Jane Porter

"I'm in a tree with a man who talks to monkeys."

- Jane

Jane Porter is the deuteragonist of Disney's Tarzan and its spin-off TV series The Legend of Tarzan. She is the daughter of Archimedes Q. Porter, the wife of Tarzan, the adoptive daughter-in-law of Kala and Kerchak, and adoptive cousin-in-law of Terk.

She was voiced by Minnie Driver in the original film, and Olivia d'Abo in The Legend of Tarzan.

Jane is a lady from Victorian London. She is a very beautiful, resourceful, feisty and kind woman with a sense of humour and a fondness for animals. She is shown to be talkative, yet charming as well as proper. She is also shown to have a love for art, and she is bold enough to venture into the jungle to draw the wildlife. Even after Tarzan tickled her feet, peeked at her pantalettes and put his ear on her chest to hear her heartbeat, she saw beyond this and saw the man of her dreams due to his compassion, courage and wisdom. She treats animals as people and is willing to befriend them.

After she married Tarzan, Jane became less ladylike and more like an ape which was stated by Tarzan.

Jane is skilled at art, hand-to-hand combat, vine-swinging, swimming, and climbing.

Personality
Jane is an intelligent and beautiful young woman. She is shown to be somewhat talkative, yet charming as well as proper. Jane is also shown to have a love for art, and she is not afraid to venture into the jungle to draw the wildlife.

After she married Tarzan, Jane became less ladylike and more like an ape which was stated by Tarzan. Jane seemed to take this as an insult, though later says that she's never heard anything so nice, showing that she isn't offended.

Tarzan
Jane is a young woman who travels with her father and their guide, Clayton, to Africa, where they intend to study gorillas. While out walking, Jane steps into a gorilla's nest. She and her father soon find more nests which lead the two to believe that the animals live in family groups. As they continue their journey, Jane sees a baby baboon and begins to draw it in her sketchbook. However, the baboon steals the book from her, and she chases him in attempt to retrieve it. As she chases the baboon, she is unaware that Tarzan is following her quietly.

The baboon finds his own picture and refuses to give it back. Jane finally manages to steal it back, making the baby baboon cry. Jane turns around and sees the baby's angry baboon family and they begin to chase her. As Jane runs, she is grabbed by Tarzan and swung up in the air. One of the baboons holds onto her foot, but she manages to kick it off, losing her boot in the process. Finally after falling through vines, Jane and Tarzan finally land in a tree where the baby and another baboon float down to them. Tarzan speaks to them in monkey talk and takes the picture from Jane and gives it to them, much to Jane's surprise.

Tarzan is fascinated by Jane, as he has never seen another human like himself before. Tarzan tells her his name but it takes a bit for Jane to teach him her name. They then hear a gunshot in the distance, fired by Clayton, so Jane asks Tarzan to take her to her camp. Tarzan does so, repeating the gunshot thinking that's what Clayton is.

When they arrive at the camp, Jane sees Tarzan's gorilla friends, but Kerchak and Kala show up and escort Tarzan away. Soon after, Professor Porter and Clayton, who had been looking for Jane, arrive. Jane tells them about seeing gorillas as well as Tarzan the Ape Man rescuing her from the baboons. The next day, Jane draws a picture of Tarzan on the blackboard, while telling her father they can learn things from Tarzan about gorillas and that they should find him. Her description of him makes it seem like she is fascinated by him, as well as what he could tell them about gorillas. However, Clayton doesn't believe Jane until Tarzan suddenly arrives. Clayton tries to show Tarzan what a gorilla is by drawing one on the blackboard, but Tarzan doesn't understand so Jane decides to teach him about human life (Strangers Like Me). Jane, along with her father, teach Tarzan how to speak English, as well as about human culture. Meanwhile, Tarzan begins to fall in love with Jane and she with him.

Soon, a ship arrives to take Jane and her father back to London, and Jane asks Tarzan to come with her to London. In return, Tarzan asks her to stay in Africa with her, but she refuses and runs away crying. Taking advantage of the situation, Clayton tells Tarzan that if Tarzan shows them the gorillas, Jane will stay with him in Africa. While Tarzan's friends Terk and Tantor distract Kerchak, the Leader of the Gorillas, Tarzan shows Jane, Porter, and Clayton the Gorillas. Tarzan also teaches Jane how to speak gorilla. When Jane asks what she said, Tarzan replies "That Jane will stay with Tarzan." Before Jane can reply, Terk and Tantor arrive as does Kerchak, who tries to chase the humans away. Tarzan manages to hold him off while Jane, Porter, and Clayton run away to safety. The incident leads Tarzan to agree to go to London with Jane and her father.

The next day, Jane prepares to head back to London now accompanied by Tarzan, dressed in a suit that belonged to his deceased father. Before they get on Jane tells Tarzan that he'll see the world. Kings and scientists and famous writers will want to meet him, but Tarzan is happy just to be with Jane. But when Jane and Tarzan climb aboard the ship, they are taken in by the ship's crew. Clayton reveals that he tricked Tarzan into telling him where the gorillas are in order to capture them, take them to London, and sell them for money.

While trapped in the cargo holder Jane apologizes to Tarzan for what happened, but the group is soon rescued by Terk and Tantor. While Tarzan swings in the vines, Jane and her father ride on Tantor, return to the Gorillas' nests, and save them from the crew. While Jane and Tarzan are trying to release Kala from her cage, Clayton shoots Tarzan in the arm. Kerchak steps in the way and takes the second bullet. Clayton goes after Tarzan next, Jane tries to stop Clayton, but he knocks her out. Tarzan fights off Clayton and defeats the evil hunter, who accidentally hangs himself as a result of a vine snapping his neck. Jane and her father watch sadly as Kerchak makes Tarzan the new ape leader before dying. The next day Jane tells Tarzan goodbye and gets into the rowboat with her father. As they're being rowed out, Porter tells Jane that she should stay with the man that she deeply cares for and loves. Encouraged, Jane jumps out of the rowboat, and returns to shore, followed by her father. Jane, in gorilla talk, says that she will stay in Africa with them. In the ending, Tarzan and Jane swing and surf through the trees, now ruling as the king and queen of the jungle.

Tarzan & Jane
Jane is shown trying to think of a proper gift for Tarzan, as it is their first anniversary. She considers a party, but then remembers a disaster that happened earlier, when her friends visited the island. Her next idea is jewelry, but she then remembers that some diamond prospectors had once tried to take advantage of Tarzan. Her final idea is a night of dancing, but this leads to a memory of a young man named Bobby, one of her childhood friends. He had come to the island earlier, but was revealed to be a German spy during World War I. Disappointed that none of her ideas work, Jane goes home, where she finds that Tarzan has planned a surprise for her.

The Legend of Tarzan
In the series, The Legend of Tarzan, Jane is married to Tarzan. The young couple, along with Jane's father, live in the treehouse that had been built by Tarzan's late human parents. Throughout the series, Jane is shown to have adjusted quite well to her new life in the jungle with Tarzan, but sometimes begins to miss her old life and England. As a result, she would try to get Tarzan to act more "civilized", which sometimes poses as a problem to Tarzan's morals. Her appearance and human actions often cause some members of Tarzan's Gorilla Troop to both have doubts about her and question Tarzan's "leadership". She is usually the Damsel in Distress of the series, often being kidnapped or held hostage by antagonists so Tarzan can come rescue her.