Follow TV Tropes

Following

History Headscratchers / Tarzan

Go To

OR

Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
None



to:

** We're not shown much personality aside from being a ferocious predator, but maybe Sabor is a lot like Shere Khan from the Jungle Book. Holding a humans are bastards mindset. Sabor killed Tarzan's parents (and tried to kill Tarzan himself) solely out of feeling threatened by human presence in the jungle. And European humans no less, who'd be more likely to hunt for sport.
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
None

Added DiffLines:

** RuleOfScary. In real life, big cat kills are pretty quick and bloodless (usually by either breaking the neck of crushing the windpipe). Sabor's pawprints are bloody to show that she has killed Tarzan's parents.
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
None

Added DiffLines:

* What made Sabor's paws stained with blood, thus leaving bloody pawprints after killing Tarzan's human family?
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
None

Added DiffLines:

** Sabor's body would definitely have to be moved somehow - her corpse, right by their nesting grounds, would be a draw for scavengers. The body was likely taken as far as possible from the nesting grounds and left somewhere. As for Kerchak, since gorillas actually do have "funerals", his body was likely given some ceremony, although whether it was buried is unknown.
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
None



to:

** Unlikely - when Kala informs Kerchak about Tarzan's parents, she says "Sabor killed his family", rather than "a leopard killed his family". This implies that Sabor herself has a rather fearsome reputation.
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
None

Added DiffLines:

** There are also hints that Sabor is an unusually large and aggressive leopard - even ''elephants'' are scared of her and she can almost kill a full-grown silverback gorilla. Kerchak was probably also uncertain that he could survive a fight against her, especially at night, where she'd have the advantage.
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
None

Added DiffLines:

** The gorillas would presumably see no reason in burying Sabor. It seems as though they would've just left the body there, especially since they were trying to evade the sound of Clayton's gunshot. Nor do I know why they would've buried Kerchak -- yes, Tarzan might have been taught that humans are buried after they die, but that doesn't mean he would find it appropriate to do the same for Kerchak, who was a wild gorilla who distrusted humans and was ultimately killed by a human. And lastly, even if they did bury either or both of them, how are we supposed to tell where they did so? They're in the middle of the jungles of Africa; it's not as if there's any designated place for a cemetery.
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
None

Added DiffLines:

* Where did they Bury the bodies of Sabor (After killed by Tarzan) and Kerchak (after getting shot by Clayton)?

Changed: 39

Removed: 234

Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
None



to:

*** We are not talking about the books.



** No, she's a lesbian just like Rosie. She never even showed attraction to male gorillas. It's pretty obvious they were just good friends.
*** Well, in the series (TheLegendOfTarzan) she showed attraction to at least one male gorilla.
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
None

Added DiffLines:

** Don't know. In the book, his parents were essentially marooned by the other passengers after a mutiny. Maybe, in the film's sequence of events, things took a wrong turn during the mutiny, leading to the boat catching on fire? Neither of them seem to mourn the loss of the other people on board, so it would make sense that it wasn't just some tragic accident.
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
None

Added DiffLines:

* What caused Tarzan's parents' ship caught on fire at the beginning of the movie?
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
None



to:

** It's quite an exaggeration to call the treehouse a mansion, or anything close. Really, all it is is a treehouse, that's slightly larger than most, but still doesn't have plumbing or electricity or insulation...It doesn't seem like it'd take more than a few months to put together, as long as Tarzan's parents knew what they were doing.
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
None

Added DiffLines:

** Even if the scenario you suggested were true, Sabor was still in between the baby and his parents -- there's no way Kerchak and Kala could've made it in time to save him, and Kerchak didn't want his mate (or himself, probably) to see their only son being brutally torn apart and eaten. As for avenging his son, Kerchak is also responsible for the safety of the other members of the gorilla troop -- you don't risk your life on a personal vendetta when you're the sole breadwinner for your family and they can't survive without you there.
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
None


* When Kerchak's and Kala's baby gets killed by Sabor, why Kerchak stopped chasing Sabor and hold Kala to mourn their baby if they could still run to save him? I get that his cries of desperation were possibly because Sabor was already eating him, but maybe he could have been screaming because he fell into a hole and couldn't escape from it before Sabor reached him, so why Kerchak opted to not run anymore and see if his son could still be saved? Or at the very least, why Kerchak didn't pursue Sabor to kill him to avenge his son?

to:

* When Kerchak's and Kala's baby gets killed by Sabor, why Kerchak stopped chasing Sabor and hold Kala to mourn their baby if they could still run to save him? I get that his cries of desperation were possibly because Sabor was already eating him, but maybe he could have been screaming because he fell into a hole and couldn't escape from it before Sabor reached him, so why Kerchak opted to not run anymore and see if his son could still be saved? To be honest, the first time I saw the film I just thought that Sabor chased him away from the gorillas and he never returned. Or at the very least, why Kerchak didn't pursue Sabor to kill him to avenge his son?
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
None

