Disney Plus has a huge back catalogue of the Mouse House’s biggest and best movies, and they’re adding more all the time. Case in point: this coming week will see the arrival of 1999’s Tarzan on the streaming service for the first time, as well as its sequel, Tarzan II.
Based on the novels by Edgar Rice Burroughs, Tarzan stars Tony Goldwyn as the legendary Ape-Man, a human orphan raised by gorillas in the depths of the African rainforest. Minnie Driver plays Jane Porter, the English explorer who discovers Tarzan and his tribe along with her father Professor Archimedes Q. Porter (Nigel Hawthorne). Also on board are Brian Blessed as John Clayton, the blood-thirsty hunter, and Glenn Close and Lance Henriksen, who voice Tarzan’s adoptive gorilla parents.
Considered the final film of the so-called Disney Renaissance era (1989-99), Tarzan was also the last movie for a while to earn Disney a major haul at the box office. Phil Collins’ songs were widely acclaimed, too, earning him an Academy Award, Golden Globe and a Grammy. As with many other Disney retellings, it has to be the most popular and well-known adaptation of the character to modern audiences.
Less well-known is Tarzan II, the direct-to-video 2005 sequel, which takes place within the storyline of the first film, expanding on young Tarzan’s adventures as he grows up in the jungle. It’s not a patch on the original, of course, but it’s still pretty enjoyable and worth sticking on after you’ve watched the first one to make for a nice double-feature.
Of course, Disney is now working on a live-action Tarzan remake, with the likes of Chris Pratt and Ryan Reynolds being eyed for the title role. First up, though, we’ve got The Little Mermaid, Hercules and Peter Pan, but it looks like Tarzan will be swinging back to cinemas soon and in the meantime, you can catch the original animated films on Disney Plus from this Friday, June 26th.
