''Tarzan, Lord of the Jungle'' is an American animated series created by the

Filmation Filmation Associates was an American production company founded by Lou Scheimer, Hal Sutherland and Norm Prescott in 1962, before closing by Group W Productions on February 3, 1989. Located in Reseda, California, Filmation produced animated ...

studio for Saturday mornings on

CBS CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS (an abbreviation of its original name, Columbia Broadcasting System), is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainme ...

, starting in 1976. This was the first animated series about the

jungle jungle is land covered with dense forest and tangled vegetation, usually in tropical climates. Application of the term has varied greatly during the past century. Etymology The word ''jungle'' originates from the Sanskrit word ''jaṅgala'' ...

hero. There are 36 episodes produced over four seasons.

Opening-credits narration

"The jungle: Here I was born; and here my parents died when I was but an infant. I would have soon perished, too, had I not been found by a kindly she-ape named Kala, who adopted me as her own and taught me the ways of the wild. I learned quickly, and grew stronger each day, and now I share the friendship and trust of all jungle animals. The jungle is filled with beauty, and danger; and lost cities filled with good, and evil. This is my domain, and I protect those who come here; for I am Tarzan, Lord of the Jungle!"

Storyline

In many ways, the series is the most faithful of all screen-based adaptations of

Edgar Rice Burroughs Edgar Rice Burroughs (September 1, 1875 – March 19, 1950) was an American writer, best known for his prolific output in the adventure, science fiction, and fantasy genres. Best known for creating the characters Tarzan (who appeared in ...

's Tarzan and featured a number of "

lost cities ''Lost Cities'' is a 60-card card game, designed in 1999 by game designer Reiner Knizia and published by several publishers. The objective of the game is to mount profitable expeditions to one or more of the five lost cities (the Himalayas, th ...

" from the original novels. The rotoscoped animation is based upon the work of Burrough's favorite Tarzan artist,

Burne Hogarth Burne Hogarth (born Spinoza Bernard Ginsburg, December 25, 1911 – January 28, 1996) was an American artist and educator, best known for his work on the ''Tarzan (comics), Tarzan'' newspaper comic strip and his series of anatomy books for artis ...

. In the series,

Tarzan Tarzan (John Clayton, Viscount Greystoke) is a fictional character, a feral child raised in the African jungle by the Mangani great apes; he later experiences civilization, only to reject it and return to the wild as a heroic adventurer. Creat ...

is depicted as intelligent and well-spoken – not the simple-minded ("Tarzan... Jane") caricature of many films. His sidekick is N'kima the monkey, as in the novels ("

Cheeta Cheeta (sometimes billed as Cheetah, Cheta, and Chita) is a chimpanzee character that appeared in numerous Hollywood Tarzan films of the 1930s–1960s, as well as the 1966–1968 television series, as the ape sidekick of the title character, Ta ...

" the chimpanzee was the creation of movie producers). It uses much of Burroughs'

Mangani ''Mangani'' is the name of a fictional species of great apes in the Tarzan novels of Edgar Rice Burroughs, and of the invented language used by these apes. In the invented language, ''Mangani'' (meaning "great-ape") is the apes' word for their ow ...

language (though some of the words used, particularly for animals not encountered in the novels, do not appear in Burroughs' Mangani lexicons, and so were presumably newly invented for the show).

Characters

Main characters

(voiced by

Robert Ridgely Robert Ridgely (December 24, 1931 – February 8, 1997) was an American actor, known for both on-camera roles and extensive voice-over work. Early life Ridgely was born in Teaneck, New Jersey. Before becoming an actor, he worked as a cabaret e ...

when speaking, Danton Burroughs for Tarzan yell) – The main protagonist. * N'kima (vocal effects provided by an uncredited Lou Scheimer) – Tarzan's ''manu'' (

monkey Monkey is a common name that may refer to most mammals of the infraorder Simiiformes, also known as simians. Traditionally, all animals in the group now known as simians are counted as monkeys except the apes. Thus monkeys, in that sense, co ...

