After countless movie and television adaptations of Edgar Rice Burroughs' classic novel 'Tarzan', here we go again with yet another Tarzan movie. This time Walt Disney has released the first full-length animated feature of the legendary Lord of the Apes. Now we can once more look forward to seeing our favorite loinclothed hero swinging his way through the jungle and getting our ears blasted by the famous Tarzan yell. When my editor asked me to review this movie, I was groaning inside because movie fan that I am, I don't usually watch cartoons or animated movies. Would you believe that I still haven't seen 'Beauty And The Beast' and 'The Lion King', two of Disney's most famous animated movies? (I can hear gasps of horror and disbelief.) Yes, hard as it is, I have to admit its true. So, a word of warning, you are getting this review from someone whose knowledge of cartoons is almost nil.

'Tarzan' is directed by Chris Buck and Kevin Lima whose credits include 'Beauty And The Beast', 'The Little Mermaid' and 'The Lion King'. The movie's producer is Bonnie Arnold (Toy Story) and stars such as Glenn Close (Paradise Road, Air Force One), Minnie Driver (Good Will Hunting), Rosie O'Donnell (Sleepless In Seattle, A League Of Their Own) and Nigel Hawthorne (Amistad) lend their voices for this animated feature. Phil Collins has written five songs for 'Tarzan' and the musical score is performed by Mark Mancina, who composed music for 'Speed', 'Twister' and 'Con Air'. With such a bevy of talents combining together, 'Tarzan' can reasonably be expected to be more than just your average cartoon.

The story has been changed a little. Here, Tarzan's parents are shipwrecked instead of being involved in a plane crash. They make it safely to shore and build a treehouse. However, Sabor the leopard has other plans and thus baby Tarzan is left orphaned. Kala (voiced by Glenn Close), a female gorilla, finds Tarzan and adopts him as her own over the protestations of Kerchak (voiced by Lance Henriksen), the leader of the gorillas. Tarzan (voiced by Tony Goldwyn) grows up and starts wondering why he looks so different from others. His questions are soon answered by the arrival of Professor Porter (voiced by Nigel Hawthorne) and his daughter, Jane (voiced by Minnie Driver).

Here, Disney has decided to explore a side of Tarzan never seen before, that is, Tarzan's relationship with his gorilla family. It is interesting to see how Tarzan struggles to fit in with his gorilla family. Also, Tarzan's coming-of-age phase is made even more turbulent with the arrival of other humans, with the result that Tarzan feels even more torn between his gorilla family and his human nature. And things are not helped by Kerchak's continuous rejection of Tarzan. Since I had always thought that Tarzan grew up happily with his gorilla family, this variation in the Tarzan really grabbed my attention! Kudos to Disney for coming up with a theme that's new and refreshing.

The real scene-stealers in 'Tarzan' have got to be Terk (voiced by Rosie O'Donnell), Tarzan's childhood friend and Tantor (voiced by Wayne Knight), a neurotic elephant. Terk is a playful gorilla who's always getting into scrapes, inevitably dragging Tarzan along with her. With Rosie O'Donnell making wisecracks, Terk is a character that's hilarious to watch. Tantor, on the other hand, is prone to nervousness and is easily intimidated by things such as bacteria! He provides a bundle of laughs but ends up surprising everyone in the end. The villain here appears in the form of Clayton (voiced by Brian Blessed), an animal hunter who's been hired as a guide to Professor Porter. He has a bad attitude, particularly towards animals and in the end, he reveals his true plans for Tarzan and his family.