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HISTORY

The story of Tarzan goes back to when its creator, Edgar Rice Burroughs was working as a

pencil sharpener wholesaler. One of his duties for the job was to determine the placement of

advertisements for his sharpeners in a myriad of magazines, including all-fiction “pulp”

magazines, which are magazines containing fictional tales and printed on low quality paper.

Burroughs also spent his fair share of time reading them, going through numerous pulp fictions,

before realizing that he should give writing a go.

It was not until his third writing that the idea of Tarzan emerged. But the king of the apes

did not really start off with the name people have come to know today. The hero’s original name

was actually “Zantar.” Burroughs found the name unsuitable for the character and decided to

change it to “Tublat-Zan,” which did not sound right either. Finally, he came up with a name that

would soon become a worldwide phenomenon – Tarzan (“History of tarzan,” n.d.).

Burroughs’ work entitled, “Tarzan of the Apes” appeared in the October 1912 issue of

All-Story Magazine, and marked Tarzan’s first appearance to the public. The issue was said to be

special because the whole story was written in one issue, without serializing the novel like most

magazines would do back then. Due to positive feedback from readers, Burroughs went on to

writing more stories about Tarzan’s adventures, which lead to the birth of 25 official sequels

(“History of tarzan,” n.d.). Book publishers became interested and offered Burroughs with book

deals to publish Tarzan of the Apes. Burroughs accepted the offer of the publisher, A.C.

McClurg & Co., and in 1914, Tarzan made his first appearance as a book.

Soon, movie producers were interested in filming the story of the might ape-man. Tarzan

made his big film debut at the New York Broadway Theater in 1918 for “Tarzan of the Apes,”

which focused on the events written by Burroughs in the original novel. Elmo Lincoln was the

first person to take the role of Tarzan. The public loved him so much that film makers decided to

produce a sequel, called “The Romance of Tarzan,” which also starred Lincoln as Tarzan.

However, the most famous portrayal of Tarzan in film would be Johnny Weissmuller. He starred

in 11 black and white Tarzan films between 1932 and 1948, and was often referred to as the

ultimate Tarzan.

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As years went by, Tarzan made his debuts in comic strips and radio programs. Then

finally, in 1999, Tarzan appeared in his first animated film, known as “Tarzan of the Apes.” The

film, which was distributed by Sony Wonder, was not a big hit among audiences. In fact, most

people are not aware of the existence of this particular film.

Tarzan made it big in the animation genre when Walt Disney Pictures decided to release

“Tarzan” a few months after the premiere of the Tarzan film by Sony Wonder. It was the first

Disney animated feature to gain the number one spot since Pocahontas, showing that this

animated version was a success with its viewers (Tarzan: 1999 film, n.d.). From this, two other

Tarzan animated sequels emerged – Tarzan and Jane in 2002, and Tarzan II in 2005. However,

neither of the two was as successful as Tarzan (1999). The 1999 Disney version had 22

nominations and 11 wins, including an Oscar (Tarzan, n.d.). This shows that, although Tarzan

has been in the industry for 101 years now, people still find his story as entertaining as it was

yesterday, proving Edgar Rice Burroughs’ success in creating an iconic character for the world

to remember.

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THE CREATOR

Tarzan was created by a man named Edgar Rice Burroughs, who was born on the 1st of

September in 1875, in Chicago. His father was a civil war veteran, who later became a

businessman. He had five other brothers, two of which died when they were young, and left

Burroughs to be the youngest in the family.

Burroughs attended numerous schools throughout his childhood. His early exposure to

Classical Literature and Mythology played an important role in kick-starting his career as a

writer. In 1895, he graduated from the Michigan Military Academy and proceeded to work as an

instructorship in his alma mater. Burroughs also worked with the Seventh United States Cavalry

but was discharged early in 1897 due to a condition he had, which doctors referred to as a “heart

murmur” (“Official biography,” n.d.).

