Verdict: Disney's ape-man cometh, for a fast and fun joy ride.

Details: Animated film with voices by Tony Goldwyn, Minnie Driver, Glenn Close and Rosie O'Donnell. Rated G. 1 hour, 28 minutes.

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Review: Disney's animated "Tarzan" really swings. This long-haired dude confidently surfs through Africa's immense rain forest. He glides barefoot on never-ending, moss-covered tree limbs like the coolest Rollerblader you've ever seen. His feet never fail him.

His movie doesn't, either. It's both a little scary and a lot funny, and kids will no doubt lap it up.

To date there have been at least 47 film versions of Edgar Rice Burroughs' story of the formidable Tarzan, orphaned in Africa, raised by simians, discovered and loved by Jane and, ultimately, destined to become king of the beasts. Johnny Weissmuller is unquestionably the alpha ape-man. Let's not even talk about such omegas as Mike Henry in the 1960s or last year's Casper Van Dien.

This 'toon "Tarzan" can't match Weissmuller's shrill yell--and, smartly, hardly even tries. But it does take the jungle-book guy into new territory, raising the bar on animated visuals with groundbreaking background drawings that appear to be 3-D.

Remember the ballroom dance sequence in "Beauty and the Beast"? It was about 30 seconds of computerized three-dimensional juice, making the scene a memorable eye-popper. "Tarzan" improves on the technique and exploits it for its full 88 minutes.

This jungle realistically sways, the ocean waves visually roar and Tarzan's long, reckless but sure-footed treks through the trees are as arresting to the eyes as just about anything in the latest "Star Wars." Plus, Disney has a leg up on George Lucas: "Tarzan" is full of talented voices, with an often-enough moving and humane story to tell.

The voice of Rosie O'Donnell is a kick as Tarzan's androgynous young ape pal, Terk. Wayne Knight is sweetly silly voicing the movie's orange elephant sidekick, Tantor. Glenn Close propels Kala, the ape who adopts the baby Tarzan, into a female as loving as Dumbo's ma. Lance Henriksen's growly voice is perfectly menacing for the charging, ape-clan patriarch Kerchak.

Voicing the lead roles, Minnie Driver's wide-eyed Jane and Tony Goldwyn's knuckle-walking ape-man infuse the movie with just enough sexual chemistry to make "Tarzan" an honest love story.

Too bad most of those characters aren't drawn with the same gusto as the background. And Phil Collins' schmoozy pop soundtrack is one of those noisy nuisances that does nothing but sell well.

So maybe "Tarzan" isn't the well-rounded stuff that made "Beauty and the Beast" the only animated film ever nominated for a best-picture Oscar, and it probably won't impress you as much as "The Lion King," "The Little Mermaid" or even "The Jungle Book."

But it does have plenty of the right other stuff. It depicts violence and death in a manner respectful of young eyes. It knows how to really make an audience laugh--and illustrates it with one, brief, beautiful, in-your-face homage to "Beauty and the Beast."

"Tarzan" is a fun time at the movies: a Disney-patented, G-rated frolic. And we sure need it. Too often it's an R-rated jungle out there.

— Bob Longino, Cox News Service

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