Floated2 We Bought a Zoo is a family film which is about a man's quest of starting a new life after the loss of his wife, so in doing so, he decides to move and buy a house which in come with a zoo (though it is not fully functioning when he buys it, as he becomes the owner and must fix it and start it back up).This film does offer some solid acting from Matt Damon as the lead, but many of the other characters are unlikeable and forgettable, specially the son. The main problem with the film is that it isn't as interesting or unique given that it's about a zoo. Nothing much out the of ordinary happens and at times it is quite dull.The movie is also very predictable but dealing with a novel, it appears to be expected. As we know everything will work out in the end, we know the zoo will be back running in good shape, people will enjoy it, the father-son relationship will better itself and eventually Matt Damon and Scarlett Johansson's characters fall for each other. It is also quite unrealistic as he seemed like he was able to smoothly pay for everything that appeared to be a problem with the zoo. The film didn't mention how Matt Damon had all that money, but living in a zoo, the price would be very expensive, and the film made it seem like a fantasy. They did show some scenes of problems but overall everything seemed a little far fetched and unrealistic. Overall, We Bouth a Zoo is a typical and somewhat dull family film which doesn't offer much, but is at worst quite average. Maybe more thugs would have happened which would have been unexpected.

Michael O'Keefe A feel good movie directed by Cameron Crowe, who also co-wrote the screenplay.Full of positivity, empathy and new found love. Benjamin Mee (Matt Damon), following the death of his wife and his 14-year-old son, Dylan (Colin Ford), being expelled from school, decides to get a brand new start and looks for new surroundings. He has always been an adventurous soul and he is ready to take Dylan and and his little sister Rosie (Maggie Elizabeth Jones) to their new home...it just happens to be part of a down-on-its-luck zoo. Yes, zoo with a very attractive head zookeeper, Kelly Foster (Scarlett Johansson). Mee's big brother, Duncan (Thomas Haden Church), reluctantly becomes a believer in the adventure. Kelly's zoo-keeping skills and Benjamin's finances are needed to make a go of the zoo and the Mee family.Also in the cast: John Michael Higgins, Angus Macfadyen, Patrick Fugit and and the very impressive Elle Fanning. This happy, venture into the rebuilding of a zoo is accompanied with a pleasant soundtrack featuring: Cat Stevens, Neil Young, Isley Brothers, Bob Dylan and Echo and The Bunnymen.My only complaint: not enough sparks flying between Damon and Miss Johansson (who is too beautiful playing plain Jane).

Python Hyena We Bought a Zoo (2011): Dir: Cameron Crowe / Cast: Matt Damon, Scarlett Johansson, Thomas Hayden Church, Colin Ford, Elle Fanning: A lacklustre drama about responsibility. Matt Damon plays Benjamin Mee, a widow whose son is rebellious and just expelled from school. Seeking to start over and shacks up his son and daughter in a new house but the catch, they learn, is that it is a zoo. Great concept with lots of thrilling wildlife including lions, tigers, bears, zebras, peacocks, etc. Unfortunately the film grows formula and too corny for its own good. It needed taken out with a tranquilizer dart right about the time the dimwitted romantic subplot surfaced with Scarlett Johansson making claims that no woman would ever make. Cameron Crowe struck gold before with Almost Famous and the underrated Elizabethtown, but here the wildlife can only distract lame writing and corny situations. Damon holds strong as he struggles to raise his children as well as take on this new task and have the zoo opened at a particular date. Johansson as the head zoo keeper is more or less there to shovel sh*t and shovel more of it at viewers when idiotic romantic elements creep in. Thomas Hayden Church plays Damon's brother in a cardboard role. Colin Ford has the thankless task of playing the whiny son who complains constantly and irritates everyone on screen and off. Elle Fanning makes a cameo appearance that is also second fiddle to the scene stealing wildlife. Great theme regarding responsibility and preserving wildlife but the only thing viewers bought is a headache. Score: 5 ½ / 10

mattkratz This was a pleasant movie based on a true story about a writer and his children who move to a country house and buy a house-along with a zoo that comes along with it! Matt Damon plays a writer who loves an adventure whose wife has just died and whose son has just been expelled from school. The new house they buy comes along with a zoo, and they get a tour of it from the "owners." I loved the animals in it, and my favorite scenes in it include the inspection and when the bear escapes. I loved the bear, the tiger, and all the other animals in it as well as the trivia shared in it about the animals.This is a pleasant enough family movie, and you will really enjoy this.*** out of ****