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Title: Tarzan
Release Date: June 18th, 1999
Voice Cast: Tony Goldwyn, Minnie Driver, Rosie O'Donnell, Glenn Close, Brian Blessed
Plot: A feral child, Tarzan, is raised by gorillas in the wild jungles of Africa. He has two primary friends, Terk and Tantor, a gorilla and an elephant respectively. He is close to his mother, Kala, but is resented by Kala's husband, Kerchak, who believes Tarzan does not belong amongst them. One day, three British explorers arrive in the jungle to study the gorillas. They are Professor Archimedes Porter, his daughter, Jane, and their bodyguard, Clayton. Tarzan meets them after saving Jane, and they teach him how to be human while Tarzan and Jane build a relationship. Through these bonds, Tarzan brings the three closer to his home-- but Clayton has disastrous intentions.
Review: The Disney Renaissance is a curious thing to me. It is supposed to be the second golden age of Disney animation, but I feel differently. Most people note Tarzan as the last film of this era, which is particularly why I initially chose to have it as the last film I reviewed.
But on to the good stuff. I walked away from Tarzan, honestly, not knowing what impression it landed on me. There were plenty of goods and an interesting bad, but I don't feel it deserves a "Hakuna Matata" for whatever reason. I think what I enjoyed most about it was its unpredictability. In nearly every moment, I could not tell you where the story was going in five minutes or fifty. And that's what makes me want to watch a film, especially in animation. That's what kept it going for me.
I can't help but compare Tarzan to the early Renaissance film The Lion King. It's the easiest way to describe and evaluate the setting and soundtrack of this movie. If you recalled, I praised those elements of The Lion King on high. This is not to purposely make negative comments about this film's setting or score by creating high standards. Let me just say this: both elements play entirely different roles then they did in The Lion King. In L.K., they had a synchronicity that created for an overall foreground motif that was extraordinary. Here, they take back seats, but these back seats are leather massage chairs. The intricate setting was amusing in its own right. More specifically, watching Tarzan weave his way through streams of vines and trees gives you a feeling of "I wanna do that!". The soundtrack, composed by the legend Phil Collins, was a heartfelt, semi-narrational cushion for the story to lean on at the appropriate times. And to my surprise, it worked in 1999.
There's only one negative, and it isn't as defined; it's more conceptual. I realized a difference between Disney Renaissance films and Golden/Silver Age films. I cannot deny that Disney has reduced its demographic to almost completely children. Think about it. Who enjoyed such works as Snow White, Cinderella, or even Pinocchio? Now, they werent films meant for adults, but they were at least meant for everyone. I feel that since the 70s and 80s, Disney has been shifting gears. Honestly, if it weren't for Phil Collins, how many adults would care for the childish humor that is found nearly everywhere in this movie?
Oh well. Y'know what? I'll give it the benefit of the doubt.
Under the Sea (Darling, It's Better!)
Title: Mulan
Release Date: June 19th, 1998
Voice Cast: Ming-Na, Eddie Murphy, B.D. Wong, Miguel Ferrer
Recap: The Huns, led by Shan Yu, have invaded Imperial China. Mulan, a young Chinese woman, cannot seem to find her place in life after repeatedly dishonoring her family. In order to stop her weak father for going to fight for China, she goes in his place, disguised as a man. She is soon accompanied by Mushu, a petite dragon who claims to be sent by Mulan's ancestors. With Mushu's help, she impresses Captain Li Shang and becomes an excellent soldier. However, her position as a woman compromises her stance in the army, and it soon becomes a major issue.
Review: Mulan starts off well. There's an intriguing plot set-up, a few chuckles here and there, and already a star song. Unfortunately, the rest of the film treads on dangerous water, approaching complete dullness though, luckily, never quite reaching it.
No, the rest of the film isn't just bad. It's just par compared to the beginning's birdie, which promises a potentially great film. The excellent comedic timing fades away, and the humor falls flat throughout the middle of the movie. Eddie Murphy's performance is slightly funny, but nowhere near as good as his other work in animation.
The soundtrack remains steady for the most part. It's a risky move to put the best song in the beginning "Reflection" has a heart-grabbing chorus with a melody the likes of "Part of Your World" from The Little Mermaid. "Honor to Us All", also in the beginning, makes an efficient musical filler-song, and "I'll Make a Man out Of You" does contain a surprising deal of excitement.
It's the screenplay that breaks the film-- the speed, namely. Certain scenes are two or three times the length they need to be. In the big picture, the story works, just not when broken down. Thank God the feminist motif was always there to add some uniqueness.
In all fairness, I wasn't disappointed by Mulan-- just disappointed with the introduction implied. If you haven't seen it, I'd recommend it only as an "okay" film.
Hakuna Matata (It Means 'No Worries!')
