Male

# 3: The lead male is someone that the father approves of but the daughter doesn't tend to be too crazy about at first.


Tarzan (1999) is the popular story about a man raised by gorillas in the African jungle. In the Disney version, after a shipwreck Tarzan (just a baby) and his parents are the only survivors. They start a life in Africa. A leopard kills his parents and a mother gorilla (who's own baby was killed by the same leopard) rescues him. She decides to raise him, but Kerchak, the leader, refuses to ever accept him as one of their own. Tarzan grows up, and that's when he comes in contact with man.


Tarzan is initially rejected by all of the apes except for Kala (his 'mother'). Terk, his future best friend, regards him as 'freaky looking' and Kerchak says that he doesn't want Kala to raise something not of their kind. Because of this prejudice against him as something different he feels left out as a child and tries to be 'the best ape he can be' to fit in. As an adult he's an expert tree climber and has the slouched posture of a gorilla. He is also very muscly, which is the stereotype, but he also spends his day climbing trees. He comes in contact with his own kind when he hears a gunshot and becomes curious. After he saves Jane from rabid baboons, he starts to 'explore' her. He examines her face, her hands, and then he tries to look up her dress, at which point she kicks him. Tarzan may not exactly be human but he's still a Disney creation and his sexual aggression was used to be humourous. Jane, her father, and Clayton teach him English so that they can find the gorillas (the reason why they are in Africa). When they leave, Tarzan decides to go where he will not be shunned, with humans. But he is tricked and has to go back and save his family. This is when he turns into a vicious beast, injuring anybody that tries to harm his gorilla family. Once again, the superhero precedent comes back into play with Tarzan miraculously saving everybody, including Jane, Kerchak, Kala, and his friends.


Jane, Professor Porter, and Mr. Clayton are the first humans Tarzan ever comes in contact with. The slightly absent-minded Professor is very excitable, especially about gorillas. Jane, his daughter, shares his love for studying the species and is thrilled when she finds the wild man Tarzan. Mr. Clayton is the bad guy who only wants to shoot gorillas to cash in back home. The three of them work to teach Tarzan English so he can show them where his family lives - Clayton helps just as much because he is eager to harm them. Eventually they have to leave and Tarzan offers to show them his home before they go so Jane can stay. When he does, the war begins. Jane and the Professor (the weaker characters) don't get involved in any fighting. Eventually its a showdown between Tarzan and Clayton, and the bad guy gets what he deserves.
Jane is a very headstrong young woman ('just like her mother'). When she first meets Tarzan, she's not impressed (even when he saved her life) and tries to get away from him as fast as she can. She's very straightforward and knows what she wants, but after she meets Tarzan and starts to fall in love with him she becomes bashful and almost shy. Jane plays no real role in the movie other than the love interest of the male lead by skirting around in loose clothing when her dress is ruined.
The Professor is much like the Sultan from Aladdin, he emphasizes how much he just wants his daughter to be happy, but plays no major role except for a laugh in a bad situation. When they are leaving Africa once and for all, he gets fed up with Jane and tells her to go where she will be truly happy, with Tarzan.


Kerchak, the head gorilla who refuses to accept Tarzan as one of his own, is considered the enemy for a major part of the movie. He is very violent and threatening, which is emphasized by his size, deep voice, and dark black fur. Kerchak's stubbornness is what gets Tarzan in so much trouble, and what makes him rebel as well. Kerchak is furious when Tarzan meets his own kind, but would rather be rid of him. In the end, all of these things lead to Kerchak's demise, but he learns from his ignorance and becomes a good character.


Tarzan's best friends are Terk (another gorilla) and Tantor (an abandoned elephant). As the male hero's companions, they are both male themselves and their role is to lighten up serious problems.






Tarzan, another Disney film adapted very loosely (from the novel by Edgar Rice Burroughs) succeeds in being a lot like The Lion King in terms of its female gender roles. Once again (am I sounding trite yet?) Disney HAS NOT strayed from their ideal gender roles, male or female, in any way. In the end, Jane gets her own scraps of cloth for an outfit and they all live happily ever after.


Part VI: The romantic hero or the annoying pest?

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