) companion. * Jad-bal-ja – A golden-furred, dark-maned

lion The lion (''Panthera leo'') is a large Felidae, cat of the genus ''Panthera'', native to Sub-Saharan Africa and India. It has a muscular, broad-chested body (biology), body; a short, rounded head; round ears; and a dark, hairy tuft at the ...

raised and trained by Tarzan. * Tantor – African elephants that are friendly towards Tarzan and will also come to his aid if summoned.

Other characters

* Queen Nemone (voiced by

Joan Gerber Joan Gerber (July 29, 1935 – August 22, 2011) was an American voice actress who provided voices for a variety of cartoons. Her most challenging voice role was "all the children in a Japanese train wreck" for a ''Godzilla'' television episode ...

in the first appearance, Hettie Lynn Hurtes in the third appearance) – The ruler of Zandor who has had encounters with Tarzan. ** Tomos (voiced by

Alan Oppenheimer Alan Oppenheimer (born April 23, 1930) is an American actor. He has performed numerous roles on live action television since the 1960s and has had an active career doing voice work since the 1970s. Early life Oppenheimer was born in New York ...

) – Queen Nemone's prime minister who does her bidding. ** Belthar – Queen Nemone's pet lion. * Phobeg (voiced by

Ted Cassidy Theodore Crawford Cassidy (July 31, 1932 – January 16, 1979) was an American actor. He tended to play unusual characters in offbeat or science-fiction works, such as ''Star Trek'' and ''I Dream of Jeannie'', and he played Lurch on '' The Addam ...

in the first appearance,

in the third appearance) – The strongest man in Zandor and member of Zandor's Royal Guards. In Phobeg's first appearance, Tarzan must fight him in a tournament. Tarzan managed to defeat him and Phobeg later frees him and Thia. Phobeg has since remained a secret ally of Tarzan when it comes to Queen Nemone's plots. In "Tarzan and the Soul Stealer", it is shown that Phobeg has a son named Tiborgh who assists his father in working in Zandor's Royal Guards. *

Jane Porter Jane Porter (3 December 1775 – 24 May 1850) was an English historical novelist, dramatist and literary figure. Her bestselling novels, '' Thaddeus of Warsaw'' (1803) and ''The Scottish Chiefs'' (1810) are seen as among the earliest historical ...

(voiced by Linda Gary) – Tarzan's love interest in the original novels, she only appeared once during the Filmation series. In "Tarzan and Jane", she and her father were part of an archaeological expedition looking for the lost city of Cowloon and were accompanied back to civilization by Tarzan.

Fictional races

– A type of great

ape Apes (collectively Hominoidea ) are a superfamily of Old World simians native to sub-Saharan Africa and Southeast Asia (though they were more widespread in Africa, most of Asia, and Europe in prehistory, and counting humans are found global ...

. They are intelligent, with their own spoken language (which Tarzan knows), are Tarzan's friends and family, and will come to his aid if summoned. Named Mangani include Terkoz (voiced by Lou Scheimer) and Tor. Kala was only seen in the intro of this cartoon. * Bolmangani – A race of gorilla-men. They take monkeys, normal gorillas, and other animals to be used as slaves in plots to enhance their city and to take over the entire jungle. The Bolmangani have fought Tarzan many times and have been thwarted by him. They try to get revenge on him for thwarting their plots. * Donlumangani – A race of short humanoid primates that live in the snowy mountains. They are nicknamed the Ice People. * Monkey People – A race of creatures that are part human, part monkey.

Other animals

Almost all of the animals in the Filmation series are referred to using the ''Mangani''-language names that Tarzan knows them by. * Argus – A giant eagle * Bazansi – A spider * Bolgani – A

gorilla Gorillas are primarily herbivorous, terrestrial great apes that inhabit the tropical forests of equatorial Africa. The genus ''Gorilla'' is divided into two species: the eastern gorilla and the western gorilla, and either four or five su ...

