Tarzan (1999)

Screen It! is not attempting to rate the movie as good or bad but to give parents the tools to decide whether it's appropriate for their kids.

This movie has been screened for objectional content in 15 areas. Click for a detailed look.

OUR WORD TO PARENTS: Here's a quick look at the content found in this G-rated, animated film. As in other similar films, some adventurous, suspenseful and menacing scenes may be a little (or a lot) unsettling or frightening to some kids, all dependent, of course, on their age, level of maturity and tolerance for such material. During those, some violence occurs (fighting with animals and/or humans), and several animal and human characters are killed (although the actual deaths are not directly seen). Some of that leads to tense family scenes as family members are among those victims. Beyond all of that and the material directly related to such violent/suspenseful/scary scenes (including bad attitudes from the villain), the rest of the film's categories have little or nothing in the way of major objectionable content. Nonetheless, should you still be concerned about the film's appropriateness for anyone in your home, we suggest that you more closely examine the listed content. Of special note for those concerned with repetitive flashes of light, during a sequence where Tarzan watches a slide-show, some brief moments of this occur as the slides are rapidly advanced causing some full screen flashes.

QUICK TAKE:: Children's/Animated: Orphaned as an infant and then discovered and raised by jungle gorillas, a young man must deal with the differences between himself and his primate family and friends as well as the eventual arrival of other humans in his jungle paradise.

WILL KIDS WANT TO SEE IT?: Of course -- especially if they're fans of other animated Disney films.

WHY THE MPAA RATED IT: G: For not containing material to warrant a higher rating.

CAST AS ROLE MODELS:: While it's questionable whether kids view animated characters, particularly non-humans, as role models, here goes:
TARZAN is a likeable young man who just so happens to have been raised as an ape by his adoptive gorilla family. Occasionally a bit rambunctious, he breaks his "father's" rules when he associates with the recently arrived humans and then brings them to his gorilla family.
JANE is a proper, British young lady who wishes to see the world and sketch native wildlife.
CLAYTON is a scheming "great white hunter" type who wants to either kill or capture the gorillas and receive a generous bounty for each.
KALA is Tarzan's caring gorilla mother who only wants the best for him.
KERCHAK is the stern leader of the gorilla family who tries to protect them from various dangers, such as a ferocious leopard and some newly arrived humans.
TERK is Tarzan's best friend, a playful young gorilla with whom he was raised.; TARZAN is a likeable young man who just so happens to have been raised as an ape by his adoptive gorilla family. Occasionally a bit rambunctious, he breaks his "father's" rules when he associates with the recently arrived humans and then brings them to his gorilla family.
JANE is a proper, British young lady who wishes to see the world and sketch native wildlife.
CLAYTON is a scheming "great white hunter" type who wants to either kill or capture the gorillas and receive a generous bounty for each.
KALA is Tarzan's caring gorilla mother who only wants the best for him.
KERCHAK is the stern leader of the gorilla family who tries to protect them from various dangers, such as a ferocious leopard and some newly arrived humans.
TERK is Tarzan's best friend, a playful young gorilla with whom he was raised.; JANE is a proper, British young lady who wishes to see the world and sketch native wildlife.
CLAYTON is a scheming "great white hunter" type who wants to either kill or capture the gorillas and receive a generous bounty for each.
KALA is Tarzan's caring gorilla mother who only wants the best for him.
KERCHAK is the stern leader of the gorilla family who tries to protect them from various dangers, such as a ferocious leopard and some newly arrived humans.
TERK is Tarzan's best friend, a playful young gorilla with whom he was raised.; CLAYTON is a scheming "great white hunter" type who wants to either kill or capture the gorillas and receive a generous bounty for each.
KALA is Tarzan's caring gorilla mother who only wants the best for him.
KERCHAK is the stern leader of the gorilla family who tries to protect them from various dangers, such as a ferocious leopard and some newly arrived humans.
TERK is Tarzan's best friend, a playful young gorilla with whom he was raised.; KALA is Tarzan's caring gorilla mother who only wants the best for him.
KERCHAK is the stern leader of the gorilla family who tries to protect them from various dangers, such as a ferocious leopard and some newly arrived humans.
TERK is Tarzan's best friend, a playful young gorilla with whom he was raised.; KERCHAK is the stern leader of the gorilla family who tries to protect them from various dangers, such as a ferocious leopard and some newly arrived humans.
TERK is Tarzan's best friend, a playful young gorilla with whom he was raised.; TERK is Tarzan's best friend, a playful young gorilla with whom he was raised.

ALCOHOL OR DRUG USE: Minor: Clayton pours himself and Tarzan some wine, but Tarzan doesn't drink any of it.

