Munir's Disney Retrospective - Animated Classic #37: Tarzan (1999)

Last Week's: Munir's Disney Retrospective - Animated Classic #36: Mulan (1998).

The last film from this very productive era is not often as well remembered as some of the Renaissance's biggest films, but when you look back, you can see that Tarzan ended this period with a palpable bang. Based on Edgar Rice Burroughs's famous novels, Tarzan tells the origin story of the popular hero. As usual with the films from this period, Tarzan excels, with stellar animation, compelling characters and a heartfelt story. Moreover, this was the last Disney film I was interested and excited about, before I became indifferent with their filmography and turned myself completely over to Pixar. That's why Tarzan remains a bright spot, as it comes before a very dark age began at the studio.

The Lorax and John Carter Debut - Who's Winning?

The latest animated effort from Illumination Entertainment - the studio behind Despicable Me - The Lorax, was released last Friday. While the critical response to the film hasn't been overwhelmingly positive, it has been raking it in at the US box office, opening in the number 1 position and maintaining that place this week. It's currently grossed over $120 million, making it the highest grossing film of the year thus far.

It's placed ahead of a film that made its debut this weekend, a film that Disney was hoping would place significantly higher, Andrew Stanton's John Carter. The Finding Nemo director's adaptation of Edgar Rice Burroughs's first Barsoom based sci-fi novel was hoped to be Disney's next franchise, to replace Pirates of the Carribbean; yet it took only £30.6 million in its opening weekend. While it's far too early to write it off yet, the combination of bad marketing, poor critical response so far and a reportedly large budget mean that a sequel is looking less likely; which is a real shame given Andrew Stanton's blatant love for the source material and his immense talent.

It's a shame to see John Carter under-perform, and I'll be able to judge it for myself (and contribute to its worldwide gross) when I see it this weekend.

John Carter - 10 Minute Clip

Despite having the utmost faith in Andrew Stanton, the visionary director behind Pixar's Finding Nemo and WALL E, I had thus far been underwhelmed by John Carter; the trailers looked a bit generic, making little of the fact that this is the story that inspired Star Wars and Avatar, instead making it look like a mash-up of Prince of Persia and Avatar.

However, as we approach its release date (Friday) and the review embargo is lifted, more and more good things are being said about Andrew Stanton and Disney's adaptation of Edgar Rice Burroughs's classic Barsoom novels. But, what's got me most excited is embedded above, Disney have released a ten minute clip from towards the start of the movie, showing the events leading up to the titular character's arrival on Mars, and they're brilliant.

A mix of intensity, epic scope and comedy, John Carter looks set to keep Stanton's immaculate reputation intact and possibly help launch Disney's next franchise come Friday.