* Borta – A

common warthog The common warthog (''Phacochoerus africanus'') is a wild member of the pig family (Suidae) found in grassland, savanna, and woodland in sub-Saharan Africa. In the past, it was commonly treated as a subspecies of ''P. aethiopicus'', but today th ...

* Buto – A

black rhinoceros The black rhinoceros (''Diceros bicornis''), also called the black rhino or the hooked-lip rhinoceros, is a species of rhinoceros native to East Africa, East and Southern Africa, including Angola, Botswana, Eswatini, Kenya, Lesotho, Malawi, Moza ...

Dimetrodon ''Dimetrodon'' ( or ; ) is an extinct genus of sphenacodontid synapsid that lived during the Cisuralian (Early Permian) Epoch (geology), epoch of the Permian period, around 295–272 million years ago. With most species measuring long and ...

– A reptile from the inner world of

Pellucidar Pellucidar is the fictional internal surface of a Hollow Earth invented by American writer Edgar Rice Burroughs for a series of action adventure stories. In a crossover event, Tarzan, who was also created by Burroughs, visits Pellucidar. The ...

and the land of Pal-ul-don * Dango – A

spotted hyena The spotted hyena (''Crocuta crocuta''), also known as the laughing hyena, is a hyena species, currently classed as the sole extant member of the genus ''Crocuta'', native to sub-Saharan Africa. It is listed as being of least concern by the IUC ...

* Duro – A

hippopotamus The hippopotamus (''Hippopotamus amphibius;'' ; : hippopotamuses), often shortened to hippo (: hippos), further qualified as the common hippopotamus, Nile hippopotamus and river hippopotamus, is a large semiaquatic mammal native to sub-Sahar ...

* Eta-pamba - A

kangaroo rat Kangaroo rats, small mostly nocturnal rodents of genus ''Dipodomys'', are native to arid areas of western North America. The common name derives from their bipedal form. They hop in a manner similar to the much larger kangaroo, but developed thi ...

* Gimla – A

crocodile Crocodiles (family (biology), family Crocodylidae) or true crocodiles are large, semiaquatic reptiles that live throughout the tropics in Africa, Asia, the Americas and Australia. The term "crocodile" is sometimes used more loosely to include ...

* Gordo – An aquatic beast resembling a

sauropod Sauropoda (), whose members are known as sauropods (; from '' sauro-'' + '' -pod'', 'lizard-footed'), is a clade of saurischian ('lizard-hipped') dinosaurs. Sauropods had very long necks, long tails, small heads (relative to the rest of their b ...

* Gorgos – An

African buffalo The African buffalo (''Syncerus caffer)'' is a large sub-Saharan African bovine. The adult African buffalo's horns are its characteristic feature: they have fused bases, forming a continuous bone shield across the top of the head, referred to ...

* Gryf – A dinosaur-like creature in Pal-ul-don that is described by Tarzan as "ancient". It resembles a

Triceratops ''Triceratops'' ( ; ) is a genus of Chasmosaurinae, chasmosaurine Ceratopsia, ceratopsian dinosaur that lived during the late Maastrichtian age of the Late Cretaceous Period (geology), period, about 68 to 66 million years ago on the island ...

with the dorsal plates and spiked tail of a

Stegosaurus ''Stegosaurus'' (; ) is a genus of herbivorous, four-legged, armored dinosaur from the Late Jurassic, characterized by the distinctive kite-shaped upright plates along their backs and spikes on their tails. Fossils of the genus have been fo ...

and teeth like a

Tyrannosaurus ''Tyrannosaurus'' () is a genus of large theropod dinosaur. The type species ''Tyrannosaurus rex'' ( meaning 'king' in Latin), often shortened to ''T. rex'' or colloquially t-rex, is one of the best represented theropods. It lived througho ...

. * Handal – A

hornet Hornets (insects in the genus ''Vespa'') are the largest of the Eusociality, eusocial wasps, and are similar in appearance to yellowjackets, their close relatives. Some species can reach up to in length. They are distinguished from other Vespi ...

