10 Unbelievable Movie Facts That Are Somehow True
5. Tony Hawk Inspired Tarzan
"Tarzan" and "Tony Hawk" are two names you likely didn't expect to see in the same sentence today. But strangely enough, that latter skateboarding icon hugely influenced the Disney animated version of the former in that classic 1999 feature during one rather stunning sequence.
You know that terrific "Son of Man" tune written and sang by a Phil Collins on top form? Well, the impressive tree surfing the titular figure can be seen doing throughout that absolute banger was actually inspired by the legendary skateboarder (via D23).
As the movie's supervising animator Glen Keane would eventually explain, Edgar Rice Burroughs' book "describes a Tarzan that is like a wild man, somebody that the adrenaline had to be pumping through." So, Keane took one look at that and thought, this son of man right here was "an extreme sports guy."
From here, Keane took inspiration from Hawk's exceptional moves on a board, turned Tarzan into an awesome tree surfer, and one of the coolest moments of the Disney hit was ultimately born.