BLOOD/GORE: Minor: We see bloody paw prints in a tree house.
Kala adversely reacts to the smell of Tarzan's diaper.

Sabor the leopard has a bloody scratch on his shoulder while Tarzan has slightly bloody scratch marks on his chest.
After hearing a gunshot in the distance, Tantor says, "It wasn't me, I swear" (a flatulence joke).

DISRESPECTFUL/BAD ATTITUDE: Heavy: Although he's only doing what nature intended, kids will see Sabor the leopard as having both for killing several characters.
Clayton has both for wanting either to kill or capture the gorillas and ends up manipulating and then double crossing Jane and her father to do the latter.
Tarzan doesn't follow Kerchak's rules and brings other humans to their gorilla family (nearly resulting in disaster).

FRIGHTENING SCENES: *Heavy: Depending on a child's age, level of maturity and tolerance for such material, the following may or may not be unsettling and/or frightening to them.
A musical montage that opens the film has elements that may be unsettling or frightening to some kids. During it, we see Tarzan's human parents jumping from a burning ship as it sinks and Sabor then menacing the gorillas and taking and killing Kala's baby (although the latter is implied).
As Kala cautiously goes through a tree house following a baby's crying, some suspenseful music plays and we see bloody paw prints on the floor. After a moment or so, Sabor shows up and then attacks and chases Kala in a very menacing fashion. During this, the infant Tarzan nearly rolls off the treetop platform and Sabor goes after him. Kala then reaches down through some planking trying to reach Tarzan as the leopard approaches in another close-call encounter. That ends with Kala and Tarzan falling a great distance from the tree (but both are okay in this minute or so long sequence that's accompanied by suspenseful music).

An elephant stampede (that starts off as a funny scene) where they nearly run over and/or step on the gorillas may be suspenseful to some kids.
During a musical montage (with no scary music), several crocodiles snap at Tarzan, but he easily eludes their attempts (and this is very brief). The same holds true moments later for a large snake that Tarzan similarly eludes (where the snake ends up in knots).
As suspenseful music plays, Sabor the leopard returns and attacks Kerchak who falls to the ground. As the leopard circles him and prepares to attack, Tarzan swings in and kicks him away. Sabor then tries to attack Tarzan who defends himself with a spear (both have slightly bloody wounds). Tarzan then loses the blade from his spear and Sabor really comes after him. As Tarzan tries to get that blade, the two then fall into a hole and Tarzan eventually emerges (after a pregnant pause), carrying the dead leopard (the fatal blow is not seen).
We hear some gunshots echoing off in the distance.
A large group of menacing looking baboons chase Jane through the jungle in a several minute sequence where one even bites on her shoe that then falls to the ground below her. Tarzan then initially saves her, but must continue to elude the pursuing monkeys and avoid huge falling branches that nearly hit them.
Clayton tries to shoot Tarzan, but Jane knocks his shotgun aside just in time as it fires.
Some evil men (working for Clayton) have taken over the boat and grab Jane and her father. Jane bites one of them on the arm, Tarzan falls from a distance to the deck, Clayton holds his gun on him and then hits Tarzan in the gut with it. We then see that Tarzan and company are being held in the ship's bowels.

As suspenseful music plays throughout, Clayton's subordinates arrive in the jungle and chase and capture the gorillas with nets after firing flares into the air that give the scene a reddish hue. Clayton then prepares to shoot the captured Kerchak, but Tarzan knocks him down. Kerchak and Tantor then hit various men, and a man holds a spear to Terk, but Tantor grabs him by the neck.
Jane then knocks down some people and is nearly attacked from behind, but Tarzan then knocks out that man. A shot is then fired that grazes Tarzan's arm and another shot is fired and we see Kerchak fall to the ground mortally wounded. Clayton fires at Tarzan again, Jane briefly struggles with him and Clayton then knocks her to the ground apparently unconscious. Tarzan and Clayton then fight with the former kicking the latter and then holding the shotgun on him. Clayton then pulls out a knife (as a thunderstorm rages), the two struggle some more, and as Clayton tries to cut himself free from some vines, ends up falling and being hanged from one of them (we don't see the actual death, but do see the shadow of him hanging from the vine during several flashes of lightning).

GUNS/WEAPONS: Moderate: Spear: Occasionally carried and used by Tarzan to fight and eventually kill Sabor (the latter isn't directly seen) and briefly used by a man to threaten Terk.

Shotgun: Carried by Clayton and used to shoot at nearly anything that moves in the jungle and in particular at the gorillas.
Shotgun: Seen on the floor of a tree house with spent shells nearby.
Knife: Used by Clayton to threaten Tarzan during a fight.