* Histah – An Central African rock python * Lukota – A giant tortoise * Manu – A

. N'kima is one. * Nita – A hawk * Numa – A lion * Pacco - A

zebra Zebras (, ) (subgenus ''Hippotigris'') are African equines with distinctive black-and-white striped coats. There are three living species: Grévy's zebra (''Equus grevyi''), the plains zebra (''E. quagga''), and the mountain zebra (''E. ...

* Plesa – A fish * Sabor – A lioness * Sheeta – A

leopard The leopard (''Panthera pardus'') is one of the five extant cat species in the genus ''Panthera''. It has a pale yellowish to dark golden fur with dark spots grouped in rosettes. Its body is slender and muscular reaching a length of with a ...

* Tandor - The Pellucidar name for the

woolly mammoth The woolly mammoth (''Mammuthus primigenius'') is an extinct species of mammoth that lived from the Middle Pleistocene until its extinction in the Holocene epoch. It was one of the last in a line of mammoth species, beginning with the African ...

* Tangani – A

baboon Baboons are primates comprising the biology, genus ''Papio'', one of the 23 genera of Old World monkeys, in the family Cercopithecidae. There are six species of baboon: the hamadryas baboon, the Guinea baboon, the olive baboon, the yellow ba ...

* Tarbogani – A white gorilla * Tar-Sheeta – A large white tiger that lives in the snowy mountains * Thipdar - The Pellucidar name for the

Pteranodon ''Pteranodon'' (; from and ) is a genus of pterosaur that included some of the largest known flying reptiles, with ''P. longiceps'' having a wingspan of over . They lived during the late Cretaceous geological period of North America in presen ...

* Zabor - The Pellucidar name for the

* Zupisa – A great whale

Episode list

There were 36 total episodes, produced over four seasons. The first season (premiered September 11, 1976) consisted of 16 half-hour episodes. The second season (premiered September 10, 1977) added six new episodes, and aired with the half-hour series ''

The New Adventures of Batman ''The New Adventures of Batman'' is an animated series that aired on CBS from February 12 to May 28, 1977, featuring the DC Comics superheroes Batman, Dick Grayson, Robin, and Barbara Gordon, Batgirl. The series was a Filmation and DC Comics pro ...

'' as '' The Batman/Tarzan Adventure Hour''. The third season (premiered September 9, 1978) added six new episodes, and aired with a number of other series as the ninety-minute '' Tarzan and the Super 7''. The fourth season (premiered September 15, 1979) added eight new episodes, and aired as part of the second season of ''Tarzan and the Super 7''. The "fifth season" ('' The Tarzan/Lone Ranger Adventure Hour''), and the "sixth season" ('' The Tarzan/Lone Ranger/Zorro Adventure Hour'') were all Tarzan reruns aired with other series.

Season 1: 1976

Season 2: 1977

Aired as part of '' The Batman/Tarzan Adventure Hour''.

Season 3: 1978

Aired as part of '' Tarzan and the Super 7'', season one.

Season 4: 1979

Aired as part of '' Tarzan and the Super 7'', season two.

