The Legend of Tarzan is an American
animated television series created by
The Walt Disney Company in 2001, based
on the Tarzan character created by Edgar
Rice Burroughs. The series aired on ABC
from July 13 to September 7, 2002 as
part of its "Disney's One Saturday
Morning" lineup. It was initially meant
as first original series though
ultimately shunted to UPN's "Disney's
One Too" lineup. The Legend of Tarzan
picks up where the 1999 feature film
left off, with the title character
adjusting to his new role as leader of
the apes following Kerchak's death, and
Jane adjusting to life in the jungle.
Rounding out the cast are Jane's father,
Professor Archimedes Q. Porter; Tantor,
the germophobic elephant; and Terk, a
wisecracking female gorilla and Tarzan's
old wrestling buddy.
Characters
= Main characters=
Tarzan - Since the end of the film,
Tarzan assumed his role as leader of the
Gorillas. He married Jane and they live
happily in the jungle, residing in the
old treehouse that Tarzan's parents had
built before their deaths. Although
Tarzan doesn't live with his mother and
the other gorillas, Tarzan will still
leap into action to protect them at any
length, and he often returns to seek
Kala's advice in dealing with situations
such as the doubts of the other
gorillas, and Jane wanting him to be
more "civilized". While helping Jane get
over her more romantic ideas about
jungle life, she acts as his guide to
the duplicity in human nature—and
insists he eat his food from a plate. It
is a never-ending growth process for
both, with some startling insights into
what "civilized" means, and some
uproarious stumbling blocks along the
way.
Jane Porter - Daughter of Archimedes
Porter and wife of Tarzan. Jane is
married to Tarzan and they live in the
very treehouse built by Tarzan's late
parents. Throughout the series, Jane is
shown to have adjusted quite well to her
new jungle life with Tarzan, but often
when she begins to miss her old life in
England, she tries to get Tarzan to act
more "civilized" which sometimes poses
as a problem to Tarzan's morals. Her
appearance and human actions often cause
some members of Tarzan's gorilla tribe
to have doubts about her and question
Tarzan's "leadership". She is often the
damsel in distress of the series, either
being kidnapped or held hostage by the
episode's antagonist, only for Tarzan to
rescue her.
Terk - Terk the Gorilla loves the
spotlight, and she's perfect "big
sister" material because she's Tarzan's
closest friend—protective, concerned,
and absolutely convinced that Tarzan
can't survive without her. Terk loves
telling Tarzan what to do—that is, until
Tarzan's physical strength proves he can
hold her in a headlock instead. Even
though Terk is very bossy at times,
Tarzan knows it's because she cares,
though she will never say so willingly.
Tantor - "Someone's gonna get hurt, and
it's always me!" is Tantor's rallying
cry. Despite his size and relative
stature within the jungle kingdom,
Tantor the Elephant is a coward - he is
afraid of anything and everything,
including bacteria, pond scum, piranhas,
and anything else that can be named. But
when it comes to helping Tarzan in
trouble, Tantor shows know-it-all Terk a
thing or two in the bravery department
and leads the way.
Kala - If his woes become too great or
his thoughts too burdensome, Tarzan
seeks seclusion and the calm council of
his gorilla mother, Kala. A sympathetic
ear when Tarzan needs someone wise to
talk to, Kala acts as the voice of the
apes, always reminding Tarzan of his
unique obligations to the family. She is
also Jane's closest confidant. The two
share a warm, strong bond, and Jane
regards her mother-in-law as her only
kindred spirit in the jungle. From
Kala's point of view, Jane is the human
daughter she never had. Kala was
Kerchak's mate, and perhaps the only one
besides Tarzan that ever openly defied
him without repercussions. Her open mind
is a well of great wisdom and she is
almost always right. Even though Kerchak
is gone, she is still highly respected.
Although kind and motherly to Tarzan,
Jane, and all the gorillas, Kala is
almost undoubtedly the bravest gorilla
in the family. When the family was
trapped in a cave by Tublat, Kala
bravely stood up to the villain, and
encouraged all the other gorillas to be
brave as well. Her presence and support
keeps the family together and ensures
that they are always there for each
other even in the most dire situations.
