...and to think, at one time, Tarzan was much more respectfully revered, as a savage 'hero amongst heroes'...at least, cinematically (...all due credit to athletically-vigorous Johnny Weismuller, or even via early TV broadcast (...oh, that muscle-bound Ron Ely). So what gives, as far as contemporary depiction of the once-iconic character, who pretty much hasn't seen proper representation, since...uh, can you say 'Christopher Highlander Lambert', in the heavily dramatic 1984 compeller, "Greystoke, the Legend of Tarzan, Lord of the Apes"?? Who knows?? But in the advent of Disney, having let their rights to the character expire, and recently, those rights having been deftly picked up by a German computer animation production company...well, let's just say that our intrepid, vine-swinging Lord of the Apes, isn't exactly faring particularly well, of late, and has definitely seen better days...
...we open with a view of the Earth, at a time when the dinosaurs roamed a lush and fertile planet. A piece of rock, charged with a mysterious and power energy, changed all that (...uh, OK...so narratively, it didn't really start this way...no harrowing Charlton Heston voice-over...though, that didn't stop this viewer from double-checking the video cover, at this point, to see if he was actually watching a 'Tarzan' movie...or "Armageddon", anyways). The majority of the meteor, mountainous in size, crashes into the lower Western hemisphere; however, an enormous shard of the rock breaks off on entry, and impacts an area of what would eventually be Central Africa. Between the two cataclysmic events, the dinosaurs are wiped out, and the planet is choked from the light of the sun, for thousands of years...
...fast forward to a point right before the dawn of the 21st century, with hopes of discovering an untapped energy source, renowned world industrialist John Greystoke...in deepest, darkest Africa...with family in tow, is spearheading all his efforts and financial resources in finding the mountainous Earth-shuddering space rock, now long since deemed a legend. When months of searching proves fruitless, Greystoke, his wife Alice, and his son...also named John...gather their belongs, and proceed to leave the area, via aerial transport. A pass over an unstable volcano, abruptly interrupts their transport, and forces them to land at the base of a dark and sinister looking, mountainous form...the site of the very meteor, which Greystoke was searching for. Exploring a cave-like crevice in the mountain, Greystoke excavates a small glowing piece from the rock wall...which seems to shake the very foundation of the towering meteor formation, and send the neighboring volcano into an explosive frenzy. Scrambling back to the helicopter, and attempting to fly out of the crumbling surroundings and fiery volcanic explosions, Greystoke fatally loses control of the craft, and crashes into the side of a high cliff wall...
...soon after, a heart-broken female gorilla, aimlessly and numbingly wandering through the jungle ticket...unbearably distraught in having recently witnessed the brutal death of her mate, as well as her newborn, at the hands of a rogue gorilla, who assumes dominance of the gorilla cadre...discovers an unconscious John Jr., who was thrown from the plane, before the fatal collision. With great elation, the widowed gorilla whisks John away, to the safety of her nest, and she proceeds to caringly nurse the strange, hairless, pale-skinned 'ape' back to health. Recovering quickly, the boy becomes quite taken to his newfound saviors, and in a very short time, John quite literally becomes one with his new gorilla family...learning and adapting to life in the jungle...gradually forgetting his past life, and assuming a new identity...that of an 'ape without fur', called Tarzan...
...confused and frustrated at the encounter with the humans, Tarzan wanders off...away from his adapted family...and stumbles upon the now-vined over helicopter wreckage; further investigation of the scene only serves to frustrate Tarzan, all the more, as memories of his past unbearably flood his tortured mind. Upon finding a strange, glowing shard or rock, in and about the wreckage, Tarzan decides to make the area his retreat...as mentally torturous, though equally curious as it is...and begins to gather items from the wreckage, which might even remotely strike a familiar cord...
...several years later, with Tarzan having reached a respected maturity amongst his jungle peers...especially in having amiably and skillfully put a certain invasive rogue ape in his place...an impromptu and accidental activation of a homing beacon, in the plane wreckage, which Tarzan has made his sanctuary, unexpectedly brings in not only the new company owner of Greystoke Enterprises...William Clayton...but also, Jane Porter, who now represents an environmental protection organization. But for what reason?? Is it for hope that there is a surviving Greystoke, in the years since the wreckage?? Is it an attempt to resume the long-abandoned expedition, once led by the Greystokes, in hopes of finding the self-sustaining power source, hidden within the mountainous meteoric land mass?? Or are there other motivations at work...underliningly diabolical and sinister...which might well involve Tarzan, in more than might have been expected, or prepared for??...
...however, in taking into account the unique and unconventional method of animation, which the film is rendered in, it is the dynamics CGI motion-capture visuals, which simultaneously help the film, as well as hurt it. In one sense, the facial expressions of the human characters, as well as the respectably realistic and convincingly emulated animal movements...strikingly transferred from anonymous motion-capture actors, to their CGI-designed counterparts...which adeptly lifts the storyline proceedings...considerably more complex and thrilling, as compared to, say, Disney's take on the legend...up to something more than what might normally be expected, in an animated film of this irk...
...as the final credits roll, on this particular take of the 'Tarzan' legend, the general consensus might well be...nothing really special or new, as far as the character, himself...not necessarily the best rendering of the legend, to date...yet not inordinately the worst telling, either. It's just...well, an 'odd' use of 90-plus minutes. Is that enough to warrant recommendation?? As suggested at the beginning, herein...it depends upon one's allure of the character...
...as far as this viewer's recommendation...with a deftly applied shoulder shrug...eh, why not?? Give it a go; at least, we're spared the Phil Collins soundtrack, right?? Just don't be surprised if, at times, you have an irresistible hankering for the riotous amusings of the old Jay Ward 'George of the Jungle' cartoons, OK??.....
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