As of this summer, there was still a considerable interest in Edgar Rice Burroughs‘ mostly hairless ape. Writer Adam Cozad revealed some heavy interest from directors for his take, Hustle & Flow director Craig Brewer was planning a trip of his own to the jungle and Kellan Lutz had signed up for a motion capture version called Tarzan 3D from German director Reinhard Klooss. Because the world has a sense of humor, it’s the last one there that got made and has a trailer out.
To be blunt, the CGI involved is rudimentary, but there’s something pleasing about seeing how far the world of low-rent mo-cap has come. It’s still far behind the technology curve, but that’s to be expected from a small outlet. At the very least, it’s the kind of thing that – even if you laugh at it – you can still find encouraging in a small way. Unfortunately, even if the visuals can be overlooked, the trailer itself is a long, slow drag at 2 minutes.
Of course, the trailer (via The Playlist) is in German, but have no fear because I’ve provided a translation. Check it out for yourself:
The titles read:
“The legend of a boy …who must save his world…raised by apes…who taught him to survive…but his biggest challenge is…to become a man.”
It hits Germany next summer, but there’s no word yet on a full international release.