Professor Archimedes Q. Porter - Father
of Jane, Professor Porter is a noted
scientist with years of expertise
studying gorillas, though prior to
arriving in Africa in the first film,
he's never seen one in the wild.
Sometimes the kindhearted professor gets
so absorbed in his thinking that he
simply forgets what he's doing. Even so,
Jane doesn't bat an eye at her father's
eccentric antics—she's used to them and
shares his enthusiasm. When they both
finally meet the gorillas, it's the
fulfillment of a lifelong dream, even if
the professor does faint at the sight.
John Clayton Clayton was seen twice in
not one episode but another in the
series. He is the older brother of Lady
Waltham who accused Tarzan of murdering
him in the film until at the end of
Tarzan and the Gauntlet of Revenge.
Clayton was mentioned rarely in the
series but was never seen throughout it.
Kerchak Kerchak was mentioned sometimes
in the series. He was seen in a
flashback in Tarzan and Tublat's
Revenge, and The Face From the Past.
= Recurring characters=
Flynt and Mungo - Clueless ape brothers
Flynt and Mungo have grown up along with
Tarzan, but they're still as dopey as
ever. Maybe it's too much self-inflicted
head trauma from playing their childhood
game "Stop hitting yourself", but their
IQs don't seem to have improved with
time. The brothers don't mean any harm,
but likely as not, their dumb behavior
is bound to give Tarzan some serious
headaches as he flies to save them—and
protect the family—from danger. Since
they spend all their time together,
being separated will cause them to freak
out.
Booto - The leader of a Rhinoceros herd.
Manu - A mischievous baby baboon, who is
fascinated with humans, and, when no one
is looking, he is irresistibly drawn to
rummaging through their belongings and
trying on their clothes. He may even run
off with a shiny keepsake or two. Like
an inquisitive child, he leaves a mess
behind, which means a red-faced Tarzan
and the other family members are usually
stuck with cleaning up after him. His
mischief, however, sometimes ends up
doing more good than first assumed,
especially where the villainous Samuel
Philander was concerned.
Renard Dumont - A slick, opportunistic
French proprietor of "Dumont's Trading
Post", whose lust for material gain is
compromised only by his persistent
attempts to, through oily charm and
token gestures, lure Jane from her cozy
life with Tarzan. Though somewhat of a
nemesis in his first appearance, he
later becomes a reluctant ally of
Tarzan. A good example is when he
disguises himself as a high-ranking
official in order to secure the release
of Tarzan, Hugo and Hooft. He even
allows Tarzan and his friends to borrow
one of his boats to find out the source
of the poison that has flown into the
river and endangered the jungle. In "The
Return of La", he is briefly transformed
into a gibbon by Jane possessed by La's
ghost.
Hugo and Hooft - Loose caricatures of
Bob Hope and Bing Crosby, c. the "Road
to" series. Deserters of the French
Foreign Legion, these Americans now work
for Dumont, though they still have the
occasional run-in with Lt. Colonel
Staquait, who considers their
insubordination a capital offense. They
also seem to owe money to "Joey the
Shark", a loan shark in Chicago.
Although they are smooth-talking conmen
who try to cheat people out of money,
they are good-natured and willing to do
anything for their friends. A good
example is when they are arrested and
sent to prison; when Tarzan helps them
escape, they have the chance to flee,
but return to save him from being
executed.
Jabari - The son of Baruti and Jamila
bearing an uncanny resemblance to the
young Tantor. He and "Mr. Tantor" have
bonded over their shared phobias and
paranoia.
Dania - A beautiful female elephant who
wants to be with Tantor for her love.
Terk gets the two elephants together and
they hit it off. Dania meets Tantor's
friends, with the exception of Tarzan,
who is out tracking poachers. Dania has
a great dislike of Terk, regarding her
as obnoxious and loud and forces Tantor
to choose between them when all her
attempts to break the elephants up fail.
After the poachers are defeated and Terk
rescued, Dania approaches Tantor and
offers to give him another chance at
being her boyfriend. Tantor refuses and
dumps her, causing Dania to storm off in
anger.