Title: Hercules
Release Date: June 27th, 1997
Voice Cast: Tate Donavan, James Woods, Susan Egan, Danny DeVito, Rip Torn
Recap: Strait from Roman/Greek mythology, Hercules is the story of a demigod (the son of Zeus and Hera) who at a young age was adopted by two humans after Hades made an unknowingly unsuccessful attempt on his life. In his life on Earth, Hercules finds himself to be socially awkward due to his superhuman strength. He finally learns the truth of his parents, and goes to Zeus to become a god. Zeus sends him to Philoctetes, a retired trainer of heroes. Philoctetes finally agrees to help him, and the two set out to make themselves known. Enter Megara, a damsel in distress who is actually a servant of Hades. Hercules saves Megara, who then informs Hades that Hercules is well alive. Hades uses everything in his power to stop Hercules so that he can take over Mount Olympus, but soon Meg refuses to help him after falling in love with Hercules. That is when Hades realizes that Hercules' true weakness is none other than Meg herself.
Review: I don't know if you knew this, but Hercules was what prompted this project in the first place. I watched it back in June and thought it was so wonderful that I wanted to watch more Disney movies. 3 months later (unfortunately), here we are. So you already know this is going to be a good review.
I suppose I should start by saying that I love Greek/Roman mythology when simply compacted. Hercules is the epitome of great story-telling, and I could watch myth-based Disney movies like this to no end. What I love most is the modern twist Disney throws into the film, particularly in characters like Megara and Philoctetes (gotta love Danny DeVito). But the best part about the modernization of this story is not the characters.
Did you guess it? The music. Oh, oh, oh, the music. Plain in simple: "I Won't Say (I'm In Love)" is my favorite Disney pop song before. It's wonderfully composed, beautifully sung, and packed with romance. The Muses as back-up singers are delightful, not just in this song but in the score motif. "Go the Distance" is terrific, too. As is everything else, of course! Which is odd, considering most don't consider Danny DeVito to be too musical. (Gotta pay the troll toll... who'll catch that reference?)
In short, Hercules is flawless, and can be enjoyed by all. (Awwwwwwwwwwww.) It's good to see a good Renaissance film given the last two disappointments. I just hope the three that are left can be as good!
Under the Sea (Darling, It's Better!)
Title: The Hunchback of Notre Dame
Release Date: June 21st, 1996
Voice Cast: Tom Hulce, Demi Moore, Tony Jay, Kevin Kline
Recap: In 15th century Paris, a disfigured bellringer, Quasimodo, lives a lonely, blissfully ignorant life in the famous Notre Dame Cathedral. His master is Judge Claude Frollo, a vicious man who is adamant about keeping Quasimodo away from the rest of the world as well as eliminating the gypsies from Paris. One of these gypsies, Esmeralda, befriends Quasimodo along with one of Frollo's sympathetic knights, Phoebus. Pheobus and Quasimodo team up to save Esmeralda from Frollo, but there is a conflict of interest-- both have a romantic interest for her.
And here's the kicker: Frollo's got a little thing for her too.
Review: This is probably the most difficult review I've ever written. Even the recap was challenging to write, and I'll tell you why. Well, I'll try to explain to you why. My thoughts are so jumbled on this film that it's near impossible to judge what needs to be judged.
I think that is, in part, due to the fact that the story is all over the place. I couldn't stop and analyze one element of the movie because within moments a whole new element took over and the old one was abandoned. So I suppose that means style is all over the place too. But here's the thing: I didn't hate any of it, or dislike any of it significantly.
In fact, I don't think I was moved in either direction by what was going on in the film. Sure, I could pick out a few things if necessary. For example, I didn't care for the character of Quasimodo. Now, before you start going off on some notion of prejudice, let me say this: the abuse of Quasimodo is so dark that I felt uneasy watching it. And since we're heading in THAT direction, I might as well say the whole film is like a dark opera. Just listen to the motif in the score. And the song "Hellfire" would give me a nightmare or two if I was a kid.
I absolutely loved one thing about this film, though. It's not something most people would notice, but I sure did. The character Phoebus-- I urge you to go to another Disney film and pick a character who has a role like his. All the love stories are the same: a guy and a girl, usually against the world. Phoebus was an interesting spin into the work; he got the girl, and he's not the protagonist. Of course, I can't thank Disney for that. (Hats off to Victor Hugo.)
Diving into the idosyncrasies, I'll just give you some brief grades:
Music: C- Very, very disappointing except for the angry opera motif in the score, which was badass.
Animation: A It's a Disney Renaissance film for goodness sake. As darkness goes, this has got scenery nailed.
Story: B- Detail was a problem. Overall, it was pretty great. But when you break it down, it gets messy.
Characters: B Phoebus!!!
Voice Acting: C+ I give props to Jason Alexander and Tony Jay.
So uh, yeah. I can't be sure if I liked or disliked this film. And as I believe, when in doubt, aim for the middle.
Hakuna Matata (It Means 'No Worries!')
I know the few reading this would be a slightly happier if I had better news for them than: school takes up a lot of time, did you know? I see now why my original deadline (p.s. screw deadlines) was the day before school started. So uh, yeah. We're seeing a rapid decline in review writes, and I only have a few more to go.
Again, I am happy with what I did. Despite not doing what I want with this blog, I did the minimum necessary for myself to be satisfied/entertained. It's allllll about entertainment.
Title: Tarzan
Under the Sea (Darling, It's Better!)
