The story of Tarzan changed dramatically from conception to release. The narrative archive reveals a darker, more adult-oriented film that was slowly sanded into the family classic we know.

Background

Plot summary

Characters

Animation and production

Music and reception

Box office and legacy

Archive resources (where to look)

Suggested citation format (MLA)

Would you like a more detailed deep-dive on any of: production history, animation techniques (Deep Canvas), soundtrack and Phil Collins’ role, box-office breakdown, or comparisons to Burroughs’ original novels?

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Searching for resources related to the 1999 Disney film in the Internet Archive reveals several "helpful papers" and digital assets, including scholarly critiques, activity centers, and archival media. Scholarly & Critical Papers

: This paper, hosted in the Warwick University archive, provides a critical analysis of the film's depiction of Africa from a Western perspective. Tarzan of the Apes - Wikipedia Archival References

: While not a single paper, the Wikipedia entry archives multiple academic sources from 1999, such as Jeff Berglund’s work on the character's history and development. Archival Media & Interactive Resources

The Internet Archive (Archive.org) contains specific digital copies of supplemental "paper" materials and software from the film's release era:

Disney’s Activity Center Tarzan: A digital version of the 1999 software that includes levels of arcade action and a "jungle journal" for creating secret animal languages. Disney’s Tarzan Print Studio

: An archival resource for printing character-themed materials like stationary, posters, and cards. Storybooks & Scripts: Digital scans of books like Disney's Tarzan by Zoehfeld and

are available for borrowing, which translate the film's script into a readable format. Expert Commentary & Production Insights The Making of Disney's Tarzan

: Archival interviews with the animation team detailing how they reinvented Tarzan’s movement based on surfers and animal biology.

Tarzan (1999) Movie Commentary: A fan-hosted commentary archive discussing the production and the iconic Phil Collins soundtrack.

If you search the Tarzan 1999 Archive for one thing, it should be the Deep Canvas technical documents. This proprietary software, developed specifically for the film, allowed animators to paint 3D environments. The archive contains the original wireframes of the "Surfing the Trees" sequence.

Most CGI of 1999 looked plastic. Deep Canvas looked like an oil painting in motion. In the archive, you can find:

For modern animators, studying these archive files is a masterclass in hybrid animation. They prove that while technology advances, the eye of a painter (like background artist Paul Felix) is timeless.

Published by: The Animation Historical Society Est. reading time: 9 minutes

In the pantheon of the Disney Renaissance (1989–1999), no film serves as a more dramatic, triumphant conclusion than Tarzan. Released on June 18, 1999, it was the last film of the era, utilizing the most advanced technology the studio had ever seen. Yet, for the past two decades, accessing the "making of" history has been difficult.

Enter the Tarzan 1999 Archive: a digital (and physical) treasure trove of pre-production art, behind-the-scenes footage, deleted scenes, and sound design breakdowns. Whether you are a 3D artist studying the revolutionary "Deep Canvas" technique, or a 90s kid hunting for the lost Phil Collins demos, this guide will walk you through everything stored in the official and unofficial archives of this masterpiece.

Disney’s "vault" (much of which has been digitized for the Disney+ platform and the Walt Disney Archives) contains a treasure trove of unused material:

No Tarzan 1999 archive is complete without the music. Phil Collins’ Grammy-winning soundtrack was unique—he recorded the songs in English, French, German, Italian, and Spanish.

Archival recordings found in London’s AIR Studios vaults include:

Before Tarzan swung onto screens, the character was considered box office poison. A string of live-action failures in the 1980s had made the property feel dated. Disney’s archive from 1995–1998 tells a story of intense development hell. Early concept art, much of which resides in the Walt Disney Animation Research Library (the true "archive"), reveals radically different visions: a comedic Tarzan voiced by Steve Martin, a noir-ish 1930s take, and even a version set in a post-apocalyptic jungle.

The final narrative breakthrough came from a single sketch. Animator Glen Keane, who would serve as the film’s supervising animator for Tarzan, drew a now-iconic image: Tarzan sliding down a tree bark on his back, upside down. That single piece of paper—preserved and digitized in the archive—unlocked the film’s visual language. It fused the physics of a surfer with the verticality of a vine climber.