Before becoming a writer, Burroughs had different jobs, which kept changing because of

his consistent dislike towards job monotony. He worked at his brothers’ cattle ranch as a cow

puncher, worked at his father’s American Battery Company, ran a dry goods store and even

became a railway policeman. At some point in his life, Burroughs also worked as a door-to-door

salesman, an accountant and a manager at Sears, Roebuck & Co.

It was when he became a pencil sharpener wholesaler that the idea of writing emerged.

Burroughs interest in reading pulp fiction has led him to believe that if other people were paid

for their stories, he could do it, too. This triggered the writing of his first novel, entitled “A

Princess of Mars,” which is actually the book behind the famous 2012 movie, John Carter.

Assuming that editors may not like the story, Burroughs used the pseudonym, “Normal Bean” as

a joke to indicate that he was indeed thinking straight when the tale was written (“Official

biography,” n.d.).

Surprisingly, All-Story Magazine editor, Thomas Metcalf loved his story and paid

Burroughs 400 dollars, which back then was a large sum of money for one piece of work.

Despite the rejection of his second novel, he did not give up and persevered until he came up

with “Tarzan of the Apes.” The appearance of this tale in the October 1912 issue of All-Story

magazine was what really kick-started his career as a full-time writer.

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Over the next few years, Burroughs wrote more stories of different genres, such as The

Monster Men (Horror), The Cave Girl (Adventure), and The Land that Time Forgot (Fantasy),

but none of which made him as successful as Tarzan did. The first Tarzan movie popularized

Tarzan and Burroughs even more. This provided him with the determination to write more about

Tarzan, leading to a total of 25 official books, and a fragment of a later one, which was only

found years after his death.

Because of the success of Tarzan, Burroughs was able to buy a ranch in Los Angeles,

which he named “Tarzana.” He also decided to build his own company, Edgar Rice Burroughs,

Inc. and started publishing his own books, beginning from “Tarzan the Invincible” to his last

one, which was “I Am Barbarian.”

Apart from that, Burroughs remained physically active and continued to write stories for

pulp magazines and his own company. He even served as a war correspondent during World War

II, which also made him the oldest war correspondent to report on troop activities.

Throughout his life, Burroughs married Emma Hulbert, his childhood sweetheart and was

blessed with two children, named Joan and Hulbert. However, in 1934, the two divorced, and

Burroughs remarried in 1935 to Florence Dearholt. Sadly, he divorced Florence in 1942, and

carried on with his life by focusing on his children. Edgar Rice Burroughs died on the 19th of

March in 1950, but his legacy still lives on until today through his ultimate, mighty ape-man,

Tarzan.

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SYNOPSIS

Based on the Tarzan film released by Walt Disney Pictures in 1999, the movie is basically about

a boy who grew up living with a gorilla troop in a rainforest off the coast of Africa. The story

started off with an English couple who managed to escape a burning ship, along with their son.

The family managed to build a tree house on the land they were stranded on, but were killed not

long after that, by a leopardess called Sabor. Kala, a female gorilla, took the couple’s son and

raised him as her own, despite the lack of approval from her partner, Kerchak. Not knowing the

child’s real name, Kala decided to name him “Tarzan.” Tarzan grew up among the gorilla troop

and picked up a few skills along the way. He learned how to use vines, which enabled him to

swing from tree to tree, and gained enough strength to protect his family from other wild

animals. His success at killing Sabor earned him the respect of their leader, Kerchak, who was

initially against him being in the troop.

All was well for Tarzan and his family, until a group of explorers arrived from England.

This consisted of Professor Porter, his daughter, Jane Porter, as well as hunter-guide, Clayton.

Professor Porter was interested in the gorilla troop for scientific purposes, while Clayton wanted

to capture them and bring them back home to England. Kerchak warned Tarzan about not putting

so much trust in these people, but Tarzan could not stay away from them because he noticed that

they were of the same kind – humans. With the help of Jane, he managed to learn how to speak

in English. Soon, the two fell in love.

