Goldwyn was especially motivated by the artists’ concept art. Well-known today to TV audiences for his presidential performance on ABC’s drama series Scandal, this heir to Hollywood royalty brought both dramatic skill and a sense of humor to the jungle adventurer. Vocalizing the central role of Tarzan, actor Tony Goldwyn is by coincidence the grandson of Walt Disney’s friend and fellow independent producer, legendary filmmaker Samuel Goldwyn. Tarzan is voiced by the grandson of Walt Disney’s friend and colleague “When we first began looking at the book, we asked ourselves what do we want to say that’s different from what other Tarzan movies have said,” Lima said, explaining that he and Buck wanted to fully explore the jungle man’s relationship to his adopted gorilla family.Ģ. He enlisted fellow artist Chris Buck (who would go on to co-direct Frozen, 2013, and the forthcoming Frozen 2) to direct the film with him. A lifelong fan of gorillas, Lima read Burroughs’ book and immediately saw how ideally the story was suited for animation. “It must approximate Disney excellence.” Flash forward to 1995 when Disney artist Kevin Lima was invited to direct an animated Tarzan. “The cartoon must be good,” he wrote as he envisioned an animated ape-man.

As early as 1936, the author seriously considered animation as the medium that could more faithfully bring his hero to life on the screen. By producing the first Tarzan animated feature, Disney realized a dream long held by Edgar Rice Burroughs who wrote Tarzan of the Apes in 1912. With 47 previous movies, Tarzan is one of most filmed subjects in Hollywood history. Tarzan’s creator envisioned his story as an animated feature To celebrate this Oscar®-winning film’s 20th anniversary, here are seven tantalizing tidbits to tell us why Tarzan will always be in our hearts.ġ. When he encounters humans in the form of a beautiful Englishwoman, her ape-expert father and a duplicitous hunter, he must determine who is his true family. Tarzan follows the extraordinary adventures of an orphaned infant raised by a family of gorillas who matures into a young man with the instincts of a jungle animal and the physical prowess of an athletic superstar. Disney’s 37th animated feature brought the famed ape-man to life as never before through the art of Disney animation. One of the most iconic heroes ever created swung to dynamic new life when Tarzan was released on June 18, 1999.

Tarzan 1912