| | Put
your faith in what you most believe in: Two Worlds, One Family.
The magic of Disney’s Tarzan swings onto the stage in a riot of
dance and jungle rhythms. Join the tribe of gorillas as they
take over the stage and take you into their world of fun and
laughter with amazing acrobatics and vine-swinging mayhem! A
paradise untouched by man, until… The sound of an infant’s
crying breaks the peace. A soothing lullaby dance led by
Kala calms the baby – a “hairless wonder” who doesn’t seem to
quite fit in… | Try as
he might, the hairless wonder, Tarzan, simply doesn’t have the
skill of the other animals. As he stumbles and falters his
way through the acrobatic challenges, he becomes the joke of the
group and gets pushed aside as the other young gorillas show off
their skill in a series of incredible acrobatic stunts.
Tarzan vows to gain the power to the be strong and the wisdom to
be wise, and after many years he pounces back onto the stage
triumphant, having finally found his place in the jungle and
become the son of man – a man for all to see. | But
just as the jungle is in harmony once again, the arrival of a
newcomer from another world casts the land back into
disequilibrium. Jane arrives on stage and begins to explore
the exciting world around her. A curious Tarzan then arrives
on stage and before long has finally discovered that he is not
alone in the world. | Whilst
Tarzan and Jane show each other the wonders of their two worlds,
Terk and the other gorillas start “Trashin’ The Camp”, with the
help of audience members to create a wild cacophony of sound and
rhythm. Tarzan returns with Jane and the animals run away in
fear from the strange newcomer, before being shown by Tarzan that
two worlds really can live as one family. | | | | | |  | The
soundtrack of The Tarzan Encounter comprises mainly of music
taken directly from the 1999 Disney feature film, which used
songs written and sung by Phil Collins and a score by Mark
Mancina. Transferring these songs into a show based on the
film for a park which welcomes guests in six major European
languages provided some challenges in how to make sure everyone
in the audience would understand and follow the show. As
well as using very little dialogue (what dialogue there is is
presented in both English and French), the show also made use of
the recordings Phil Collins made of his Tarzan soundtrack in
multiple languages. | As
well as the original English language recordings, Collins also
recorded his songs in French, German, Spanish (both Latin
American and Castillian) and Italian. This was the first
time that a Disney animated feature had been released with
international versions of songs by the same major recording
artist. “When they first asked me if I’d be willing to
sing the songs in other languages, I wasn’t sure I could deliver
what they wanted but I was willing to give it a go,” Collins
said at the time. “Working with some top producers as well
as music and language consultants, I was able to learn the words
phonetically and, with a lot of practice, give them the same
feelings that I could in the English language versions.” | In
the show, the songs are played as normal, but the vocal changes
between the different languages they were recorded in.
These songs by Phil Collins as well as music from Mark Mancina’s
score and even some brand new instrumental sections give the
show a powerful and moving effect on guests of all
nationalities. | | | | | |  |
Bringing the legend of Tarzan to the stage in Disneyland Park took
nearly one hundred people from countless professions. Reed
Jones and Doug May had two of the most influential roles in the
creation of the show, as Director and Artistic Director
respectively. Together they created a totally original new
show with the emphasis on highly skilled acrobatics rather than
the usual Disney musical shows. |
Costumes for the show were created by Sue Lecash. Due to the
nature of the show and large amount of flexibility and movement
required of the costumes, the costumes for the gorillas and other
monkeys were created in a stylised design. This meant that
they would allow the acrobats to fulfil their demanding dance
routines and acrobatics whilst still having a visual style close
enough to that of their respective animal. The costumes for
Tarzan and Jane, however, were able to be very similar to those
seen in the film itself. | The
green and luscious set for the show was designed by Bernard
Arnould, who is now best known for his stunning work on The Legend
of the Lion King. The set uses a large amount of replicated
jungle greenery and rock formations with enough of an aged and
wild look to give the setting a real sense of history. | After
a joint press premiere with “Indiana Jones and the Temple of
Peril: Backwards!” on March 25th 2000, The Tarzan Encounter
premiered to the public on April 1st 2000. | | | | | | | | | | |  | | 16th
July to 28th August 2005 |
12.00, 13.00, 14.00, 16.15, 17.15 | | | | 29th
August to 25th September 2005 |
13.00, 15.15, 16.45 | | |  |
Getting a Seat | � It
is recommended that you arrive around 30 minutes before the
start of the show to ensure you get a seat, though this time can
be increased or decreased depending on how busy the park is. | � To
get the best view of the action, sit in the centre section of
the theatre. Here, the large wooden roof supports are
rarely in the way and you get amazingly close to the action when
Tarzan swings out above you later in the show! If you want
to sit in this area, do make sure you arrive early. | | |
Languages | �
The show features no live speech and the songs and voiceovers
features are all in several languages meaning that this show can
be understood and enjoyed by all. | | |
Taking Part | �
During the “Trashin’ The Camp” musical dance section of the
show, children are invited to the front of the theatre to take
part in the show by bashing a collection of items (such as pots
and pans) together. | | | | | | | | | |  | |
Opening Date
1st April 2000 | |
Total Cast per Show
18 | |
Credits
Reed Jones (Director)
Doug May (Artistic Director)
Bernard Arnould (Stage Design)
Kat de Blois (Choreography)
Sue Lecash (Costumes) | | |  | |
Tarzan (Original Soundtrack) | The original soundtrack CD
of the film features the excellent music by Phil Collins and Mark Mancina
that is used in the show. | | | | | 14 tracks
41mins 15secs
Walt Disney Records
available from Amazon.co.uk
[more info…] | | | | |