When the explorers’ boat went back for them, Clayton persuaded Tarzan into telling him

where the gorillas were, by saying that Jane would stay with him forever if he cooperated. He

agreed and led the explorers to where they lived, which infuriated Kerchak. Because of his

actions, Tarzan decided to leave his group as Kerchak claimed that he betrayed them. Kala

realized that it was time for Tarzan to know his true past and brought him to the tree house where

his parents once lived. She told him that she would be happy with whatever decision he makes

for himself.

On the day that Tarzan boarded the ship with Jane and Professor Porter, they were

ambushed by Clayton and his group of pirates, and were imprisoned in the ship. However, with

the aid of his friends, Tarzan managed to escape and ran back to his home where Clayton has

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shot Kerchak. Clayton and Tarzan engaged in a battle, which ended up with Clayton killing

himself with a vine around his neck. Clayton’s allies also ran away after being scared by

Tarzan’s gorilla pack.

During his final breath, Kerchak finally tells Tarzan that he accepts him as a part of his

family and appointed him as the new leader of the troop. Because of this, Tarzan settled on

staying with his family, even though it meant letting go of Jane. At the end of the movie, it was

shown that Jane and Professor Porter decided to stay with Tarzan, and together, build a new life

as a family.

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VOICE ACTORS

This part focuses on the voice actors of Tarzan for the Tarzan animated films

1. Tarzan of the Apes (1999)

Voice actors are not credited in this film. (Tarzan of the apes: 1999 film, n.d.).

2. Tarzan (1999)

Young Tarzan was voiced by Alex Linz, while adult Tarzan was voiced by Tony Goldwyn.

(Tarzan: Voices of tarzan, n.d.).

3. Tarzan and Jane (2002)

Tarzan was voiced by Michael T. Weiss. (Tarzan: Voices of tarzan, n.d.).

4. Tarzan II (2005)

Tarzan was voiced by Harrison Chad. (Tarzan: Voices of tarzan, n.d.).

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CHARACTERISTICS AND TRAITS

These are based on the Tarzan (1999) film produced by Walt Disney Pictures.

1. Physical characteristics

Caucasian

Tall and tanned

Light blue-green eyes

Brown hair in dreadlocks

Wears a loincloth around his waist

2. Personality traits

Courageous – Tarzan was willing to risk his life to save Jane from the baboon attack.

Loyal – He was always loyal to the gorilla troop, which he called his family.

Intelligent – Tarzan was able to learn the English language easily.

Brave – He showed bravery when he succeeded in killing the leopardess, Sabor that

killed his parents.

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CONTROVERSIES

There were several controversies related to Tarzan, as listed below. These controversies are not

particularly associated with the animated version of Tarzan, but the Tarzan film series in general.

1. Tarzan and Jane’s outfits

Tarzan and Jane’s outfits became a controversy at one point mainly because they were said to be

too revealing. Because of this, both the actors playing Tarzan and Jane showed less and less skin

as the film series progressed.

2. Tarzan and Jane’s marital status

A number of people were unhappy about the fact that Tarzan and Jane were living together even

though they were not legally married. In 1962, a Los Angeles librarian tried to get rid of the

Tarzan books from the shelves thinking that the books lacked morality because the two

characters were not married (“History of tarzan,” n.d.). However, many fans defended Tarzan in

this matter by citing chapter verses, and stating that the marriage did occur in “The Return of

Tarzan.” (“History of tarzan,” n.d.).

3. Tarzan yell

The yell that people have come to associate with Tarzan was made famous by the actor, Johnny

Weissmuller. According to Weissmuller, the yell was largely influenced by the yodeling of his

German neighbors as well as his own ability to yodel. There were rumors saying that the yell was

not done by Weissmuller, but instead, was produced by a famous opera singer who was hired to

record the yell. It was then manipulated so that the second half of the yell would sound like the

first half, but in reverse. However, Weissmuller denied these allegations, and to prove that he

really was the person to create the yell, he would often honor requests from the public to perform

the Tarzan yell. And the yell sounded similar to the one people would hear in films (DeMain,

2012).

