We Bought a Zoo: The Amazing True Story of a Young Family, a Broken Down Zoo, and the 200 Wild Animals That Change Their Lives Forever

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Benjamin Mee has been grieving the loss of his wife, Katherine, for seven months. When his 14-year-old son Dylan is expelled from school, Benjamin realizes that the family's current situation is not working, they are all grieving, and everything around them reminds them of Katherine. Benjamin decides to make a fresh start, starting with a new home. Benjamin takes Dylan and Rosie to the restaurant where he met Katherine. He tells them the story of how he worked up the nerve to approach her table with "20 seconds of insane courage." He visualizes her at the table, and asks why such an amazing woman would talk to someone like him. She responds, "Why not?" The song Gathering Stories was on the shortlist of 39 songs that had a chance of being nominated for Best Original Song Oscar at the 84th Academy Awards. [12] This song was co-written by Jonsi Birgisson and Cameron Crowe. [12] Benjamin's brother, Duncan ( Thomas Haden Church), is an accountant who urgently advises Ben not to buy a zoo. Well, that's the function of a good accountant. How many times has my own accountant entreated me, "Roger, whatever you do, don't buy a zoo!"

Scarlett Johansson as Kelly Foster, the 28-year-old lead long-time zookeeper at Rosemoor Animal Park who is Benjamin's love interest and is a mother figure to Dylan and Rosie. The zoo scenes were filmed at Greenfield Ranch in Hidden Valley, Thousand Oaks, California, where a zoo was erected for the filming. [8] [9] Development [ edit ] Rich, Katey (2010-05-17). "Cameron Crowe Commits To We Bought A Zoo For Late 2011 Release". Cinema Blend . Retrieved 2010-10-29.The film's plot and actual events differ. The real Benjamin Mee is British, whereas in the film he is American. The story was adapted for an American audience and Mee approved the changes. [26] The actual zoo Mee bought is Dartmoor Zoological Park, located in Devon, England. [27] The fictional zoo in the film is called Rosemoor Wildlife Park and is located in California, US. a b Chitwood, Adam (2011-12-19). "39 Songs Contend for Best Original Song Oscar; Nominees Include THE MUPPETS and CAPTAIN AMERICA: THE FIRST AVENGER". collider.com . Retrieved 2011-12-27.

Angus Macfadyen as Peter MacCreedy, the carpenter of the zoo who had made many innovative enclosures for the zoo, and he claims that his ideas were "stolen" by Walter Ferris. Because of this, he has a huge and violent grudge against Walter. Stéphanie Szostak as Katherine Mee, the deceased wife of Benjamin Mee and mother of Dylan and Rosie Mee. a b Fleming, Mike (2010-11-09). "Cameron Crowe Taps His 'Almost Famous' Alter Ego For 'Zoo,' And Elle Fanning, Too". Deadline . Retrieved 2011-12-29.

We didn't get a lot of money from the film but we did get a lot of attention and that was the main motivation for doing it." a b Mariotti, Greg (2011-08-01). "Sigur Rós Frontman Jónsi Scoring We Bought A Zoo". The Uncool . Retrieved 2011-09-27. Recently widowed Benjamin Mee (Matt Damon), still grieving his loss and dealing with school behaviour issues and the expulsion of his 14-year-old son Dylan (Colin Ford), decides to get a fresh start by buying a new house. After touring many houses with his daughter Rosie (Maggie Elizabeth Jones) and his realtor, Mr. Stevens (JB Smoove), and finding none to his liking, his daughter finds a paper with what seems like his perfect house. Dylan, unhappy about having to stay, confronts his father and they have a heated argument. They reconcile the next morning and Dylan admits he misses Lily. Benjamin tells Dylan his favorite motto: that you only need 20 seconds of courage for something great to happen. Benjamin realizes that instead of trying to start over by forgetting his wife, he should accept that she will always be a part of him. Dylan, following his father's advice, confesses his love to Lily, and she forgives him. Thomas Haden Church as Duncan Mee, [5] Benjamin's older brother and an accountant and Dylan and Rosie's uncle

