Tarzan 3D

Since the publication of the first adventures around Edgar Rice Burroughs` Tarzan, there have been countless reinterpretations of the material in book and comic form or as a musical, TV series and film. Especially in the latter medium, the adventure hero raised by apes has already experienced many incarnations. Whether as a classic adventure film, as a comedy, an erotic schmaltzette or as an animated film for the little ones, Tarzan seems to be one of those things that viewers just can't get enough of. And so now The Conference of the Animals director Reinhard Kloos has taken on the popular material to conjure up a great motion capture 3D adventure.

In his animated version, explorer John Greystoke crashes a helicopter over the African jungle with his wife and son. While the parents die, the little boy survives and is found and raised by a group of gorillas. For many years he lives among the animals without any contact with other humans. Only when he has already matured into a young man who calls himself Tarzan, he meets the beautiful Jane Porter. Immediately the two fall in love with each other, but there is no time to really live out these feelings. The unscrupulous entrepreneur William Clayton, who has travelled to the jungle with Jane, is determined to find the legendary meteor that Tarzan's father was searching for. For the meteor's rock holds unimagined power - and for Clayton, that also means great power and wealth. And if there are obstacles in his way, they must be removed - even if that means destroying nature or killing troublesome witnesses like Jane. But of course Tarzan can't let that happen.

Tarzan 3D has some really good technical aspects to it. The landscapes are great animated and some of the 3D effects are really something to behold as well. As for the characters, their appearance takes some getting used to, as it does seem a bit mask-like at times. Still, that's not a knockout criterion either. That, in turn, is provided by the script, which rather shamelessly pumps up the familiar template with elements from Avatar and other films. A few snappy pop songs and rapid 3D roller coaster rides through the jungle may not be missing. And since the whole thing is primarily made for children, the violence remains rather bloodless and without really dramatic consequences (and here it can also be spoiled that here even gunshot wounds are not really deadly). And even the dinos, so popular with the target audience, could still somehow be squeezed into the story.

It always seems as if the makers have tried with all their might to bring into their Tarzan version everything that has worked well in recent years, especially in 3D cinema. But it's not just at the expense of originality. Any form of charm is also lost as a result. Even though some technical aspects are impressive and especially the motion capture specialists put a lot of effort and heart and soul into the film, the result unfortunately seems extremely unimaginative and - what's even worse - completely soulless. You don't even have to make comparisons to Disney's much better animated version of Tarzan to realize how one-dimensional the characters are drawn despite the sleek 3D look, how flat the dialogue is, and how obtrusively the politically correct eco-message is implemented.

If you're looking for a great 3D animated adventure that offers fun and excitement in equal measure, you're sadly in the wrong place with Tarzan 3D. It may be that there will be a few kids who will love the film regardless - but that doesn't automatically make it better. Maybe there were good intentions and passion on the part of the makers - but the end result is hardly noticeable. And for this, unfortunately, there can be no other recommendation at the end than: only on a visual level just worth seeing - but otherwise grab the next vine and swing out of the cinema as soon as possible!

An article by Frankfurt-Tipp