87 'Tarzan' Facts Know About Your Favorite Characters!

When 'Tarzan' was released on June 18, 1999, it breathed new life into one of the most legendary characters ever conceived.

Disney's 37th animated picture brought the world's most famous ape-man to life like never before, thanks to the magic of Disney animation. 'Tarzan' tells the story of an abandoned child nurtured by a family of gorillas.

Tarzan grows up to be a young man with the senses of a jungle creature and the physical skills of an athlete. While pointing out various flaws in the 'Tarzan' books as fictional works, novelist Gore Vidal praised Burroughs for creating a captivating 'daydream figure' in a 1963 commentary on the 'Tarzan' series.

In the novel, Tarzan's parents, Lord and Lady Greystoke are likewise Lord and Lady Greystoke. 

Despite this, there are still many unknown facts regarding this near-mythic figure. The classic novels are chock-full of fascinating and odd elements that have rarely been seen in other forms of media.

With the release of 'The Legend of Tarzan' in July 2016 and many other movies made on the character, we felt it would be a wonderful opportunity to revisit Tarzan as he looked in the original novels.

The earliest 'Tarzan' films were silent movies based on the classic 'Tarzan' novels, released within a few years after the character was created. In the 1918 picture 'Tarzan of the Apes', Elmo Lincoln played the adult Tarzan for the first time.

Fun Facts About 'Tarzan'

It is inspired by Edgar Rice Burroughs' 'Tale Tarzan of the Apes', Walt Disney Animations developed it. Buena Vista Pictures Distribution and Walt Disney Pictures distributed it to theaters in 1999. It is sometimes regarded as the Disney Renaissance's final significant movie box-office hit.

Tarzan was granted a $130 million budget. It was the most costly animated picture ever created at the time. Chris Buck and  Kevin Lima directed the film.

Since Pocahontas, it was the first Disney animated film to open in top place at the North American ticket sales. Brian Blessed provides the trademark 'Tarzan shout.' Clayton, the film's villain, was voiced by Blessed.

While sliding down the tree trunk, Tarzan's body motions were inspired by Tony Hawk, a prominent skateboarder. Jane's impassioned statement to her father and Clayton, regarding seeing Tarzan for the first time, was mostly improvised by Minnie Driver. Phil Collins was selected to compose the music to break away from Disney's conventional show-tune formula.

Glen Keanes' child was a big surfer and skateboarder, so he integrated such activities into Tarzan. Tarzan gained the ability to slide through the jungle trees instead of swinging on vines due to this. The performance of Rosie O'Donnell, as Terk, fulfilled a lifelong ambition to voice a character in a Disney film.

Professor Jane and Porter promise to transport Tarzan to England to meet Queen Victoria, Rudyard Kipling, and Charles Darwin. Charles Darwin died in 1882 when a 17-year-old Rudyard Kipling graduated from college and went to India with a manuscript yet to be released.

'Tarzan' was the last Walt Disney Animation Studios film to receive an Academy Award, until 'Paperman' won the Best Animated Feature in 2012. Terk is the only character whose voice actor is the same for her juvenile and adult selves.

Tarzan may stare the gorillas in the eyes, especially Kerchak, although in actual situations, gorillas perceive human eye contact as a danger and may attack. Lance Henriksen was selected as Kerchak because the producers believed that his broad, gruff accent was the only one capable of filling the character's enormous stature.

Glenn Close had previously lent his voice to Andie MacDowell for 'Greystoke: The Legend of Tarzan, Lord of the Apes', which was released in 1984. It is the first Tarzan movie with a single-word title. Tarzan and Jane are both barefoot for most of the film.

If you look attentively in the forest before Sabor assaults Tarzan and the gorillas, you may see Sabor disguised into the jungle's environment. When one of the gorillas examines Clayton's rifle, he lifts it and glances down the barrel in the same manner as one of the monkeys in Disneyland's Jungle Cruise.

Harrison Ford was also kept in mind to voice Kerchak's character. Tarzan can knuckle walk, but humans have not evolved to move on all fours; thus, this should be inconceivable.

Two monkeys imitate the bump-bump stride seen in the classic Disney short 'In The Bag' from 1956 during the destruction of the camp sequence. A parody of Tarzan's directing animator Glen Keane is the henchman who catches Jane on the boat and gets bitten by her. Samuel was the name of the character.

In the wild, jaguars seldom live past the age of 15; therefore, Sabor, who was an adult while he slaughtered Tarzan's parents, would've been unlikely to face Tarzan as an adult. Tarzan's combat with Sabor is symbolic as lightning strikes in the background.

Tarzan is constantly in the shade when he is protected from Sabor, yet he is out of the shadow once he is exposed. As evidenced by this, the gorillas were secure in their shaded and isolated tree nests.