Added DiffLines:


*When Kerchak's and Kala's baby gets killed by Sabor, why Kerchak stopped chasing Sabor and hold Kala to mourn their baby if they could still run to save him? I get that his cries of desperation were possibly because Sabor was already eating him, but maybe he could have been screaming because he fell into a hole and couldn't escape from it before Sabor reached him, so why Kerchak opted to not run anymore and see if his son could still be saved? Or at the very least, why Kerchak didn't pursue Sabor to kill him to avenge his son?
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
None
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
None



to:

** FreezeFrameBonus: When the corpses of Tarzan's parents are shown, they're wearing a fresh set of clothes that are not tattered, heavily implying that they did salvage what they could from the supplies that happened to wash up on shore.
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
None


** Because no one wants to see a nude cartoon boy running around? That's why Disney's Disney/TheJungleBook had Mowgli run around in what amounts to red underwear.

to:

** Because no one wants to see a nude cartoon boy running around? That's why Disney's Disney/TheJungleBook WesternAnimation/{{The Jungle Book|1967}} had Mowgli run around in what amounts to red underwear.



** Probably the same reason [[Disney/TheLionKing Mufasa's]] body wasn't shown to be a smear of blood and entrails after he got trampled to death by a herd of wildebeest: you're not going to see explicit gore in a Disney cartoon. If you really need an in-universe explanation, then consider that Tarzan's parents were half-concealed underneath a tarp of some kind and only shown from the waist down; maybe Sabor just ate part of the upper body, then dragged the rest into some kind of cover to hide it, as cats are wont to do. Then, mostly sated, she prowled off somewhere for a little while, only to return and find a gorilla invading her larder and about to make off with the baby Sabor was saving for later...

to:

** Probably the same reason [[Disney/TheLionKing [[WesternAnimation/TheLionKing1994 Mufasa's]] body wasn't shown to be a smear of blood and entrails after he got trampled to death by a herd of wildebeest: you're not going to see explicit gore in a Disney cartoon. If you really need an in-universe explanation, then consider that Tarzan's parents were half-concealed underneath a tarp of some kind and only shown from the waist down; maybe Sabor just ate part of the upper body, then dragged the rest into some kind of cover to hide it, as cats are wont to do. Then, mostly sated, she prowled off somewhere for a little while, only to return and find a gorilla invading her larder and about to make off with the baby Sabor was saving for later...
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
None


** The TV series reveals that they did eventually tell their friends back home that they were still alive and where they were. The pilot episode involves some of Jane's olds friends coming to the island to check up on her.

to:

** The TV series reveals that they did eventually tell their friends back home that they were still alive and where they were. The pilot episode involves some of Jane's olds old friends coming to the island to check up on her.
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
None



to:

** The TV series reveals that they did eventually tell their friends back home that they were still alive and where they were. The pilot episode involves some of Jane's olds friends coming to the island to check up on her.
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
None



to:

** It depends on what Kala told him, I guess. Considering Kerchak's last words to him are "My son," I'm assuming he was in on the fact that Kerchak and Kala were mates and assumed that Kerchak was his biological father, but once he was confronted with the fact that he had another biological father, it was easy to disassociate from Kerchak because his aloof behavior prevented the chance for any attachment to form between them.
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
None



to:

** So does that mean he thought up until he saw the photograph that Kala was his biological mother but he had a different father, and Kerchak was just his stepfather or something?
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
None


** Because he's never seen Kerchak as his father, since Kerchak constantly shunned him for being different. Up until the end of the film, the sentiment went both ways.

to:

** Because he's never seen Kerchak as his father, since Kerchak constantly shunned him for being different. Up until the end of the film, the sentiment went both ways.
ways. Same reason why he identifies his human father in the treehouse photo almost instantly, but stops short of doing the same for his mother.
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
None


** 1.) Tarzan killed Sabor before he met other humans and became somewhat civilized, which probably gave him somewhat differing views about killing. 2.) Sabor is neither human nor a gorilla. She's not friendly to others, doesn't speak, and her only interactions with any of the other characters are antagonistic. She cannot be reasoned with or imprisoned, as far as Tarzan is aware, and he only kills her to keep from being killed. Clayton did kill Kerchak and tried to capture Tarzan's gorilla family, but he isn't on the same threat level as a leopardess; note that Tarzan refuses to kill him only after a defenseless Clayton goads him into doing so. Big difference between that and killing someone or something while in the heat of combat.

to:

