Tarzan of the Apes is an animated musical

Musical film

The musical film is a film genre in which songs sung by the characters are interwoven into the narrative, sometimes accompanied by dancing. The songs usually advance the plot or develop the film's characters, though in some cases they serve merely as breaks in the storyline, often as elaborate...

 adventure

Adventure

An adventure is defined as an exciting or unusual experience; it may also be a bold, usually risky undertaking, with an uncertain outcome. The term is often used to refer to activities with some potential for physical danger, such as skydiving, mountain climbing and or participating in extreme sports...

 film produced by Diane Eskenazi

Diane Eskenazi

Diane Paloma Eskenazi is an American film producer and the founder of Golden Films production company in 1992. She is also the founder of different non-profit charity organizations such as Peace Builders, Inc., most of which were mainly, though not exclusively, dedicated to the welfare of children...

 and Darcy Wright and written by Mark Young (based on the novel

Tarzan of the Apes

Tarzan of the Apes is a novel written by Edgar Rice Burroughs, the first in a series of books about the title character Tarzan. It was first published in the pulp magazine All-Story Magazine in October, 1912; the first book edition was published in 1914. The character was so popular that Burroughs...

 by Edgar Rice Burroughs

Edgar Rice Burroughs

Edgar Rice Burroughs was an American author, best known for his creation of the jungle hero Tarzan and the heroic Mars adventurer John Carter, although he produced works in many genres.-Biography:...

). Richard Wagner

Richard Wagner

Wilhelm Richard Wagner was a German composer, conductor, theatre director, philosopher, music theorist, poet, essayist and writer primarily known for his operas...

's Ride of the Valkyries

Ride of the Valkyries

The Ride of the Valkyries is the popular term for the beginning of Act III of Die Walküre, the second of the four operas by Richard Wagner that comprise Der Ring des Nibelungen. The main theme of the Ride, the leitmotif labelled Walkürenritt, was first written down by the composer on 23 July 1851...

was used as the score during the opening scenes of the film. It was released directly to home video

Home video

Home video is a blanket term used for pre-recorded media that is either sold or rented/hired for home cinema entertainment. The term originates from the VHS/Betamax era but has carried over into current optical disc formats like DVD and Blu-ray Disc and, to a lesser extent, into methods of digital...

 on March 9, 1999.

Plot summary

John and Alice Clayton (Lord and Lady Greystoke) are marooned on the coast of Africa

Africa

Africa is the world's second largest and second most populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km² including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area...

, where their son, John Clayton, Jr., is born. The baby is orphaned when both parents die of a mysterious disease, but is adopted by Kala

Kala

Kala may refer to:In Hinduism:*Kāla , a Sanskrit word for "time"*Kalā: 64 arts*Kala Bo, a Hindu consort goddess*Kirtimukha: a fierce guardian faceIn culture*Kala , a character in the Tarzan novels*Kala , a 2007 Indonesian film...

 and Kerchak

Kerchak

Kerchak is a fictional ape character in Edgar Rice Burroughs's original Tarzan novel, Tarzan of the Apes, and in the Walt Disney-produced animated movie Tarzan based on it.-History:...

, members of the tribe of Brown Apes.

The baby, christened Tarzan

Tarzan

Tarzan is a fictional character, an archetypal feral child raised in the African jungles by the Mangani "great apes"; he later experiences civilization only to largely reject it and return to the wild as a heroic adventurer...

 ("White Skin") by Kala, grows to adulthood among the apes, and eventually discovers the cabin where his parents lived. He teaches himself to read and write using the books there. He also discovers a cache of gold coins secreted beneath a loose floorboard in the cabin.

Jane Porter

Jane Porter (Tarzan)

Jane Porter is a major character in Edgar Rice Burroughs's series of Tarzan novels, and in adaptations of the saga to other media, particularly film.- In the novels :...

, her father, Professor Archimedes Porter, and Esmerelda, their cockney

Cockney

The term Cockney has both geographical and linguistic associations. Geographically and culturally, it often refers to working class Londoners, particularly those in the East End...

 housekeeper, are shipwrecked at the same location, and soon Jane and Tarzan fall in love. The Porters and Esmerelda are rescued and sail to America

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

, believing that Tarzan has been killed.

Tarzan, with the help of Lieutenant Paul D'Arnot, sails to Baltimore, Maryland where he is reunited with Jane. Tarzan's identity as Lord Greystoke is discovered, and he and Jane are married and return to Africa.

Production notes

The film was released as part of the Sony Wonder Enchanted Tales series.

The film was produced in 1997, but was only released to home video just prior to the debut of the Disney

Walt Disney Pictures

Walt Disney Pictures is an American film studio owned by The Walt Disney Company. Walt Disney Pictures and Television, a subsidiary of the Walt Disney Studios and the main production company for live-action feature films within the Walt Disney Motion Pictures Group, based at the Walt Disney...

 Tarzan

Tarzan (1999 film)

Tarzan is a 1999 American animated feature film produced by Walt Disney Feature Animation and released by Walt Disney Pictures on June 18, 1999...

production.