Disney released the second two-disc Collectors Edition DVD with this film. Jane Porter was a role that Laura Linney auditioned for. When Tarzan overcomes Sabor, he hands the body over to Kerchak and places it on the ground, but the body vanishes shortly later.

Clayton is the ninth villain to die in the Disney universe, and his death sequence is one of the most gruesome in Disney cartoon history.

The freight ship was planned to set Tarzan and Clayton's climactic combat sequence. Clayton was intended to perish in a riverboat explosion at first. However, as seen at the moment where Tarzan tries to flee from the henchman, the animators realize he had lost his touch aboard the freight ship.

During the film, Kerchak, Kala, and Tarzan are also hurt. As a result, Tarzan is the deadliest Disney movie. Tarzan did not shed a single tear throughout Kerchak's death scene. It's one of the earliest non-antagonist deaths in which no sorrow is expressed.

In addition, the background of the Walt Disney Pictures introductory emblem changes to a jungle when the movie starts playing. Tarzan must not know any human languages because he has spent his whole existence in the jungle, yet he enunciates his name in English when he first encounters Jane and tries to speak with her.

The Legend Of Tarzan

The major fictitious character is Tarzan. Edgar Rice Burroughs used him in several works. Burroughs originally wrote 'Tarzan' in 1912. 'Tarzan of the Apes' was the title of the book. Tarzan's father was a lord from England who perished in the African jungle. Baby Tarzan was abandoned in the wild.

Tarzan is one of the characters in Hollywood history that has the most appearances in films, he appeared in 47 films. Disney accomplished a long-held desire of Edgar Rice Burroughs, who penned 'Tarzan of the Apes' around 1912 by making the first Tarzan animated picture.

The author explored animation as soon as 1936 to bring his hero to life on film more accurately. He remarked, 'The cartoon must be good', picturing an animated ape-man.

'It has to be on par with Disney quality'. In 1995, Disney animator Kevin Lima was approached to make an animated Tarzan film.

Glen Keane oversaw a team of 13 figure animators in Disney Animation's Paris Division as Tarzan's supervising animator. The directors were concerned that Tarzan would be depicted as a 'surfing man', but they agreed when Keane showed them his test animation. As a result, Gordon Scott recorded three episodes for a potential TV show in 1958. 

What would Tarzan actually look like?

Tarzan had the power of a great ape and the superior brain and combat skills of a human. Gorillas are reported to be four to nine times more powerful than humans, depending on how you define them.

Furthermore, he had the power of a man his size, age, and weight who exercised intensely regularly when he was in his prime.

Tarzan's musculature was consulted by a professor of anatomy recruited by Disney animators. The roles of Clayton were contemplated for Patrick Stewart as well as Ian McKellen. One of the reasons that animation was selected to depict Tarzan's narrative was that it was the ideal medium for capturing the character's sinuous and animal-like qualities.

Deep Canvas was a brand-new Disney technique developed just for Tarzan. It enabled the seamless integration of 2D hand-drawn characters into a fully 3D scene. While still working by Disney, John Lassetter of Pixar recommended the adoption of Deep Canvas.

Does Tarzan Have A Kid?

His true name is never mentioned in the film. Instead, Tarzan and Jane have a son called Korak, also recognized as John 'Jack' Paul Clayton III or  Jack Clayton, who appears in the novel. Korak does not appear in Disney's Tarzan, and Jane and Tarzan have no offspring.

Jane is, of course, Tarzan's girlfriend. Tarzan's fictitious experiences among the apes led a true Jane, Jane Goodall, to dedicate her life to researching primates in the jungle when she found the character while she was 11 years old.

What Is Tarzan's Real Name?

As per Burroughs' 'Tarzan, Lord of the Jungle', Tarzan is the ape-name for John Clayton, Viscount Greystoke.

Tarzan has been translated from the novel several times and is only second to Dracula in terms of adaptations. Phil Collins composed the soundtracks for the English, Spanish, French, German, and Italian language adaptations.

The perceived depth of the water fluctuates drastically when the young Tarzan is attempting to pull a hair off an elephant's tail. Tarzan's cousin is William Cecil Clayton, the figure of the book on whom the movie Clayton is partially based.

All of the performers that played gorillas also produced their own gorilla vocal sounds for their performances. Dust was included in a Disney picture for the third time.

Lemurs are spotted in the bush nearby during the song scene 'You'll Be in My Heart,' yet Lemurs are actually only found in Madagascar. Six key and ancillary individuals make up Tarzan's unique body count. Kala and Kerchak's first kid, Tarzan's parents, Clayton, Sabor, and Kerchak, were present.