IMITATIVE BEHAVIOR: Mild: Phrases: "Freaky," "Idiot" and "Shut your trunk."
One of Terk's gorilla friends makes another one punch himself by repeatedly moving his arm.
Terk and her gorilla pals tell a young Tarzan that he has to pull a hair off an elephant to be able to hang out with them. While kids obviously won't have access to elephants, they may require the task to involve the family or neighbor dog or cat.
In an impromptu musical number, Terk and her friends make music (or follow the beat of the song) by breaking things (dishes, etc...) in the humans' camp.

JUMP SCENES: None: None.

MUSIC (SCARY/TENSE): Heavy: A heavy amount of suspenseful music plays during several scenes and sequences in the film.

MUSIC (INAPPROPRIATE): None: None.

PROFANITY: None: None.

SEX/NUDITY: None: None.

SMOKING: Minor: Clayton briefly walks along with a pipe in his mouth.

TENSE FAMILY SCENES: Moderate: Although it occurs off camera, Sabor kills Kala's baby and she and others briefly grieve. Later, Kerchak tells Kala that Tarzan won't replace their dead baby and she says that she knows that. He then adds that Tarzan can stay, but will never be his son.
Although the infant who later becomes Tarzan is completely unaware, we see that his parents have been killed in their tree house (we only see their legs sticking out).
When Tarzan is a young boy, Kerchak tells him that he'll never "be one of us."
Tarzan asks Kala why she didn't inform him that there were others like him in the world. She then later takes him back to his human family's tree house where he sees a picture of his human parents.
Kerchak is mad at Tarzan, telling him that he asked him to protect their family, but ended up betraying them (by bringing the humans to their family).
Tarzan and the rest of his family watch as Kerchak dies (from a gunshot wound).

TOPICS TO TALK ABOUT: Mild: Whether Tarzan should have stayed with his gorilla family or returned with the other humans.
That even Tarzan felt like an outcast (wondering why he was different from his family, etc...).

VIOLENCE: Heavy: Although it occurs off camera, Sabor kills Kala's baby. Likewise, Kala later sees that the leopard has killed Tarzan's human parents (we only see legs sticking out inside their tree house).
Sabor then attacks and chases after Kala.
Sabor the leopard returns and attacks Kerchak who falls to the ground. As the leopard circles him and prepares to attack, Tarzan swings in and kicks him away. Sabor then tries to attack Tarzan who defends himself with a spear (both have slightly bloody wounds). Tarzan then loses the blade from his spear and Sabor really comes after him. As Tarzan tries to get that blade, the two then fall into a hole and Tarzan eventually emerges (after a pregnant pause), carrying the dead leopard (the fatal blow is not seen).
Clayton fires several shotgun blasts when he hears something in the jungle (that nearly hit Tarzan).
When Tarzan innocently starts to lift Jane's dress (since he's never seen one), she reactively kicks him in the face and sends him falling backwards.
Terk and her friends start breaking things in the humans' camp (because they don't know any better and to make music by breaking dishes, etc...).
Clayton tries to shoot Tarzan, but Jane knocks his shotgun aside just in time as it fires.

Kerchak charges at Clayton who fires at him but misses. Tarzan then struggles with Kerchak to stop him from attacking (and trying to defend his gorilla family).
Terk slaps Tantor on the foot for making them miss saying goodbye to Tarzan.
Some evil men (working for Clayton) have taken over the boat and grab Jane and her father. Jane bites one of them on the arm, Tarzan falls from a distance to the deck, Clayton holds his gun on him and then hits Tarzan in the gut with it. Later, Terk and Tantor come to rescue and Tantor knocks many of these men aside.
As suspenseful music plays throughout, Clayton's subordinates arrive in the jungle and chase and capture the gorillas with nets after firing flares into the air that give the scene a reddish hue. Clayton then prepares to shoot the captured Kerchak, but Tarzan knocks him down. Kerchak and Tantor then hit various men, and a man holds a spear to Terk, but Tantor grabs him by the neck.
Jane then knocks down some people and is nearly attacked from behind, but Tarzan then knocks out that man. A shot is then fired that grazes Tarzan's arm and another shot is fired and we see Kerchak fall to the ground mortally wounded. Clayton fires at Tarzan again, Jane briefly struggles with him and Clayton then knocks her to the ground apparently unconscious. Tarzan and Clayton then fight with the former kicking the latter and then holding the shotgun on him. Clayton then pulls out a knife (as a thunderstorm rages), the two struggle some more, and as Clayton tries to cut himself free from some vines, ends up falling and being hanged from one of them (we don't see the actual death, but do see the shadow of him hanging from the vine during several flashes of lightning).