Tarzan

When I heard that there was a new Tarzan animated movie being released I was really quite excited because despite my love of big robots and monsters smashing things up and things going BOOM I do have a soft spot for Tarzan, I have fond childhood memories of running around with a tea towel loin cloth and a potato peeler shouting Ahhhh ah ahhhh!!!!!

But this, was poor... Very poor... and a little piece of my childhood feels violated :(

So, the animation is like something from an average quality PS3 game cut scene and is the style that I would expect to see on a kids TV show (although the motion capture was put to good use, the poor animation at least moves well).

The potentially interesting story was diluted to focus on nothing in particular.

There was (in my opinion) totally needless narration at certain points to tell you what was in front of your face.

If I didn't know any better I would have said that this was developed to promote a new range of dolls for girls (Jungle Barbie and long haired, loin clothed Ken?).

Save your money, watch something else or if you really want to watch an animated Tarzan look to Disney's offering which while being a little more childish trumps this one in EVERY way!

I have seen this movie today (the German version), and, honestly, I can't understand why this movie is getting such a poor rating on IMDb. Probably it's a misunderstanding: Many reviewers compare it to the Disney-version, and this is obviously nonsense: As it is the case with Disney's "Jungle Book", Disney's "Tarzan" has hardly any in common with the literary template. Disney's "Tarzan" is a movie for kids! This new version ... Well, I am afraid the director & author wasn't quite sure if he wanted to make a movie for kids or for grown-ups; this is one of the problems of this new version. It is certainly a more grown-up-version: There are no talking animals; there are people dying (offscreen, of course), and the mood is generally more somber. Okay, the SciFi-elements were not really necessary, and the evil corporation, yes, that's quite cliché. But all in all this version is much closer to the spirit of the books than the Disney-Version, and having a bit of nonsense in the plot, I think this is okay: There is a lot of nonsense in the books, too. And the animation is quite good; the 3D-effects are well done. If you don't take the plot too serious, you can have fun watching this movie!

The story of Tarzan of the Apes written by Edgar Rice Burroughs had been interpreted in many films since the 1930s. We all remember those classic films starring Johnny Weissmuller and Maureen O'Sullivan as Tarzan and Jane. In the 1980s, there was an acclaimed film version starring Christopher Lambert and Andie McDowall as the legendary couple. In the 1990s, Disney gave us its own take on the story in its traditional 2D animation with a pop musical score by Phil Collins.

I was very surprised that this year, another version was being announced on ads. I saw the name of Kellan Lutz, and thought this was a live action film, starring this Twilight actor who just recently took on another classic film character Hercules. It turns out this was another animated production, but using motion capture technology.

This incarnation of Tarzan gives the new generation an updated origin story. There is a comet from outer space that unscrupulous power companies are fighting over as an unlimited energy source. Instead of the shipwreck, we have a helicopter crash this time. The young Greystoke here was already a talking toddler rather than a newborn baby.

The whole first hour was rather bland and boring. There was a lot of scenes which were dedicated to the romance between Tarzan and Jane. Only later when the villain character Clayton makes his appearance, it was only then that the action picked up.

But by then, we can see that this version of Tarzan was very much influenced by the film "Avatar" with its environmental message, the layout of an army of technology, down to the rocky peaks in the setting. A hilarious modern day reference was the presence of a worker who was dressed like Bob the Builder.

The quality of animation is not at all bad, to be honest. The story though had already been told so many times, and the modern upgrades were too incredible and too familiarly derivative to accept. This is not essential viewing, only when you have restless kids and nothing else to see at the mall. Only an hour and half long, it will be enough to keep their interest. But afterwards, they will probably still remember the Disney version more.

I'll start by saying that I don't know why this movie is getting such bad reviews. I feel as if many people are comparing this to the Disney version and that's not fair. I say it's not fair, because a lot of people grew up with the Disney version. There was a review where the writer mentioned their childhood. Tarzan is an old story, which has been made into many different movies. Just because Disney Tarzan was part of your childhood, doesn't make it the best necessarily. Having been born in the early 90's myself, yes, I couldn't help but notice the resemblances and differences between this and the Disney version but I came into this telling myself to be open minded. And man, do you need to be open minded for this one. The adding of sci-fi in this probably threw off many people, but I found it interesting. In fact, the one thing that probably annoyed me in this movie was whether or not it was directed to adults or children. It definitely deals with more adult themes but they kept it primarily PG. There were times I wished they crossed that line and made it PG13. The graphics and animation is excellent. There were no musicals like Disney, which I liked. I also liked the humor in this, especially from Jane's character. The movie tugs on some emotions. I found myself saying "aww" a few times. Overall, different but enjoyable. I kind of hope they recreate another Disney movie. It'd be nice to have a different take on them given I think they did a good job modernizing this one.

Bad plot, awful human animations... in all a waste of my time.

Predictable story line you know all the things that will happen before they do. The mix some people are doing on topics is absurd... kind of the Cowboys and Aliens movie !! what a joke and here meteors, extinction of the dinosaurs, and Tarzan??

The other thing that was just enough for me was the gorilla behavior, even they seem to know how to use a knife (and the meaning of it for a kill) and to open a door... truly people?!!

This types of movies are a slap to your intellect... please do not waste your time like I did mine, hope producers and writers could give me back the hour I could stand of this nonsense.