Follow TV Tropes

Following

Context TearJerker / Tarzan

Go To

1'''As a Moments subpage, all spoilers are unmarked [[Administrivia/SpoilersOff as per policy.]] Administrivia/YouHaveBeenWarned.'''
2
3!![[WesternAnimation/{{Tarzan}} The film]]
4%%Image removed via crowner in the Moments Images Cleanup Thread: https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/crowner.php?crowner_id=irvlpwb6
5%%https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/posts.php?discussion=1642193091068711500
6%%Please do not add a new image without going through the Image Suggestion thread or starting a new Image Pickin' thread
7%%
8* Kala losing her baby and subsequently finding the infant Tarzan, set to Phil Collins' "Two Worlds", a song which itself has made people cry when hearing it.
9-->'''Music/PhilCollins:''' ''[[SugarWiki/AwesomeMusic No words describe a mother's tears/No words can heal a broken heart...]]''
10* Tarzan's parents and [[ShootTheShaggyDog what happened to them]]. Picture it: Victorian-age Englishfolk, lost in the rainforest with their infant son after having miraculously survived a shipwreck. Yet they're determined not to just lie there and die. They built a treehouse, working together (when the beam slips on the father's shoulders and the mother joins him to help carry it, that's when the tears start). It's a pretty impressive-looking treehouse, and it seems as though the three of them will at least be able to live comfortably... and then [[CatsAreMean Sabor]] shows up.
11* The death of [[JerkWithaHeartofGold Kerchak]], right after he finally accepts Tarzan as his son.
12* While the focus for most of the scene is on getting Jane, the Professor, and Clayton away from him, Kerchak's reaction to seeing that [[NiceJobBreakingItHero Tarzan has defied his orders and brought them to the home he was trying to protect]] is saddening; especially since ''just'' before they showed up, the two had just had the beginnings of an understanding. When he first sees them, he just seems too stunned and confused to react, and only flies into a rage once Clayton pulls out his gun. [[DisappointedInYou He doesn't even look angry at Tarzan afterwards, just betrayed, his voice full of hurt.]]
13-->'''Kerchak:''' I asked you to ''protect'' our family. And you...''betrayed us all''.
14* After Kala takes Tarzan back to the treehouse she found him in, and he finally knows the full truth of his past:
15-->'''Kala:''' Tarzan...I just want you to be ''happy.'' Whatever you decide...\
16'''Tarzan:''' No matter where I go, you will always be my mother.\
17'''Kala:''' And you will always be in my heart.
18** The fact that Tarzan is dressed in his father's clothes during that scene doubles the emotional impact. Something about a well-dressed gentleman hugging a gorilla and reassuring her that she is his mother just increases the poignancy.
19** Tarzan finding the photo of him and his parents and realizing just who they are. There's a particularly poignant moment when he sees the woman in the photo and says "And this is my..."--but he can't bring himself to say "mother." It's clear that he's torn between Kala, who raised him and truly sees him as her son (with that feeling being mutual), and his birth mother, who gave her life to protect him as the ultimate act of love. If there's a moment that summarizes how Tarzan feels about being trapped between two worlds, it's this one.
20** Phil Collins' "You'll Be In My Heart" instrumentally plays in the score during this scene.
21** The look on Kala's face when she heard those footsteps before she turns around. You can tell that a part of her is hoping that Tarzan will stay...and then she sees him in his father's suit. She knows that he's chosen to join Jane, and while she [[IWantMyBelovedToBeHappy values his happines above all else]], she can't hide the heartbreak she's feeling over her son leaving her.
22** Also worth noting is that this is the last time Kala speaks in the film. Other than unintelligible ape noises, she has no further dialogue.
23* Kerchak scolding Tarzan for causing the elephant stampede. His harsh and discouraging words about Tarzan fitting in when he argues with Kala is just plain hurtful to the poor boy.
24-->'''Tarzan:''' It was my fault, Kerchak.\
25'''Kala:''' Tarzan?\
26'''Tarzan:''' We were playing and...well...I'm sorry, Kerchak.\