Harris, Scott (2010-06-24). "Matt Damon May Lead Cameron Crowe's 'We Bought a Zoo' ". Moviefone. Archived from the original on 2012-04-05 . Retrieved 2011-10-29. Matt Damon as Benjamin Mee, the father of Dylan and Rosie Mee, the owner of the zoo and the love interest of Kelly Foster, who is trying to restart his life after the death of his first wife, Katherine. [4] John Michael Higgins as Walter "Walt" Ferris, a strict zoo inspector who earns the dislike of many people, especially Peter MacCreedy. Annual Young Artist Awards - Nominations / Special Awards". YoungArtistAwards.org. Archived from the original on May 11, 2012 . Retrieved July 23, 2018. Knegt, Peter (December 14, 2011). " 'The Artist' Tops Phoenix Film Critics Awards". Indiewire . Retrieved July 15, 2012.Roger Ebert, reviewing for the Chicago Sun-Times, awarded the film two and a half out of four stars, describing the film as "too much formula and not enough human interest". He added that the film's "pieces go together too easily, the plot is too inevitable, and we feel little real energy between the players". However, he praised Damon, who he said "makes a sturdy and likable Benjamin Mee". [18] The New York Times reviewer Manohla Dargis criticized Crowe's direction, writing that it "makes the escalating tension between Benjamin and Dylan the story's soft center," while keeping "the brutality of illness and death... safely off-screen". She also noted that the film uses "classic movie logic", specifically pointing out the way that Benjamin quits his job and that he "doesn't agonize about how he'll keep his children housed, fed and clothed". On the other hand, Dargis wrote that "you may not buy his [Cameron's] happy endings, but it's a seductive ideal when all of God's creatures, great and small, buxom and blond, exist in such harmony."" [19] Rooney, David (27 November 2011). "We Bought a Zoo: Film Review". The Hollywood Reporter . Retrieved 2011-12-30. Actually, they made a fairly sympathetic - a very sympathetic film. About 50 per cent of it you could relate to as factual. Then, you know, there's a lot of drama and it's a much shortened story. But it was extremely surreal to see it with my kids, and see Matt Damon on the screen."

Salter, Jessica (3 Mar 2012). "We Bought a Zoo: the true story behind the film". The Daily Telegraph. Archived from the original on 2020-09-19 . Retrieved 30 Nov 2013. His story, and that of his family, both humans and animals, is portrayed in his best-selling book ‘We Bought a Zoo’, which was also turned into a hit movie by Cameron Crowe, starring Matt Damon as Benjamin Mee and a host of other stars, including Scarlett Johansson. He added the experience was "hugely formative" for him at the time - knowing they didn't know how to run a zoo and having to learn on the job, they saw first hand the very real risk to people and animal's lives. In 2011, We Bought a Zoo came to screens for the first time, putting Dartmoor Zoo - or Rosemoor Zoo as it's known in the film - on a global stage. It was a two-year process before Benjamin and his two children, Milo and Ella, got to sit down at the premiere and see their lives on the big screen, thinking "what did they do to my story?"Instead of an escaping grizzly bear, as portrayed by the film, it was a jaguar called Sovereign that had escaped. [27] Benjamin's children were also younger (aged four and six respectively) than the children in the film. [27] The zoo staff, led by head keeper Kelly Foster, start making renovations to reopen the zoo to the public. When Kelly asks Benjamin why he bought the zoo despite knowing nothing about zoo management, he simply responds, "Why not?" Meanwhile, Dylan is very unhappy and misses his friends, causing him to retreat further into his art. He is soon befriended by Kelly's 13-year-old homeschooled cousin, Lily, who develops a crush on him. In real life, Benjamin's wife, Katherine, died after they had bought the zoo and moved in. [27] In the film, Benjamin bought the zoo after her death. In real life, Benjamin's father had died and his mother needed to move; the farm cost the same price as his parents' house, and his mother came too. [28] Benjamin and his family made a specific and informed decision to buy a zoo: in the film, it occurred as a result of finding a house they liked. The in-progress Amur Leopard enclosure. While it used to home jaguars (who ate part of the wooden hutch) and lions, Benjamin hopes it will soon hold one of the rarest species on earth (Image: Shannon Brown/PlymouthLive)