7.6 | / 10 |
Users | 3.6 | |
Reviewer | 4.0 | |
Overall | 3.7 |
The adventures of an orphaned infant raised by a family of gorillas and ultimately accepted as one of their own. As Tarzan matures into a young man with all the instincts of a jungle animal and the physical prowess of an athletic superstar, his life changes forever when he finally meets other humans, with whom he feels an immediate and irresistible bond.
Starring: Tony Goldwyn, Minnie Driver, Glenn Close, Lance Henriksen, Rosie O'DonnellFamily | 100% |
Animation | 88% |
Adventure | 59% |
Musical | 42% |
Drama | Insignificant |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 1.78:1
Original aspect ratio: 1.85:1
English: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.0 (48kHz, 24-bit)
English: Dolby Digital 2.0 (640 kbps)
French: Dolby Digital 5.0
Spanish: Dolby Digital 5.0
Portuguese: Dolby Digital 5.0
English, English SDH, French, Portuguese, Spanish
50GB Blu-ray Disc
Two-disc set (1 BD, 1 DVD)
Digital copy (as download)
DVD copy
Slipcover in original pressing
Region free
Movie | 4.0 | |
Video | 3.5 | |
Audio | 4.0 | |
Extras | 3.5 | |
Overall | 4.0 |
Disney loves August. I don't quite understand the trifecta of late summer, Blu-ray and family entertainment, but the Mouse
House has once again settled on August as the month du jour, unleashing another deluge of new releases. Four Walt Disney
Animation Studios feature films are making their BD debut -- Fun and Fancy Free (1947), The Adventures of
Ichabod and Mr. Toad (1949), Hercules (1997) and Tarzan (1999) -- as is the nearly forgotten RKO Radio
Pictures feature The Reluctant Dragon (1941), live-action classic Bedknobs and Broomsticks (1971), direct-to-
video DisneyToon movie Mickey, Donald, Goofy: The Three Musketeers (2004), brand spankin' new sequel Muppets
Most Wanted (2014) and DisneyNature's latest natural history documentary, Bears (2014). For those keeping
count, that's nine films spread across seven Blu-ray releases. (The Ichabod and Mr. Toad 2-Movie Collection is actually
a 3-Movie Collection, with The Reluctant Dragon buried inside.) Whew. Most studios would space it out. But Disney?
Open the floodgates, gentlemen. Given the second, sometimes third tier nature of most of the films, though (save
Muppets Most Wanted), it isn't exactly overwhelming. Most fans will pick and choose their favorites. Only a select few
completists will have to find a way to purchase all seven in bulk.
Tarzan is easily one of the best of the bunch. It isn't Aladdin -- come on, the one we're all waiting for -- but
it's still a terrifically fun, energetically animated adventure with much closer ties to the classics of the Disney Renaissance than
the films that dominated the erratic, ill-begotten era of Disney Animation that followed.
Tarzan's 1080p/AVC-encoded video presentation is a strange surprise, and not in a good way. Flawless at first glance, its five-star transfer quickly becomes a three to four-star remaster upon closer inspection. Why? Prevailing issues that, once seen, can't be unseen. Pay close attention to animal fur. See it? There, hidden in the browns, purples and grays of the gorillas... macroblocking. Next, allow your eye to drift to the line art. Catch it? The aliasing, the blink-and-you'll-miss-it pixilation. The intermittent banding, faint and infrequent as it is. Dig through the screenshots accompanying this review and you'll find examples of each. Viewers with smaller displays may only note slight flickering, and only on occasion, while those with larger displays will see the extent of the problems more clearly. (You may notice more or less of the anomalies depending on your video settings and television's noise/artifact filters. It's also important to mention they're more apparent in screenshots than in motion.) Thankfully, it all amounts to a minor eyesore. Not negligible, mind you, but relatively minor. Most of the film fares nicely, with bold splashes of color, vivid primaries, inky black levels and carefully balanced contrast. Detail is pretty striking as well, with (mostly) crisp line art and precisely resolved background textures. Significant ringing and other distractions are kept to a minimum, and there isn't too much to complain about. Too much. Had Disney eliminated -- or even noticed -- the aforementioned artifacts, this could have easily been a top tier animated presentation. As is, it falls short of a perfection fans will have to dream of a little while longer.
Rather than further remaster Tarzan to create a full-fledged 5.1 surround track, Disney has chosen to forgo LFE support and stick with a still-solid DTS-HD Master Audio 5.0 mix. The disappointment comes in realizing just how thunderous the film might have been with proper oomph; a disappointment that bubbles to the surface whenever Tarzan finds himself in battle or on the run. Fortunately, the rest of the track is remarkable enough to almost, almost make up for the lack of low-end power. Dialogue is clear, intelligible and believably ground amidst the action, drama and comedy. The rear speakers are a good deal of fun too, with a directional playfulness that makes jungle surfing, camp raiding, prison escapes and other adventures an enveloping experience. Phil Collins's songs and Mark Mancina's score also stream from the soundfield effortlessly, making for a full, immersive soundscape that's really quite engaging. All told, Disney's lossless track isn't all it could be, but it comes oh so close, which may as well be the tagline of the entire AV presentation.
Tarzan may be second tier Disney, but it's very close to the classics that came before and far better than many of the films released from 2000-08. Most consider it the final film in the Disney Renaissance, although the Renaissance is hardly an official era, no matter how much the studio embraces the label. Other movies aside, Tarzan remains a wondrous adventure that holds up extremely well, even some fifteen years after its release. Beautifully animated and full of memorable characters, big laughs and bigger heart, exciting action and sharp, clever uses of Burroughs' original stories. It isn't perfect, but then few are. Unfortunately, the same could be said of Tarzan's Blu-ray debut. The video presentation would be stunning... if it weren't for several minor issues. The lossless audio track would be outstanding... if it were a 5.1 mix rather than 5.0. The supplemental package would be incredibly insightful... if the studio had produced any new extras of substance. Don't misunderstand. This is by no means a release to avoid. Buy it. Enjoy it. Pull it off the shelf whenever the kids ask. Just don't expect perfection. You won't find any here.
1990
Diamond Edition
1967
1998
Peter Pan 2
2002
2003
2004
1970
Censored Version
2002
2006
1977
1981
Diamond Edition
1953
The Signature Collection
1994
50th Anniversary Edition
1963
1995
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2004
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1997