27''(He places his hand next to Kerchak's own, hoping he would forgive him, but Kerchak moves it away.)''\
28'''Kerchak:''' ''(harshly)'' You almost ''killed someone!''\
29'''Tarzan:''' But it was an accident.\
30'''Kala:''' ''(defending Tarzan)'' He's only a child.\
31'''Kerchak:''' That's no excuse, Kala, you can't keep defending him.\
32'''Kala:''' But he'll learn.\
33'''Kerchak:''' He will never learn! You can't learn to be one of us!\
34'''Kala:''' That's because you ''never'' give him a chance!\
35'''Kerchak:''' Give him a chance?! Kala, look at him! He will ''never'' be one of us!\
36''(Tarzan gasps in a mixture of sadness and hurt)''\
37'''Kala:''' Kerchak! ''(Tarzan runs off into the jungle, overcome with grief)'' Tarzan!\
38''(Kerchak snorts as Kala sighs as she looks on in the direction of where Tarzan has fled)''
39* When Jane and Tarzan say goodbye at the end of the film. Yes, it only lasts for a couple of minutes, but the heartwrenching tension is PAINFUL. Jane then loses her glove in the wind and it conveniently flies over to Tarzan, who picks it up and gives Jane one of the most pitiful looks in the history of Disney animated canon.
40* This exchange:
41--> "You came back..."\
42"I came ''home''."
43* The moment when Tantor and Terk think they've missed saying goodbye to Tarzan. Terk flies into a sorrowful rage while Tantor simply says, "I'm gonna miss him too."
44* Tarzan has spent his entire life not knowing why he's so ''different'' from his mom, his dad, and his friends. He has ''no idea'' who or what he is, and then all of a sudden three humans show up...and he finds out Kala and several other gorillas had known about humans all along. The ''anger'' in Tarzan's voice when he confronts Kala about the humans is just heartwrenching.
45-->'''Tarzan:''' Why didn't you tell me there were creatures who ''looked like me?!''
46* Tarzan's increased agitation when being held captive inside the ship becomes even worse when you realize that Tarzan, used to the widespread landscape of the jungle [[FridgeHorror has never been inside what is essentially a metal cage to him. All around, the simple structure of the chamber is completely foreign to Tarzan and all his talents and skills at maneuvering around the jungle are useless.]]
47** He also takes Clayton's betrayal especially badly, which makes a lot of sense. While it's not as focused on as his relationship with Jane, it's clear that as the only people even remotely like him he's ever met he's latched on particularly hard to Professor Porter and Clayton as well, and trusts Clayton enough to take his advice without question. The look on his face when Clayton reveals himself to be with the mutineers cycles from fear, to confusion, to pain and rage in a very heartbreaking way.
48*** His HeroicBSOD after Jane calms him down in the brig is equally painful:
49---->'''Tarzan:''' Clayton...\
50'''Jane:''' Yes, Clayton. Clayton betrayed us all. I'm so sorry, Tarzan.\
51'''Tarzan:''' [[LittleNo No...]] ''[[ItsAllMyFault I]]'' [[ItsAllMyFault did this.]] ''[[MyGodWhatHaveIDone I]]'' [[MyGodWhatHaveIDone betrayed my family. Kerchak was right.]]
52** Professor Porter takes Clayton's betrayal hard as well, realizing that Clayton never cared about anything other than money or sating his own bloodlust, and never saw the gorillas as living beings, just objects. Nature might be cruel, but there's at least some beauty in it, no matter how dark it gets. Clayton just wants to lock everything up in a cage, or murder it for his own sick pleasure if it can put up any real resistance.
53* Note that in spite of all this, Tarzan didn't have it in him to kill Clayton, and when the latter attempts to slash through the vines he's entangled him in, Tarzan outright begs him to stop before it's too late. He looks pretty traumatized by the sight of Clayton's corpse dangling in front of him, having accidentally set up his own demise.
54* The scene where a young Tarzan tries to cover himself in mud to be a gorilla. He just wanted to fit in.
55
56!!The musical
57* TheMusical adds in a reprise of "You'll Be in My Heart" (sung as a duet between Kala and Tarzan) after Tarzan decides to leave the jungle and return to society to be with Jane. While the musical was seen as SoOkayItsAverage, every critic admitted that that scene would reduce the entire house to tears every time.

Top