We Bought a Zoo Review - The Review Wire

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Benjamin Mee (Damon) is a Los Angeles newspaper columnist and adventure writer who, as a single father, faces the challenges of raising his two young children.

Hoping that a fresh start and a new life will restore their family spirit, Mee quits his job and buys an old rural house outside the city with a unique bonus feature: a zoo named the Rosemoor Animal Park, where dozens of animals reside under the care of head zookeeper Kelly Foster (Johansson) and her dedicated team. With no experience, limited time, and a shoestring budget, Mee sets out to reopen the zoo with his family and the local community’s support. Benjamin is no longer reporting an adventure story; he’s living it in his backyard. We Bought a Zoo is available to purchase on April 3.

We Bought a Zoo Review: We did not see this in the theaters when it came out, even though my eight-year-old wanted to. When this arrived the other day, he was pretty excited to watch it. I, on the other hand, was not, even though Matt Damon was in it. I kept putting it off; it just didn’t seem interesting to me.

When he decided to watch it for the third time, I watched it with him. This was such a heartwarming story. My friend warned me that she cried during it. I thought, unless you love animals and one dies, what would make you cry? Now I get it. It is more than a story about a father and his two kids buying a house with a zoo. It is a love story, not only between a Dad and his kids but between a husband and his one true love. Even though it is rated PG, there were quite a few curse words in it that really didn’t need to be, especially for a PG film. My four-year-old even said, “I didn’t hear that!” when they said s**t. Besides the language, it was a good movie, better than I thought it would be.

WE BOUGHT A ZOO Blu-ray Combo Pack Special Features

Blu-ray, DVD, and Digital Copy, including theatrical film
Deleted & Extended Scenes
Gag Reel
“The Real Mee”
“We Shot a Zoo”
“Their Happy is Too Loud”
Audio Commentary with Director Cameron Crowe, Star J.B. Smoove, and Editor Mark Livolsi

Download the We Bought a Zoo Companion Study Guide. This guide talks about important concepts of the film, like hope, grace, and courage.