** 1.) Tarzan killed Sabor before he met other humans and became somewhat civilized, which probably gave him somewhat differing views about killing. 2.) Sabor is neither human nor a gorilla. She's not friendly to others, doesn't speak, and her only interactions with any of the other characters are antagonistic. She cannot be reasoned with or imprisoned, as far as Tarzan is aware, and he only kills her to keep from being killed. Clayton did kill Kerchak and tried to capture Tarzan's gorilla family, but he isn't on the same threat level as a leopardess; note take away his weapons and he can be safely sent back to England in chains. Note that Tarzan refuses to kill him only after a defenseless Clayton goads him into doing so. Big difference between that and killing someone or something while in the heat of combat.
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
None


** 1.) Tarzan met Sabor before he met other humans and became somewhat civilized, which probably gave him somewhat differing views about killing. 2.) Sabor is neither human nor a gorilla. She's not friendly to others, doesn't speak, and her only interactions with any of the other characters are antagonistic. She cannot be reasoned with or imprisoned, as far as Tarzan is aware, and he only kills her to keep from being killed. Clayton did kill Kerchak and tried to capture Tarzan's gorilla family, but he isn't on the same threat level as a leopardess; note that Tarzan refuses to kill him only after a defenseless Clayton goads him into doing so. Big difference between that and killing someone or something while in armed combat.

to:

** 1.) Tarzan met killed Sabor before he met other humans and became somewhat civilized, which probably gave him somewhat differing views about killing. 2.) Sabor is neither human nor a gorilla. She's not friendly to others, doesn't speak, and her only interactions with any of the other characters are antagonistic. She cannot be reasoned with or imprisoned, as far as Tarzan is aware, and he only kills her to keep from being killed. Clayton did kill Kerchak and tried to capture Tarzan's gorilla family, but he isn't on the same threat level as a leopardess; note that Tarzan refuses to kill him only after a defenseless Clayton goads him into doing so. Big difference between that and killing someone or something while in armed the heat of combat.
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
None

Added DiffLines:

** 1.) Tarzan met Sabor before he met other humans and became somewhat civilized, which probably gave him somewhat differing views about killing. 2.) Sabor is neither human nor a gorilla. She's not friendly to others, doesn't speak, and her only interactions with any of the other characters are antagonistic. She cannot be reasoned with or imprisoned, as far as Tarzan is aware, and he only kills her to keep from being killed. Clayton did kill Kerchak and tried to capture Tarzan's gorilla family, but he isn't on the same threat level as a leopardess; note that Tarzan refuses to kill him only after a defenseless Clayton goads him into doing so. Big difference between that and killing someone or something while in armed combat.
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
None



to:

** I once read in another book that the genes for hair growth are passed down from the mother's side. Granted, it was a children's book about mermaids, so I don't know how accurate it was, but Tarzan's style of hair does take after his mother. Maybe no one in her family had mustache-gene to be able to pass down to him.

Added: 294

Changed: 3

Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
None


* Ok, so Jane and her dad travel to that jungle in order to study gorilla. Then they find something far more fascinating -- a man who grew up among gorillas and had never come into contact with civilization. This had the potential to be one of the greatest discoveries in the century. And yet they're still completely devoted to the gorillas, only showing interest in Tarzan because he could lead them to them (Jane's crush aside). When they're about to return home without having found them, they consider the trip waste. Um, what?

to:

* Ok, so Jane and her dad travel to that jungle in order to study gorilla.gorillas. Then they find something far more fascinating -- a man who grew up among gorillas and had never come into contact with civilization. This had the potential to be one of the greatest discoveries in the century. And yet they're still completely devoted to the gorillas, only showing interest in Tarzan because he could lead them to them (Jane's crush aside). When they're about to return home without having found them, they consider the trip a waste. Um, what?


Added DiffLines:


* Why did Tarzan adopt a ThouShaltNotKill attitude toward Clayton at the end, even stating that [[IfYouKillHimYouWillBeJustLikeHim killing him would make him like him]]? He had shown no hesitation or remorse about killing Sabor earlier on, and he views animals as people just as much as humans.
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
None

Added DiffLines:

** I see your point, but as Jane explains, the purpose of their trip was to ''study gorillas''. Tarzan may have been raised by gorillas (at least as far as they can extrapolate from him), but there's only so much they learn learn about gorillas when their only available specimen is not one. That's why they were upset.

Changed: 21

Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
None


* Ok, so Jane and her dad travel to that jungle in order to study gorilla. Then they find something far more fascinating -- a man who grew up among gorillas and had never come into contact with civilization. This had the potential to be one of the greatest discoveries in the century. And yet they're still completely devoted to the gorillas, only showing interest in Tarzan because he could lead them to them. When they're about to return home without having found them, they consider the trip waste. Um, what?

to:

* Ok, so Jane and her dad travel to that jungle in order to study gorilla. Then they find something far more fascinating -- a man who grew up among gorillas and had never come into contact with civilization. This had the potential to be one of the greatest discoveries in the century. And yet they're still completely devoted to the gorillas, only showing interest in Tarzan because he could lead them to them.them (Jane's crush aside). When they're about to return home without having found them, they consider the trip waste. Um, what?

Top