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4. The real Tarzan

This is probably one of the biggest controversies when it comes to the mighty ape-man. There

were speculations that Tarzan really existed before Edgar Rice Burroughs even started writing

about the king of the jungle. It was said that an English nobleman named William Charles Mildin

was shipwrecked on the coast of Africa and lived with a troop of apes for 15 years, from 1868 to

1883. Mildin’s story was only revealed 20 years after his death, when his records and family

papers were unsealed. Solicitors found a thick packet of papers in one of his boxes with “An

account of the incredible adventures of William Charles Mildin, who lived for nearly 15 years

among the apes and animals of the African jungle” written on the cover page (Jones, 1959).

People claimed that Burroughs, the creator of Tarzan, had enough time to study the story of this

man before deciding to create Tarzan. Until this day, there is still no solid confirmation on

whether William Charles Mildin really existed.

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MORAL LESSONS

The animated versions of Tarzan are films that are great for all ages, especially children, mainly

because it contains a number of moral values and lessons. One of the things that viewers can

learn from Tarzan in the film is the importance of environmental conservation. The variety of

animals and luscious green that can be seen in the films will never be achieved if people do not

put in any effort to conserve the environment. The beauty of nature will eventually be destroyed

if people are not aware of their surroundings and the fact that protecting Mother Earth is an

important part of each individual’s life.

Apart from that, viewers are emphasized on love, and the need to care for one another,

despite any differences, through Tarzan and his family. In the Tarzan (1999) film, Tarzan’s

mother, Kala, loved Tarzan more than anything even though he was different from the rest of the

troop. The fact that Kala was willing to disobey the troop leader’s order of leaving the boy alone

in the tree house showed how much she cares for Tarzan. This teaches the viewers that a person

should not treat someone else differently, just because he or she is different, and how love and

care are two essentials in ensuring the growth of the society.

Moreover, Tarzan also stresses on the importance of family. The films deliver a message

which tells people how they should always put their family first, above all else, just like Tarzan.

In the Tarzan movies, viewers could see that family is a number one priority for Tarzan. He

never failed to make sure that his family was safe, and tried his best to protect them from any

danger. For example, he successfully killed Sabor, a leopardess, in order to keep the gorilla troop

safe. In addition, when Jane was about to leave the area for good, Tarzan decided to stay with his

family, even though he wanted to be with Jane. It shows that no matter the circumstances, family

will always be the most important part of each individual’s life.

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TARZAN’S EXISTENCE TODAY

Even though the Tarzan film series are no longer aired on television, people can still watch short

snippets of the film on Youtube. Besides that, they can also download the movies on various

legal downloading sites, and for those living in the United States of America (USA), they can

even rent Tarzan DVDs from Netflix, which is a company that offers disc rental by mail. In

Hong Kong Disneyland, there is a Tarzan tree house, which visitors can enter and see some of

the replicas of the items used in the Tarzan 1999 Disney film. Furthermore, people can purchase

Tarzan merchandises, such as shirts, mugs, mobile phone cases, posters and baseball hats.

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REFERENCES

History of tarzan. (n.d). Retrieved from http://www.tarzan.org/history_of_tarzan_part1.html

Tarzan: 1999 film. (n.d). In Wikipedia. Retrieved July 14, 2013, from

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tarzan_%281999_film%29

Tarzan. (n.d). Retrieved July 14, 2013, from http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0120855/

Official biography. (n.d). Retrieved from http://www.tarzan.org/official_biography_part1.html

Tarzan: Voices of tarzan. (n.d.). Retrieved from

http://www.behindthevoiceactors.com/characters/Tarzan/Tarzan/

Tarzan of the apes: 1999 film. (n.d). In Wikipedia. Retrieved July 14, 2013, from

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tarzan_of_the_Apes_%281999_film%29

DeMain, B. (2012). The disputed history of the tarzan yell. Retrieved from

http://mentalfloss.com/article/12328/disputed-history-tarzan-yell

Jones, T. L. (1959). The man who really was… tarzan. Retrieved from

http://www.erbzine.com/mag14/1449.html