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		TARZAN Connecting  hearts Disney took the art of animation to unimaginable heights with their single-minded dedication to animated films. Besides being a visual delight, these animated films also weave soulful music into the story which tug at your heart-strings. The studio’s recent film Tarzan, based on the popular classic of the ‘Ape-Man’, is another of Disney’s marvels, which makes the dividing line between live-action and animated films even thinner, with the characters emoting almost like humans... You must have read the story of Tarzan and his adventures umpteen times as a child in different versions (the most popular being in comic book form), and must have seen the innumerable movie adaptations. But one never got to see an animated version of the story. Thanks to Walt Disney, that too has been accomplished. Disney’s Tarzan, the first full-length animated feature on the legendary loin-clothed ‘Ape-Man’, based on Edgar Rice Burroughs’ immortal classic Tarzan Of The Apes, takes the audiences on a jungle excursion never witnessed before. Whereas reading the adventure gave us only a limited insight on the life of the ‘Ape-Man’, thanks to the animation, one can now understand and see the finer nuances of Tarzan’s relationship with his animal family. Also, because of animation, Tarzan’s movement (the way he sneaks around on all fours, just like Apes, and his swift swinging and jumping), could be depicted just as Burroughs had visualised. No human actor could ever move like that. This contemporary take on the popular tale combines breathtaking action with humour and soul-stirring songs sung by Grammy winner Phil Collins, one of them being the hit You’ll be in my heart. Disney’s Tarzan remains loyal to its source as far as the story goes, i.e. an orphaned infant being raised by a family of gorillas and accepted as their own, and how Tarzan matures into a young man with all the instincts of a jungle animal, and the physical prowess of an athlete, but his life changes when he meets other humans, with whom he feels an immediate bonding. What the animated film does is explore the ‘Ape-Man’s’ emotional journey, as he tries to find his place between the "two worlds" - the animal family that raised him, and the human family he was born into. The Disney creative team gave new focus to the story, and added depth and emotion to the characters and their situations, more importantly making the character of Tarzan interesting and relevant to the present audiences. By creating the first animated version of Tarzan Of The Apes, Disney is fulfilling Burroughs’ dream. The author had thought of animating his creation, Tarzan, as early as 1936. In a letter to his son, he had written that the "cartoon must be good. It must approximate Disney excellence." But his dream was never realised, until recently. Tarzan has been directed by two of Disney Studio’s animation talents, Kevin Lima (A Goofy Movie, The Little Mermaid, Beauty And The Beast, The Lion King) and Chris Buck (Pocahontas). Bonnie Arnold, the producer of the film, has to his credit Toy Story and Dances With Wolves. Pop superstar Phil Collins plays a key role in the making of Tarzan, having devoted a lot of time and "creative energy" to the film. Collins has penned five "expressive" songs, which give an insight into Tarzan’s thoughts, and propel the story. His voice also brings a special story-telling quality and unity to the film, since it serves as the narrator/inner voice of the main character. Another Grammy-winner, Mark Mancina, has composed music for Tarzan. Before commencing work on the film, the filmmakers set out on an African safari to study the jungles and the animals. According to director Buck, this trip gave them a tremendous appreciation for the beauty of the jungles, and a sense of the special family relationships that exist among the gorillas. Director Lima, a lifelong fan of the gorillas, sensed that Burroughs’ story was ideal for animation. But deciding which part of the Tarzan story to tell was the first major hurdle for the team. Burroughs’ book offered many episodes and adventures, as well as an ending which took the lead character away from the jungle. According to Lima, the first guiding line was to say something different from what other Tarzan movies have said. "One of the things which is very relevant today is exploring the idea of family," says Lima, "What constitutes a family? Is it those that you look like or those that you love?" The director also decided that showing animals talking would be novel. "Audiences go to the movies to get a glimpse of another world. They can watch gorillas in natural habitat on Discovery Channel. We wanted to give them something different, which only animation could deliver," he reasons. So in the film, you get to see the sensitive relationship between Kala and Tarzan; the very emotional scenes of Tarzan never depicted before, like his intropsective mood; and the comic touches. While reading Burroughs’ book, Lima came up with an icon that visually captured Tarzan’s search for his own identity - the image of two hands held up against one another. The image which symbolises the connection between two living beings. Disney’s Tarzan should connect to the audiences just the same way. CREATING TARZAN With his powerful anatomy and multi-faceted personality, bringing alive the character of Tarzan posed some serious challenges for the animation team. 24-year Disney veteran and top animator Glen Keane, considered among the most innovative and masterful artists of his generation (he created Ariel, the little mermaid, Alladin, Pocahontas), was chosen as the supervising animator for the character of Tarzan. With his skills, Keane makes Tarzan practically jump off the page, and become a living breathing character with sincerity, depth and humour. Says Kean, "My first step in finding inspiration for the character was to go to the original source. The Tarzan described in Burroughs’ book was nothing like the one I’ve seen in Hollywood films. This Tarzan moves like an animal. He’s a genius of adaptation. He takes a movement from a leopard or a gibbon. He can imitate the movement of a serpent. Burroughs describes him as being able to spring 20 feet across the forest tops, or drop 20 feet at a stretch. No human could do that, but an animated Tarzan certainly could." Watching his teenage son’s interest in skateboarding, gave Keane the idea of Tarzan moving through the moss-covered trees like a surfer. His instinct about the way Tarzan would ‘surf’ through the jungle, and use the branches of the trees as his ‘freeway’ system proved to be a masterstroke, having brought new excitement to the character’s locomation. Instead of hanging on a vine and passively swinging through the jungle, this Tarzan has his own unique way of getting around. The inspiration for Tarzan’s physical appearance came from a sculpture depicting several humans and a lion, and the dreadlocks of a co-worker in the studio gave shape to Tarzan’s matted hairstyle. Keane describes the character if Tarzan as "driven." Says he, "This Tarzan is determined to discover who he is, and to earn his place in a tribe of gorillas. There’s a strength and conviction you can feel." ...AND THE JUNGLE SETTING Art director Dan St. Pierre played an important part in shaping the look of the film. Determined to capture the depth, dimension and drama of the film’s jungle setting, he guided the development of revolutionary technical breakthrough called ‘Deep Canvas’, which allowed the two-dimensional characters to move believably through their jungle environments. SALMA KHATIB