Tarzan II

In the mid-2000s, the Disney vault was less of a prestigious treasury and more of a frantic content engine. This was the era of the "cheapquel"—direct-to-video follow-ups that populated Blockbuster shelves and tested the patience of parents everywhere. Yet, Tarzan II arrived in 2005 with a strange, frantic energy that separated it from the usual assembly-line fodder. It didn't try to continue the epic scope of the 1999 original; instead, it shrunk the world down into a "midquel," carving out a slice of Tarzan’s childhood that felt less like a grand adventure and more like a jungle-themed identity crisis sponsored by a stand-up legend.

I watched this while sitting on a beanbag chair that has lost about 40% of its structural integrity, which felt oddly appropriate for a movie about a kid trying to find his footing in a world where he doesn't quite fit.

The Grumpy Hermit of Dark Mountain

The story finds a young Tarzan (Harrison Chad) struggling to keep up with his ape family. After a clumsy accident leads him to believe his presence puts his mother, Kala (Glenn Close), in danger, he runs away. He eventually wanders into the "forbidden" territory of Dark Mountain, home to the Zugor—a mythical, terrifying monster that turns out to be just a cranky, elderly ape played by the late, great George Carlin.

The casting here is the film’s biggest win. Hearing George Carlin voice a cynical hermit who just wants everyone to get off his lawn (or mountain) is a delight that transcends the film’s target demographic. His chemistry with the young Tarzan provides a surprisingly grounded mentor-student dynamic. Unlike the original film’s high-stakes conflict with Clayton, the peril here is more domestic. We have a bumbling family of antagonist apes—Mama Gunda (Estelle Harris) and her two dim-witted sons, Uto (Brad Garrett) and Kago (Ron Perlman). It’s basically a prehistoric episode of Seinfeld mixed with The Sopranos, and watching these veteran character actors chew the digital scenery is half the fun.

A Relic of the DVD Renaissance

Looking back, Tarzan II is a fascinating artifact of the transition from 2D to 3D. By 2005, Disney was moving away from traditional hand-drawn animation in its theatrical releases, but the DisneyToon Studios team was still keeping the flame alive on the home video front. The animation here is surprisingly lush for a "budget" title. The backgrounds have a painterly quality that mimics the "Deep Canvas" tech used in the first film, even if the character movements feel a bit more floaty and less weighty than the 1999 masterpiece.

This was also the peak of the DVD "Bonus Features" culture. I remember when the back of a DVD box promised "Behind the Scenes" featurettes as if they were the main event. For Tarzan II, the production leaned heavily on the return of Phil Collins, who provided two new songs. While neither "Leaving Home" nor "Who Am I?" has the cultural footprint of "You'll Be in My Heart," they provide a musical bridge that makes this feel like a legitimate extension of the brand rather than a hollow knock-off. It’s a testament to the era’s "franchise planning" before the term became a corporate buzzword.

The Lost Art of the Side-Quest

What I appreciate about this film in retrospect is its lack of ambition. That sounds like a backhanded compliment, but in an age of "cinematic universes" where every film must set up five sequels, there is something refreshing about a 72-minute side-quest. It’s a small, contained story about a boy realizing that "being an ape" isn't about how fast you climb, but how you use your own unique "Tarzan-ness."

The humor is decidedly more slapstick than the original—Brad Garrett basically plays a giant, hairy version of his Everybody Loves Raymond persona—but it works. The Zugor’s "scary" traps are essentially just Rube Goldberg machines made of vines and hollow logs, reflecting a sort of Y2K-era fascination with low-tech ingenuity. It’s Home Alone in the Congo, and while it won’t change your life, it earns its runtime by never taking its own "legend" status too seriously.

Stuff You Didn't Notice

Interestingly, George Carlin wasn't the first choice for Zugor, but his casting changed the entire tone of the character from a generic villain to a misunderstood recluse. According to some behind-the-scenes trivia from the original DVD release, the animators actually studied Carlin’s stand-up specials to capture his specific facial tics and "grumpy but lovable" energy.

Another odd detail: this film marked one of the final performances of Estelle Harris in a major animated role before her later years. Her screeching, overbearing Mama Gunda is essentially a primate version of Mrs. Costanza, and it gives the film a weird, New York sitcom energy that feels totally out of place in the African jungle—and yet, I wouldn't trade it for anything. It’s these bizarre casting choices that make these mid-2000s Disney sequels worth a second look; they were taking weird swings because the stakes were lower.

Tarzan II is the cinematic equivalent of a decent B-side on a classic album. It doesn’t have the soaring emotional heights of the original, and it certainly won't replace the 1999 film in the cultural pantheon, but it’s a colorful, well-acted diversion. If you can appreciate the era when Disney was just trying to keep the DVD players humming, you'll find a lot to like in George Carlin’s ape-man grumpiness. It’s a small adventure with a big heart, perfect for a lazy afternoon when you want a hit of nostalgia without the heavy lifting of a "modern classic."