Compared with the animation name of the version of "King of the Jungle", the translated name of "Tarzan of the Apes" may be more familiar to Chinese audiences. Audiences like me in their twenties and thirties must have fresh memories of the 1999 Disney two-dimensional version of "Tarzan" animation. More than ten years have passed, the same story theme, but the animation expression form has changed from two-dimensional to 3d animation, forming a re-interpretation of the classics.
In terms of expression, the advantage of two-dimensional technology lies in the cartoonization of the image, which can adopt more random deformation, free special scenes and camera motion and other animation languages. The development of three-dimensional technology has broadened the visual shock of the film, no matter the scene. The fidelity is also the enhancement of the impact of sound and picture. If the old version of "Tarzan of the Apes" movie is remembered with cartoon images, then in the three-dimensional version of "King of the Jungle", the overall visual effect is more focused on a kind of documentary aesthetics. The film has obviously made great efforts in the creation of the scenes, especially the use of 3D technology to build a complex jungle scene with numerous models, lush vegetation and patchwork, as if people are in the depths of a real dense forest. The spectacle and exquisiteness of the are worthy of recognition.
Documentary aesthetics is another innovation of the three-dimensional version of "King of the Jungle". The film’s narrative angle tends to be an almighty God’s perspective, not only following the single vision of the protagonist, Taishan, but also more objective, with a lot of interpretiveness. The narration, demonstrative and reductive audio-visual language skills make the whole film less like a "cartoon" in people's concept in a sense, but a bit similar to the science and education animation created by bbc or Discovery Channel. This treatment makes the story more serious and strengthens the literary seriousness of the work itself, which may be related to the film's 100-year tribute to the original novel. It can also attract more adult audiences to appreciate the film. It is also different from mainstream animation films. It is an interesting attempt.
Regarding the plot, the three-dimensional "King of the Jungle" is also innovative. As a classic literary adaptation, the general plot is relatively similar. "A white orphan was adopted by a gorilla who lost his child and grew up as a member of the forest. When he was in contact with human society, he met the explorer and his daughter, and it became a good story. At the same time, Taishan also has to fight against the forces that destroy the forest as the guardian of the forest." One of the bolder innovations in "King of the Jungle" is that the film added the concept of an alien meteorite. The beginning of the film tells the fall of an ancient meteorite, and Taishan's parents crashed the plane because of the meteorite investigation. In the second half of the movie, the guardian of the jungle, the incarnation of Mount Tai, is fighting against the forces that destroy the meteorite. It can be said that the fate of the protagonist Taishan in this version is closely connected with the plot innovation of the meteorite, making the film more than just a technical method. The transformation has also been extended and developed a little.
Of course, the viewing angle of the three-dimensional version of "King of the Jungle" is worthy of scrutiny. Perhaps a controversial issue is that the film's presentation is too objective, due to the enhancement of the popularization of science mentioned above, and The narrative eloquence makes the whole movie less entertaining. As an animated film created by a European team, the film is also tainted with the slow-paced narrative of European films, which makes the transition and plot fluctuations of the whole story seem a bit gentle, for example, it is just about the life experience of Taishan’s parents investigating the crash. It took nearly thirty minutes, which may not seem so satisfying from a purely entertaining perspective. If the rhythm of the movie can be speeded up and the plot is compressed to a certain extent, the movie will give the audience a better viewing experience. But anyway, the three-dimensional version of "King of the Jungle" after all provides another performance possibility, exploring new ideas that enrich the creation of three-dimensional animation movies.
View more about Tarzan reviews
