June 18, 1999, marks the release date of “Tarzan,” a coming-of-age Disney animated film. This year is its 25th anniversary. Following the story of a child raised by wildlife creatures surrounding him ...

Given the job of creating Kerchak, the silverback patriarch of the gorilla tribe that takes Tarzan in, Bruce Smith discovered there is precious little film of gorillas in their natural habitats.

The reigning silverback of the gorillas, Kerchak, fiercely voiced by Lance Henricksen, does not approve of his hairless stepson, and the conflict between them simmers at the core of the story.

The Legend of Tarzan combines the appearance of the former ape with the sociality of the latter. Now back to the matter of Samuel L. Jackson licking a CGI gorilla’s balls.

He sketched a family of gorillas, like the one Tarzan grew up with, and scrutinized leopards, mentally transposing their movement to the animated character taking shape in his head and sketchbook.