Cast

–

, Tarzan Robot (in "Tarzan's Rival") King Ovan (in "Tarzan at the Earth's Core"), Robot (in "Tarzan's Trial") * Lou Scheimer - N'kima (uncredited), Mangani (uncredited), Zandor Guard (in "Tarzan and the City of Gold", "Tarzan's Return to the City of Gold"; uncredited), Bolmangani Guard (in "Tarzan and the Golden Lion"; uncredited), Ungo (in "Tarzan and the Forbidden City"; uncredited), Forbidden City King (in "Tarzan and the Forbidden City"; uncredited), Novard Guard (in "Tarzan and the Graveyard of the Elephants"; uncredited), Gajat the Great Mangani (in "Tarzan's Return to the City of Gold"; uncredited), Robot Guard (in "Tarzan and the Strange Visitors"; uncredited), Giant Warrior (in "Tarzan and the Land of Giants"; uncredited), Gimla (in "Tarzan and the City of Sorcery"; uncredited), Rashid Guard (in "Tarzan and the City of Sorcery"; uncredited), Prisoner (in "Tarzan and the City of Sorcery"; uncredited), Glakor (in "Tarzan and the Ice Creature"; uncredited), Bolmangani (in "Tarzan the Hated"; uncredited), Land Person (in "Tarzan and the Bird People"; uncredited), Rachnid (in "Tarzan and the Spider People"; uncredited), Worker (in "Tarzan and the Haunted Forest"; uncredited), Tao Ching Guard (in "Tarzan and the Sifu"; uncredited), Archimedes Q. Porter (in "Tarzan and Jane"; uncredited), Terkoz (in "Tarzan and Jane"; uncredited), Mutineer (in "Tarzan and Jane"; uncredited), Cowloon Descendant (in "Tarzan and Jane"; uncredited), Ando (in "Tarzan and the Drought"; uncredited), Monkey Person (in "Tarzan and the Drought"; uncredited), Zandor Soldier (in "Tarzan and the Soul Stealer"; uncredited), Prisoner (in "Tarzan and the Soul Stealer"; uncredited), Red Gorilla Soldier (in "Tarzan and the Future King") Phibian (in "Tarzan and the White Elephant"; uncredited), Nibian Guard (in "Tarzan and the White Elephant"; uncredited) * Jack Bannon – Brant (in "Tarzan and the Olympiads") * Erika Carroll – Nina (in "Tarzan at the Earth's Core"), Carna (in "Tarzan and the Space God") *

– Phobeg (in "Tarzan and the City of Gold", "Tarzan's Return to the City of Gold") * Robert Chapel – * Gerald Clark – * Linda Gary – Annie Talbot (in "Tarzan and the Knights of Nimmr"), Reba (in "Tarzan and the Colossus of Zome"), Rowanda (in "Tarzan and the Amazon Princess"), Dr. Jessica Randolph (in "Tarzan and the Lost World"), Queen Tara (in "Tarzan and the Haunted Forest"), Mara (in "Tarzan and the Haunted Forest"),

(in "Tarzan and Jane"), Zidora (in "Tarzan and the Land Beneath the Earth"), Landa (in "Tarzan and the Future King"), Red Gorilla Kingdom Queen (in "Tarzan and the Future King"), Fana the Huntress (in "Tarzan and the Huntress"), Angora (in "Tarzan and the White Elephant"), Queen Tiara (in "Tarzan and the White Elephant") * Joanie Gerber – Queen Nemone (in "Tarzan and the City of Gold", "Tarzan's Return to the City of Gold") *

Barry Gordon Barry Gordon (born December 21, 1948) is an American actor and political talk show host. He was the longest-serving president of the Screen Actors Guild, having served from 1988 to 1995. He is perhaps best known as the original voice of Dona ...

– Bjorn (in "Tarzan and the Vikings") * Hettie Lynn Hurtes – Thia (in "Tarzan and the City of Gold", "Tarzan and the Soul Stealer"), Queen Nemone (in "Tarzan and the Soul Stealer") * Howard Morris - Mr. Zanti (in "Tarzan's Rival"; uncredited), Professor (in "Tarzan's Rival"; uncredited) *

