Movie Review: We Bought a Zoo

We Bought a Zoo is the new Matt Damon. This film is based on a true story but it was changed for Hollywood. The real story takes place in England while the movie is based in California. Additionally, the movie makes Matt Damon a widower while the real family had both parents.

Zoos are becoming less popular in this country and many have closed their doors recently. As Matt Damon's character says to his son at one point, "whatever is the laziest word" which truly represents too many kids these days (wow I feel old saying that). In this film, Damon's character buys a rundown zoo and starts to realize how big of a job it is to open it back up. Between a power happy inspector, a zany set of employees, and his son's rebellion, he really has to keep his head above water.

The actors were well cast and it was easy to see the relationships form and change throughout the story. I thought the little girl that played Damon's daughter was adorable. She really stole the scenes she was in. The boy that played his son had just the right amount of teenage angst, considering he just lost his mother. The zoo's employees were crazy and eccentric with one guy always walking around with a monkey on his shoulder.

My personal opinion of this film is that this was a touching film, but not what I expected. I guess because it was about animals and rated PG I was really expecting a Dr. Dolittle type of film. Not the talking animals, but more of a family friendly theme. I'm not sure that younger kids will really get the storyline. The film had animals, but they were really in the background of the story.

We Bought a Zoo was released nation wide on December 23, 2011. Right now, you can get two passes on Fandango for $14 (up to $24 value) on TravelZoo. The Fandango passes are for any movie, not just We Bought a Zoo.

Movie Rating for We Bought a Zoo

This was not a free screening. I went to the movies with my grandmother and wanted to share my opinions with my readers. Check out my information post for more information about free movie screenings.