Based on the novel by Edgar Rice Burroughs, Disney's version of the Tarzan® legend will continue with the story of the young boy orphaned by his parents, Lord Greystoke and Lady Alice, who are killed in the jungle by the leopard, Sabor. Found and raised by the ape, Kala, Tarzan® grows up only knowing the ways of the jungle. Making friends with all the animals of the jungle and learning to survive by his wits and strength. In 1908, a British expedition begins to "invade" his home, Tarzan® must choose to protect his home and family or learn the ways of humans, by the way of a young English lady named Jane, her explorer father, Professor Porter and the explorer, Cecil Clayton.

In a 1936 letter to his son, Burroughs wrote that he wanted to make an animated feature of his character, Tarzan®. It took over sixty-three years, but Burroughs dream finally came true. Tarzan® is the second most filmed subject, "Dracula" being the first. With the over 26 novels about the adventures of Tarzan®, 48 Tarzan® movie features have been produced. The first Tarzan® movie was in 1918, Tarzan of the Apes, a silent film starring Elmo Lincoln. The 1920's The Revenge of Tarzan starred Gene Pollar and Karla Schramm. James H. Pierce, the son-in-law of Burroughs, who also voiced Tarzan® on the radio, starred in Tarzan and the Golden Lion. One of the most famous actors to play Tarzan®, Johnny Weissmuller starred in 12 films, including 1932's Tarzan, the Ape Man. In 1949's Tarzan's Magic Fountain, Lex Barker took over as the Tarzan® character on the silver screen. Gordon Scott played the ape-man in six movies from the middle 50's until the early 60's. During the late 60's, a Tarzan® television series featured Ron Ely. In the last twenty years, the most recent films were Greystoke: The Legend of Tarzan, Lord of the Apes starred Christopher Lambert as Tarzan and Andie MacDowell as Jane and Tarzan and the Lost City, starring Casper Van Dien and Jane March.

From World Book CD-Rom: "Edgar Rice Burroughs (1875-1950), an American author, created Tarzan®, one of the most famous characters in fiction. In Burroughs' books, Tarzan is the son of Lord Greystoke, an English nobleman. He is abandoned in Africa while a baby and is raised by a family of apes. He grows up in the jungle, learning the language and habits of the animals. Tarzan has many adventures and saves many lives.

Burroughs wrote the first Tarzan® story in 1912. He published the first Tarzan® book, Tarzan of the Apes, in 1914. Burroughs wrote more than 70 books, including 26 about Tarzan®. Burroughs' works have sold more than 36 million copies and have been translated into more than 30 languages. Tarzan has been featured in numerous motion pictures, a radio serial, a television series, and a comic strip.

Burroughs also wrote many books of fantastic science fiction about life on other planets, beginning with the magazine serial, Under the Moons of Mars (1912). It was published in book form in 1917 as A Princess of Mars. Burroughs was born in Chicago. He turned to writing after drifting through a number of laboring jobs and failed business ventures."

Contributor: Barbara M. Perkins, Ph.D., Adjunct Prof., Univ. of Toledo; Associate Editor, Narrative.