– Tomos (in "Tarzan and the City of Gold", "Tarzan's Return to the City of Gold", "Tarzan and the Soul Stealer"), Bolmangani Guard (in "Tarzan and the Golden Lion", "Tarzan's Trial"), Monkey People Tribesman (in "Tarzan and the Golden Lion"), Paul Gregory (in "Tarzan and the Forbidden City"), Magrat (in "Tarzan and the Forbidden City), Shabot (in "Tarzan and the Forbidden City"), Norcross (in "Tarzan and the Ice Creature"), Phelps (in "Tarzan and the Ice Creature"), Smiley (in "Tarzan and the Ice Creature"), Emperor Cronus (in "Tarzan and the Olympiads"), Malanor (in "Tarzan and the Olympiads"), Alien Doctor (in "Tarzan's Trial"), Orbin (in "Tarzan and the Colossus of Zome"), Carlos (in "Tarzan and the Conquistadors"), Jorak (in "Tarzan and the Conquistadors"), Targani (in "Tarzan and the Monkey God"), Tarbogani (in "Tarzan and the Monkey God"), Zan (in "Tarzan and the Monkey God"), Phobeg (in "Tarzan and the Soul Stealer"), Zandor Soldier (in "Tarzan and the Soul Stealer"), Commander Girak (in "Tarzan and the Huntress") Bolmangani Emperor (in "Tarzan and the Huntress") * Jay Scheimer - Native Woman (in "Tarzan and the Beast in the Iron Mask"), Meridia (in "Tarzan and the Space God"; uncredited), Monkey Person (in "Tarzan and the Drought"; uncredited) * Jane Webb – *

Frank Welker Franklin Wendell Welker (born March 12, 1946) is an American actor who specializes in voice acting. He began his career in the 1960s, and held around 850 film, television, and video game credits as of 2020, making him one of the most prolific v ...

- Chang (in "Tarzan and the Sifu"; uncredited), Sifu (in "Tarzan and the Sifu"; uncredited), Wu Han (in "Tarzan and the Sifu"; uncredited), Dr. Zolus (in "Tarzan and the Land Beneath the Earth"; uncredited), Mole People (in "Tarzan and the Land Beneath the Earth"; uncredited), Prince Yaru (in "Tarzan and the Future King"; uncredited), King Togg (in "Tarzan and the Future King"; uncredited), Vizier (in "Tarzan and the Future King"; uncredited)

Formats

*''Tarzan, Lord of the Jungle'' (September 11, 1976 – September 3, 1977, CBS) *'' The Batman/Tarzan Adventure Hour'' (September 10, 1977 – September 2, 1978, CBS) *'' Tarzan and the Super 7'' (September 9, 1978 – September 6, 1980, CBS) *'' The Tarzan/Lone Ranger Adventure Hour'' (September 13, 1980 – September 5, 1981, CBS) *'' The Tarzan/Lone Ranger/Zorro Adventure Hour'' (September 12, 1981 – September 11, 1982, CBS)

Home media

The series is not owned by

Universal Television Universal Television LLC (abbreviated as UTV) is an American television production company that is a division of NBCUniversal Television and Streaming#Universal Studio Group, Universal Studio Group, a division of NBCUniversal, which, in turn, is ...

, and the rights are owned by the Edgar Rice Burroughs company.

Warner Home Video Warner Bros. Discovery Home Entertainment, Inc. (doing business as Warner Bros. Home Entertainment; formerly known as Warner Home Video and WCI Home Video and sometimes credited as Warner Home Entertainment) is the American home video distribution ...

has released one episode on DVD, "Tarzan and the Colossus of Zome", on ''Saturday Morning Cartoons: 1970s Volume 1''; Warner Bros.' rights to the series may originate from their ownership of international TV distribution rights in the 1970s and 1980s. Ironically, Warner has released most of the Tarzan franchise it owns either through its Turner Broadcasting subsidiary or in-house. The first season of the series was released on DVD on June 14, 2016 as part of its 40th anniversary.

References

External links

''Tarzan, Lord of the Jungle''
at SkoolDays.com * ** ** ** **

{{Children's programming on CBS in the 1980s 1970s American animated television series 1970s American children's television series 1976 American animated television series debuts 1979 American television series endings American children's animated action television series American children's animated adventure television series American children's animated fantasy television series Animated Tarzan television series Animated television series about orphans Animated television series set in jungles Television series by Filmation Television series by Warner Bros. Television Studios CBS animated television series Tarzan and the Super 7