Chief Keewazi - Leader of the Waziri
tribe, a group of natives who live deep
in the jungle.
Basuli - Chief Keewazi's headstrong son
and future leader of the Waziri tribe.
He becomes a good friend of Tarzan.
Tarzan once aided Basuli in retrieving
an eagle's feather, which he needed as
part of a rite of passage in order to
marry. Though he and Tarzan are friends,
they compete in many ways.
Dr. Robin Doyle - A female Irish
anthropologist who began her studies in
the jungle and has the Professor
smitten. The first time she came to
Africa to study the Waziri people with
Professor Porter, he was afraid he was
too old for her and sought out a
fountain that he thought would make the
drinker young again. In the episode
Protege, she brought her nephew Ian.
Moyo - Another gorilla in Tarzan's
family. He once believed Tarzan cared
more about Jane than the family. When
Hista, an enormous red python, attacked
while Tarzan was with Jane, Moyo managed
to chase Hista away for the time being.
When Tarzan returned, he boasted about
this one time accomplishment, claimed
that Tarzan was too busy being with Jane
to protect the family, and challenged
Tarzan for leadership of the gorillas.
Moyo defeated Tarzan, though only
because Tarzan had saved Moyo from an
imminent death from being impaled on
sharp spikes. Moyo led the family away
and, by an error of judgment, they
walked into a tar pit. After some
conflict, Moyo and Tarzan cooperated to
rescue the family and lure Hista into
the tar pit, where the great snake
became stuck and sank, killing him and
forever ending the python's reign of
terror. Moyo reconciled with Tarzan,
finally seeing that Jane was part of
their family, and stepped down as
leader. He promised to wait until he was
ready to try to become leader again.
Despite his arrogance and stubbornness,
when the elephants and gorillas engage
in jungle warfare, Moyo plays a big part
in helping Tarzan lead the gorillas to
victory. Just as the gorillas are about
to triumph, a fire breaks out, and Moyo
is the first gorilla to follow Tarzan's
lead in putting out the fire.
Hazel, Greenly, and Eleanor - Three
upper-class women and Jane's friends
from England, who came to the jungle to
"save" Jane from Tarzan because they
thought that she was unhappy in the
jungle and being held against her will.
When she tried to show them that she was
still the same polished girl they knew
from London by throwing a typical
English picnic, she asked that Tarzan
wear his father's suit. Tarzan, thinking
Jane was embarrassed by him, wasn't too
thrilled on "being something he wasn't",
but after a heart to heart talk with the
Professor he put on the suit. Meanwhile,
Jane and her friends were being chased
by the panthers Sheeta and Nuru; using
the skills she learned in the jungle,
Jane was able to help her friends
survive until Tarzan was able to save
them. The next time her friends came to
visit, they brought Greenly's fiance
Henry to the jungle to "toughen him up".
After an earthquake created a tidal
wave, they ended up lost in the jungle
with Henry. The geologist showed
exceptional ingenuity and resolve in
helping the group survive until Tarzan
could save them, including
snake-charming a giant snake with his
oboe and wrestling a crocodile. Hazel is
mentioned in "Tarzan and the Flying Ace"
as being the biggest gossip in the
British Isles, which is how Robert knew
where to find Jane. Hazel also happens
to be the name of Jane's best friend in
the books, sharing her last name with
the voice actor, Tara Strong.
= Villains=
Tublat - A rogue ape and a former member
of Tarzan's gorilla family. He
challenged Kerchak for leadership but he
was defeated and cast out. He is
considered dangerous by all the gorillas
due to his aggressive and sociopathic
behavior. He is based on Kala's husband
in the original Tarzan novel. His
personality is also very much like the
original Kerchak or Terkoz from the
novel. Conversely, Kerchak's personality
in the 1999 film is just like Tublat's
in the original novel. He once took over
another gorilla family that Gobu
belonged to, but inspired by Tarzan the
family overthrew him and Gobu replaced
him. He often calls Tarzan a hairless
runt. He has four toes on his right
foot, and this is one way to tell he is
in the area. In the series, he plots to
dispose of Tarzan so that he can take
over the gorilla pack for himself and
makes no secret of his hatred against
Tarzan, believing him to be unworthy of
leading the gorilla family.
