Edgar Rice Burroughs was the American author behind the John Carter and Tarzan books. Often in his works, he would employ the literary agent concept, where stories were presented as true accounts by the characters that the authors "came across" or discovered. As such, Disney has still decided to continue employing the idea in future adaptations of his work.
Appearances as a character[]
Atlantis: Subterranean Tours[]
In this guidebook to the city of Atlantis set after the film, Edgar Rice Burroughs is mentioned as a regular visitor to the city in trips conducted in secret by Whitmore Industries. He and his work have apparently become popular enough in the city that one Atlantean decided to name his Bed and Breakfast Inn the "Burroughs House", which itself has become a regular haunt of fellow science fiction author H.G. Wells.
The Legend of Tarzan[]
Edgar Rice Burroughs (referred to as Ed and portrayed by Steven Weber) appears in the clip-show episode "Tarzan and the Mysterious Visitor". After the success of "A Princess of Mars", his publisher starts wondering if he's got a new story in mind. Taking inspirations from a news article on the mysterious ape-man Tarzan, Burroughs begins researching Tarzan and eventually makes his way to Tarzan's jungle and getting a proper insight into Tarzan and Jane from the people themselves.
John Carter[]
Following the preface of the original "A Princess of Mars" story, a young Edgar Rice Burroughs (portrayed by Daryl Sabara) is invited to his uncle John Carter's mansion to collect his inheritance in light of his supposed death. He is put in charge of the estate and is the sole person that is allowed to look at his diary, which contains the story of how Carter found his way to Barsoom. As the story wraps up, we discover that John faked his death, using his "death" and his nephew's arrival to bait the Therns that were on his trail. After killing the 'Thern', retrieving a medallion and planning on returning to Barsoom, Carter instructs him to stay in the Mansion and make sure the "tomb" containing his Earth's body stays undisturbed while he returns to his new home. He also suggests to Edgar to "take up a cause, fall in love, or write a book".
Gallery[]
Trivia[]
- Edgar Rice Burroughs' appearance in The Legend of Tarzan, as well as his role in the episode in which he appeared, are very similar to what happened in The Little Mermaid episode "Metal Fish".
- On both occasions, the main protagonist meets a mystery character who turns out to be the author of their respective books. In Ariel's case, it was Hans Christian Andersen.
- In the second episode of Quack Pack, "Island of the Not-So-Nice", Dewey says of the island to his brothers "It means we've stumbled on to The Land That Time Forgot!" The Land That Time Forgot is the name of a book also published by Edgar Rice Burroughs.
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