Can I open up a review by saying Jane was kind of hot? Would that be appropriate? You know what? I don't even care. Jane is kind of hot.
Tarzan was stranded after a boat wreck as a baby and ended up being raised by a tribe of Gorillas. The early part of the movie is him becoming accustomed to this kind of life, growing up as someone who does not fit in with the rest, but still finding a way to become a part of the family. This leads into the portion of the movie he discovers other humans who appear on the Island, and this is where the story starts to kick off. Jane and her father are there to study Gorilla's, and Clayton there with some obviously evil and unexplained intent (At least until the climax, though you can probably guess what it is).
Where the focus here is Tarzan struggling with his feelings. His bond and duty to protect his gorilla family and his desire to learn more about these people who showed up that looked like him. This is helped along by, oddly, one of Disney's best love stories. Tarzan and Jane have a bit of time together before real feelings start to develop. I'm a bit bothered that two points of the movie kind of rely on a montage to show the passage of time, kind of skipping over a lot of Tarzan becoming more in tune with his Gorilla Family, as well as doing the same thing as Jane begins to teach Tarzan how to communicate, but I can't sit here and say that they weren't used effectively. I can buy into them starting to care about each other by the end of montage number two, it does wonders showing you so much about these characters as well as advancing relationships.
Most characters in this show are fairly straightforward but well written. One thing I don't remember when I was younger is liking Jane as much as I did. I've always liked a character with a clear passion, and she has that more than anyone else in the show. She is very expressive, she has a near insatiable curiosity that lands her in trouble often (Though not in a way that makes her look excessively dumb, something I appreciate), and she's a great mix of competent but obviously out of her element here in the Jungle. She's easily the stand-out of the movie for me, and not just because of my opening statement.
Conversely, I think Clayton is kind of a weak antagonist. It's not that I'm against one-note villains, but they have to hit that note very well. It's obvious enough he's an asshole that you wonder why anyone would have trusted him, but it's not a situation like it was in Little Mermaid where Ursula took advantage of someone's vulnerability to cover for the more obviously sinister plan going on. Don't get me wrong, he's fine and serves his purpose, but he's rather lacking.
That's a good way to describe most of the movie, it has a couple of fantastic elements that are just surrounded by alright things. There is only one thing that is off-putting about the movie, and that is the music. It's not that it's bad, I quite like the songs. The problem is they are all sung by Phil Collins, but it's not bad because Phil does a bad job. The problem is the voice for everyone's inner thoughts is now Phil Collins. The songs all lack the same feel as other Disney movies because of it.
While I find myself enjoying it more than I used to, mostly out of appreciating Jane's character, I don't think this manages to hit the heights of the top-tier Disney films. It's still a lot of fun and a really good movie though, so I recommend a watch.