Queen La - In the original novels, a
high priestess of a blood cult who fell
in love with Tarzan. In her adaptation
for the series, she is a former member
of the Waziri tribe and an utterly
vicious sorceress who rules over the
abandoned city of Opar, where she lords
over the Leopard Men, leopards whom she
has changed into humanoid form to serve
her. She falls in love with Tarzan after
he comes to rescue Jane's father from
the Leopard Men, who were capturing
males as potential husbands for La. Her
attempts to seduce Tarzan fail every
time, as his loyalty is firmly with
Jane, and in almost every encounter La
is trying to hurt Jane and take Tarzan
for herself. She could actually
considered to be Jane's rival for
Tarzan's affections. Her magic staff is
eventually shattered by Jane, turning La
to dust and the Leopard men back into
ordinary leopards. Her spirit still
lingers and tries to steal Jane's body
and restore her staff. After some forced
body switching and getting inside
Tarzan, she is eventually forced inside
the body of a rat and the staff is taken
by a Waziri elder who was determined to
end her evil, trapping her in the rodent
form.
Samuel T. Philander - Professor
Archimedes' academic rival who
frequently attempts to steal his ideas
or garner fame by turning Tarzan in as
the "missing link". On one occasion, he
found Pellucidar yet his photographic
proof was ruined by a monkey
photographing himself. He even tried to
capture the silver ape Mangani who is
known for his healing powers. Samuel
even tried to capture Tarzan, but his
men mistook Archimedes for Tarzan. His
humiliations reduced him to living in a
ratty apartment in Chicago and
constantly ducking the Landlord when he
was visited by Edgar Rice Burroughs
wanting to know what he knew about
Tarzan. He is modeled on the British
comedy actor Terry-Thomas; he is named
after Professor Porter's bumbling
assistant in the original Tarzan novel.
Count Nikolas Rokoff- A greedy former
Russian count stripped of his title who
hears about a treasure in the valley of
the leopards and plans to find it to
regain his title. Tarzan refuses to help
him until Rokoff threatens to kill Jane
if he doesn't. His intellectual battle
with Tarzan goes like a chess game until
Tarzan finally releases the last few
leopards from the boarded up cave on
him, but it is unclear if they kill
Rokoff or not. The treasure is later
stolen by monkeys.
Lt. Colonel Staquait - A vicious,
scar-faced Colonel in the French Foreign
Legion. He sees himself on the right
side of the law, but his draconian means
do not justify his actions, putting him
at odds with Tarzan. He acts as judge
and executioner, and has made it his
goal to hunt down Hugo and Hooft because
they refused his order to burn down a
village full of women and children.
Tarzan helped fake their demise, but
eventually the Colonel learned the truth
and imprisoned them. Tarzan ended up
imprisoned in Fort Doom as well, then
after allowing Hugo and Hoof to escape,
he was sentenced to be hanged, but was
released after Renard impersonated a
French magistrate, which Staquait
doesn't notice as the heroes safely
returned to Africa by steamship.
Thaddeus Hunt- The leader of a band of
kidnappers who try to kidnap Tarzan and
former U.S. President Theodore Roosevelt
for ransom money. His two main minions
are Jake and Sam. He and his men are
eventually arrested by Roosevelt's two
government agents.
Nuru and Sheeta - They are two vicious
black panthers that frequently find and
battle Tarzan. They are sometimes seen
as part of a group of leopards, which is
a factual error, as leopards never hunt
in packs.
Mabaya - A rogue bull elephant who
originally belonged to the same herd as
Jabari and his parents. Mabaya, like all
rogues, is almost constantly angry and
attacks or tramples anything he sees for
almost no apparent reason. He is easily
recognized by his broken right tusk and
bloodshot red eyes. Episodes featuring
Mabaya usually require Tantor to
overcome his fears and face down the
renegade in an elephantine match of
strength.
Hista - A giant crimson red python that
threatens the gorilla family and no one
seems able to fight evenly. He threatens
the gorillas until Tarzan and Moyo
manage to lure him into a tar pit, where
the snake dies after sinking into it.
