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Tarzan
Movie

Tarzan

1999 • Animation, Adventure, Comedy

Woke Score
3
out of 10

Plot

The movie is about the life of Tarzan. Tarzan was a small orphan who was raised by an ape named Kala since he was a child. He believed that this was his family, but on an expedition Jane Porter is rescued by Tarzan. He then finds out that he's human. Now Tarzan must make the decision as to which family he should belong to...

Overall Series Review

The film centers on Tarzan’s universal struggle for identity and belonging between his human species and his gorilla family. The core conflict is a morality tale pitting the protective, natural man against the corrupt, 'civilized' man. Tarzan is a heroic figure whose merit is defined entirely by his courage, loyalty, and strength in defending his loved ones. The villain, Clayton, is a white English hunter whose motivation is pure greed, using the expedition's intellectual goals as a cover for commercial exploitation. This creates a clear dichotomy where the jungle, and the family found within it, is depicted as a morally superior, nurturing environment compared to the manipulative, destructive elements of Western 'civilization.' Jane Porter is a smart, career-focused woman who is never presented as a 'Mary Sue,' having clear vulnerabilities in the jungle, but she is also instrumental in Tarzan's personal development. The film concludes with the human characters—Tarzan, Jane, and her father—choosing to live in the wild, valuing the bonds of their unconventional family over the call of their ancestral home and society. The narrative is entirely secular, grounded in environmental and familial ethics rather than religious or political ideology.

Categorical Breakdown

Identity Politics2/10

The narrative's central hero is judged by the content of his soul and his protective actions, not by race or characteristics, in line with universal meritocracy. The conflict is moral and environmental, not racial. The villain is a white male, but the ultimate heroes—Tarzan, Jane, and Professor Porter—are also white, which prevents the plot from becoming a broad vilification of 'whiteness.' No characters are 'race-swapped' for political reasons, nor is there forced diversity; the primary human characters are English, contrasting with their jungle environment.

Oikophobia6/10

The movie strongly employs the 'Noble Savage' trope, contrasting the morally pure, harmonious life of the jungle with the predatory greed and corruption of the 'civilized' Western world, which the villain embodies. The resolution has the heroes reject their home civilization (England) in favor of the 'pure' natural world, which acts as a gentle deconstruction of their heritage. The home culture is framed as morally inferior to the jungle's natural order, earning a high score.

Feminism3/10

Jane Porter is depicted as an intelligent, educated woman who is ahead of her Victorian time by pursuing zoology, but she is not a 'Girl Boss' figure. She is often clumsy and requires rescue, balancing her intelligence with real-world incompetence in the jungle. Her relationship with Tarzan is complementary, involving mutual teaching and respect. Kala, Tarzan’s adoptive mother, is the moral heart of the film and a symbol of fiercely protective, celebrated motherhood.

LGBTQ+1/10

The core relationships are normative: Tarzan and Jane form a traditional male-female romantic couple and a nuclear-like family unit with Professor Porter. The movie is completely absent of sexual ideology lecturing, centering alternative sexualities, or deconstructing the family unit. The focus is entirely on a conventional romantic pairing and the power of chosen family bonds.

Anti-Theism2/10

The story is completely secular, featuring no religious characters or commentary. Traditional religion is neither embraced as a source of strength nor is it vilified. The film establishes a clear, objective moral law based on nature and family loyalty, but this law is transcendent in an environmental sense rather than a spiritual one, placing the story in a moral vacuum without hostility toward faith.