You probably know the story of Tarzan. As a baby, his parents die in the jungle, and he gets raised by gorillas. However, as he grows up, he notices that he is different from everyone else. And he doesn’t understand why.

Below are some parts from the film that stand out to me for various reasons.

1: When Tantor’s mom has to keep reminding him that there are no piranhas in Africa 

Tantor gets scared when he sees Tarzan underwater. He freaks out about him being a piranha. His mother has to constantly remind him that there aren’t any piranhas in Africa.

This scene stands out to me because these are wild animals. How do they know that piranhas only live in South America? How do they even know what piranhas are?

A certain Youtuber pointed this out, too, when discussing Tarzan. There could be all kinds of theories to this, such as the animals overhearing a voice stating where piranhas reside.

Or it could just be a form of cartoon logic.

2: When Tarzan put on clothes

When Kala shows Tarzan a picture of his biological parents, he discovers who they were and where he thinks he belongs. Then he somehow is able to put on a suit.

How did he learn to dress himself if he was raised by apes, who obviously never wore clothes? I guess this is another form of cartoon logic.

3: When a baby monkey cried because Jane took her drawing back from him

When Jane is in the jungle with her father, Professor Porter, and their unkind master, Clayton, she decides to draw birds. However, a baby monkey gets excited and plays with her sketch. This, of course, annoys her. So, she takes her drawing back, and it makes the baby monkey cry.

I guess this part stands out because it was kind of funny. The baby monkey’s reaction to Jane retrieving her picture of the bird was likely realistic.

4: When Jane and Tarzan’s hands touched each other

When Tarzan is checking out the humans, he feels that he can relate to them more than the gorillas. At some point, he and Jane develop feelings for each other. He sees that her hand is like his, and the two press each other’s hands together.

Not only is this scene beautiful, but it also stands out from other Disney films. In many of them, at least with human characters, the males have drastically bigger hands than the females, who have smaller and thinner hands.

Tarzan is one of the few where the male and female hands are the same size.

5: When Jane kissed a parrot on the beak

During the musical number, “Strangers Like Me,” Tarzan spends a lot of time with Jane. He learns a lot from her. She also learns a lot from him.

For instance, he takes her into the jungle and up a tree. A bunch of parrots fly toward them. Jane is so happy. She even kisses a parrot on its beak.

I know this is just a cartoon. But I couldn’t help but find that action kind of unsanitary. Who knows what germs wild birds have?

At least Jane doesn’t get sick from that.

Conclusion

I will admit that Tarzan does not really rank among my favorites of Disney movies. It is actually the only Disney flick from their second renaissance (1989 – 1999) that I wouldn’t give 5 out of 5 stars to. It wasn’t bad. I think it was just okay.

Are there any parts from this movie that stand out to you that aren’t on this list? Let me know in the comments if you’d like.