His weakness is that him and other
snakes have bad vision and sense body
heat to hunt, a weakness Tarzan used to
his advantage.
Johannes Niels and Merkus - Two miners
who first came to the jungle to mine
diamonds. Niels is the tall, blond
haired and calmer of the two, and Merkus
is shorter, muscular and more violent.
Tarzan agreed to guide them to a volcano
to dig for diamonds, on the condition
that he gets one to give to Jane. After
a mishap, they lose their diamonds and
leave in chains. They later return to
retrieve the diamonds, which may not
have survived the lava. They are
attacked by Tublat, whom they capture,
and are about to take him around the
world as a showpiece until Tarzan, along
with a protesting Terk, rescue him. Once
again, Niels and Merkus leave the jungle
empty handed.
Ian McTeague - A corrupt greedy
businessman. He started up an illegal
mining operation near the mountain,
where he and his men believe that there
is gold for them to dig. As they do so,
they use the water from the river to
irrigate their operation, where they
separate the dirt from ore with
chemicals, which are then later spilled
out into the rest of the river heading
towards the jungle. Because of this, it
has caused a plague among the animals
drinking it. Even the Waziri tribe fell
victim to the plague, as they used the
river for their crops and drinking.
Needless to say, McTeague doesn't care
about the toxicity of the chemicals and
continues dumping them into the river,
as he still wants to be rich. Upon
learning about the mine, Tarzan and his
friends ally with the Waziri tribe to
build a dam to block the river and then
break it down to have the rushing water
destroy the whole mine operation for
good, leaving the river fresh and clean
again. McTeague and his men then leave
in a huff, but not after McTeague
angrily swears revenge against Tarzan
and the Waziri tribe for ruining his
mining operation.
Lady Waltham - An aristocrat and sister
of the deceased Clayton who wants
revenge on Tarzan for killing her
brother. She had her valet Hobson
capture those close to him and then
poisoned Tarzan. Tarzan was then given a
challenge by Lady Waltham which was
either save those he is close to from
danger or head to a mountain she dubbed
"Clayton's Peak" where the antidote is.
Though Tarzan managed to save his
friends and family, he ended up saving
Lady Waltham from leopards. Afterwards,
she gave Tarzan the antidote realizing
that Tarzan would never have killed her
brother. She is implied to have made
peace with Tarzan and his family and has
returned to her original life.
Hobson - Lady Waltham's valet.
Muviro - a treacherous Waziri warrior
and one of Basuli's subordinates.
Despite serving for Basuli, Muviro holds
a personal hatred and jealousy against
the chief's son, and is hostile towards
outsiders. Upon learning that Basuli is
planning to get an eagle's feather with
Tarzan's help as part of the customs for
Basuli to marry and be future chief,
Muviro secretly plotted to dispose of
Basuli so that he himself can be the new
chief. He caused several incidents
during Tarzan and Basuli's journey: such
as chopping down a tree into a river
they were crossing over, disturbing a
herd of rhinos to stampede after the duo
and causing a rock slide on them in an
elephant graveyard near the mountain.
After the third attempt fails, Muviro
reveals his true colors to both Tarzan
and Basuli before engaging into a fight
with the latter. Fortunately, Basuli
defeats Muviro and banishes him from the
tribe for his treachery, and Muviro is
last seen walking away into the midst
with an angry look on his face, implying
that he might return to get revenge.
Robert Canler - Jane's old childhood
friend and next door neighbor, nicknamed
Bobby, who knew her since she was five.
He is an ace pilot who carries a
sword-cane with a silver eagle head and
a Webley pistol and flies in a Sopwith
with floats. He once worked for British
Intelligence but switched to the "other
side" as a double agent when he realized
how profitable it would be, by bringing
them a code machine which was disguised
as a music box that he gave Jane.
Despite his betrayal of Jane, he rescues
her from certain death and is eventually
arrested by Captain Nigel Taylor of the
RAF.
Sabor the Leopard
= Minor characters=
Bob Markham - A logger, widower, and
single father to his daughter Abby.
