Tarzan (1999 film)

Tarzan
Theatrical release poster
Directed by	Kevin Lima Chris Buck
Screenplay by	Tab Murphy Bob Tzudiker Noni White
Story by	Stephen Anderson Mark D. Kennedy Carole Holliday Gaëtan Brizzi Paul Brizzi Don Dougherty Ed Gombert Randy Haycock Don Hall Kevin L. Harkey Glen Keane Burny Mattinson Frank Nissen John Norton Jeff Snow Michael Surrey Christopher J. Ure Mark Walton Stevie Wermers Kelly Wightman John Ramirez
Based on	Tarzan of the Apes by Edgar Rice Burroughs
Produced by	Bonnie Arnold
Starring	Tony Goldwyn Minnie Driver Glenn Close Alex D. Linz Rosie O'Donnell Brian Blessed Nigel Hawthorne Lance Henriksen Wayne Knight
Edited by	Gregory Perler
Music by	Mark Mancina
Production companies	Walt Disney Pictures Walt Disney Feature Animation
Distributed by	Buena Vista Pictures Distribution
Release dates	June 12, 1999 (1999-06-12) (El Capitan Theatre) June 16, 1999 (1999-06-16) (United States)[1]
Running time	88 minutes[2]
Country	United States
Language	English
Budget	$130 million[1]
Box office	$448.2 million[1]

Tarzan is a 1999 American animated coming-of-age^[3] adventure comedy-drama film produced by Walt Disney Feature Animation and released by Walt Disney Pictures. It is based on the 1912 story Tarzan of the Apes by Edgar Rice Burroughs, being the first animated major motion picture version of the story. The film was directed by Kevin Lima and Chris Buck (in his feature directorial debut) and produced by Bonnie Arnold, from a screenplay by Tab Murphy and the writing team of Bob Tzudiker and Noni White. It stars the voices of Tony Goldwyn, Minnie Driver, Glenn Close, Rosie O'Donnell, Brian Blessed, Lance Henriksen, Wayne Knight, and Nigel Hawthorne.

Pre-production of Tarzan began in 1995, with Lima selected as director^[4] and Buck joining him the same year. Following Murphy's first draft, Tzudiker, White, and Dave Reynolds (who was uncredited in the final cut), were brought in to reconstruct the third act and add additional material to the screenplay. English recording artist Phil Collins was recruited to compose and record songs integrated with a score by Mark Mancina. Meanwhile, the production team embarked on a research trip to Uganda and Kenya to study the gorillas. The animation of the film combines 2D hand-drawn animation with the extensive use of computer-generated imagery, and it was done in California, Orlando, and Paris, with the pioneering computer animation software system Deep Canvas being predominantly used to create three-dimensional backgrounds.

Tarzan premiered at the El Capitan Theatre in Los Angeles on June 12, 1999, and was released in the United States on June 16. It received positive reviews from critics, who praised its voice performances, music, animation, and action sequences. Against a production budget of $130 million (then the most expensive traditionally animated film ever made until Treasure Planet in 2002), the film grossed $448.2 million worldwide, becoming the fifth highest-grossing film of 1999, the second highest-grossing animated film of 1999 behind Toy Story 2, and the first Disney animated feature to open at first place at the North American box office since Pocahontas (1995). It won the Academy Award for Best Original Song ("You'll Be in My Heart" by Phil Collins). The film has led to many derived works, such as a Broadway adaptation, a television series, and two direct-to-video followups, Tarzan & Jane (2002) and Tarzan II (2005). Due to licensing issues with Edgar Rice Burroughs, Inc., the use of these characters are limited.^[5]