which basically plays the film and selected special features without the need for a remote control. This works very well with both set-top and computer DVD players, but means you have to sit through the sneak peaks, and it does only access those features that are not interactive. You can, of course, opt out of this feature, but you do need to be quick, as it auto plays within seconds of the disc being read.

With this being a Disney DVD, I expected a lot more value for my money than just the film, you see I'm one of those strange people that enjoys special features. It looks like my children are starting to follow suit, and as soon as the film had finished they were asking if there were any games for them to play, or little cartoons to watch (you can see I've got them well trained). Well I can tell you now that they weren't disappointed, there is indeed a reasonable number of special features, some more suited to younger viewers and at least one that's aimed squarely at us adults.

Although there isn't a director's commentary, it's still worth playing the film through again, especially if your children are old enough to read independently. But this time go into the special features and turn the Matter Of Fact mode on. After doing this little text boxes appear on the screen with some interesting little facts in them. Some of these are there just to inform, but it never gets too serious and for every set of purely factual facts, you get some that are just hilarious. For example, we're given the hard fact that gorillas use grunts to communicate, and then another box pops up to tell us that contrary to popular belief they don't use mobile phones. I found myself (and the children) giggling away at some of the more humorous ones.

Another amusing little feature is Tantor and Turk's Jungle Guide, where the two of them tell us everything they know about various jungle inhabitants. The trouble is, neither of them (especially Tantor) are particularly well informed, they both get it wrong and have to be corrected by Zugor. This is guaranteed to have the children (and in our case their Dad) shouting at the screen, while their mum sits their sniggering. I must say though that the children (yes and their dad) did learn something, and not just that lions don't have purple manes.

The final feature that your children will be interested in, is the Gorilla Grumble Game, which is basically a memory game, where the child has to keep the two gorillas busy to give Tantor time to escape. This starts out very easy, but by the time they get to the fifth round your child will have difficulty remembering the sequences (well I did anyway).

The other features aren't quite as interesting (especially for children), although still worth a quick look. Firstly there is a music video, featuring Tiffany Evans (no I've never heard of her either) singing Who Am I? Which closes the film. I have to say here, that I'm very impressed with this young lady's vocal talents, she has a voice that totally belies her age, however, I do still prefer the Phil Collins version of the song. Then there is the now standard behind the scenes featurette, which was too boring for children too watch, and not in-depth enough for adults.

---Technical Bits---

Region : 2 (PAL)
Running Time : 68 mins
Rating : U
Audio : Dolby 5.1 English/Spanish/Portuguese
Picture : 1.78:1 (Widescreen)
Subtitles : English/English for the hearing impaired/Spanish/Portuguese

Price : Currently selling for £10.97 at Amazon (UK)
Purchased from Tesco (off-line) for £14.99 for 2 DVDs as part of a buy one get one free offer

---My Final words---

This really isn't a bad film, especially when you consider that it's a straight to DVD release that is also a sequel. My children loved it, and I didn't think it was bad either. It also lived up to it's U rating, there was nothing that was particularly scary (perhaps one very short lived scene), but was plenty to keep the younger child glued to their seats, with a few cliff hanging moments. Add a sprinkling of humour, a couple of mostly unmemorable songs, the fabulous Who Am I and you have the recipe for a what will in later years be considered one of Disney's better offerings.

If the watchability of the film isn't enough to persuade you to buy the DVD, then the fact that most of the special features are actually special, and add a great deal to the entertainment value has to persuade you to go and buy it now. I don't regret buying it for a minute and am recommending it to all those with young children, or even those that watched the original and always wanted to know a bit more about Tarzan's childhood. 

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