After his wife died, he sunk everything
he had into logging. However, the way he
was logging tore up so much soil, that a
long dormant plague was released and
threatened to kill his men, and
daughter. With help from Tarzan and
Terk, Markham gathered all but one of
the ingredients for the cure. The last
one was a flower that was only found in
one part of the jungle, until Markham's
men bulldozed over them while logging.
By some luck, Abby had picked one of
them before, and Jane showed her how to
press it, thus preserving it. After Abby
and Markham's men were cured, they
ceased logging and started to plant the
seeds saved from the flower.
Abigail "Abby" Markham - Abby Markham is
the daughter of Bob Markham, she appears
to be 5–9 years old, but may be older.
Markham loves his daughter, and will do
anything for her. When she falls ill
with the same plague that threatens his
men, he asks for Tarzan's help to cure
her. Together, they get all but one
ingredient for the cure, a flower found
only in an area that Markham's men had
bulldozed over; Luckily, Abby had picked
one of the flowers and preserved it by
pressing it. She is last seen playing
tag with Jane and Terk.
Gubo - A gorilla from another family.
Tarzan and Terk found him being attacked
by hyenas and saved him. He ended up
with a broken leg. Terk felt she wasn't
girly enough for him. He managed to
trick Tarzan into coming with him to his
family so he could meet his leader.
Tarzan then finds out Tublat is his
leader. He showed up a few months ago
and killed Gubo's original leader.
Tublat and Tarzan prepare to battle, but
Gubo stands up to him and reminds
everyone that there is strength in
numbers and the gorillas gang up on
Tublat, driving him off. Gubo then steps
in to take place as new leader. Terk
tries her lady charms, but Gubo tells
her that he always liked Terk the way
she is. They both end up leaving to
throw mud at warthogs.
Zutho - A shady mandrill that Tarzan,
Terk, and Tantor first encountered as
kids at the forbidden side of the river.
While Tarzan teaches Zutho and his
friends how to make spears, a fire broke
out and nearly destroyed the jungle but
the rain had put it down. Tarzan blamed
himself and ended up in Zutho's debt.
Years later, Zutho resurfaces in order
to get Tarzan to fulfill his favor into
dealing with some annoying monkeys that
were keeping him up at night. With help
from Jane, Terk, and Tantor, Tarzan did
the right thing and admitted what
happened the day of the fire to Kala who
then dealt with Zutho.
Gozan - A mandrill who is one of Zutho's
friends.
Edgar Rice Burroughs - A book writer who
was in need of inspiration for his next
novel. He eventually finds it when
discovering about Tarzan. After meeting
some of Tarzan's acquaintances, he
finally meets Tarzan when Tarzan saves
him. After a talk with Tarzan and Jane
he creates a novel and his boss says
everyone will remember him by it. He was
also a real person who wrote the Tarzan
series.
Theodore Roosevelt - Former President of
the United States. The writers take
Roosevelt's real life post presidency
trip to Africa for the Natural History
Museum of New York and put it in the
series.
Episodes
Broadcast
In late 2001, Disney Channel added The
Legend of Tarzan to their lineup. Reruns
continued until September 2, 2003, when
the series was pre-empted in favor of a
90-minute showing of Recess.
Critical reception
CommonSenseMedia gave the show a rating
of 3 stars out of 5, writing "Despite
the show's charms, it doesn't quite live
up to the original film. But it does
teach viewers about the responsibilities
of growing up -- the good, the bad, and,
of course, the funny -- and it's
definitely something that families can
watch together, especially as it spends
a lot of time focusing on family
dynamics." The Hour praised the show for
having Disney-quality animation, for
being faithful to the film's storyline,
and for giving viewers a chance to
discover what happens after the movie
ends. However, it noted the voice actors
are not the same and said the voice of
Terk is "really annoying".
In 2002, the show was nominated for a
Daytime Emmy Award and two Golden Reel
Awards.
References
External links
The Legend of Tarzan at the Internet
Movie Database
Disney's The Legend of Tarzan at the Big
Cartoon DataBase
The Legend of Tarzan at TV.com
