We Bought a Zoo
We Bought a Zoo is a 2011 American family comedy-drama film loosely based on the 2008 memoir of the same name by Benjamin Mee. It was co-written and directed by Cameron Crowe and stars Matt Damon as widowed father Benjamin Mee, who purchases a dilapidated zoo with his family and takes on the challenge of preparing the zoo for its reopening to the public. The film also stars Scarlett Johansson, Maggie Elizabeth Jones, Thomas Haden Church, Patrick Fugit, Elle Fanning, Colin Ford, and John Michael Higgins. "We Bought A Zoo" was released in the  United States on December 23, 2011 by 20th Century Fox. The film earned $120.1 million on a $50 million budget. "We Bought a Zoo" was released on DVD and Blu-ray on April 3, 2012 by 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment. Dartmoor Zoological Park (originally Dartmoor Wildlife Park), on which the film is based, is a 33-acre zoological garden located near the village of Sparkwell, Devon, England. Plot. Benjamin Mee has been grieving the loss of his wife, Katherine, for six months. When his 14-year-old son, Dylan, is expelled, he decides to make a fresh  start by buying a house. Benjamin tours many homes with his 7-year-old daughter, Rosie, and his realtor, Mr. Stevens, but they find none to their liking. Rosie finds a listing for a large, old house, and upon seeing the house, they decide it is perfect for them. When they hear a lion roar, Stevens explains that if they want the house, then they must also buy the zoo on the property which closed several years before. Benjamin sees Rosie happily playing with the peacocks and decides to buy it. Dylan, however, hates the idea of moving away from  his friends, and retreats into his art (which has grown more macabre since his mother's death). Duncan, Benjamin's brother, tries to dissuade him from the purchase, but he buys it anyway. The zoo staff, led by the 28-year-old 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?" Dylan befriends Kelly's 13-year-old homeschooled cousin, Lily Miska, who develops a romantic interest that Dylan is oblivious to. Walter Ferris, a  strict USDA inspector, arrives for a surprise visit and makes a list of repairs that would cost around $100,000. Benjamin cannot afford the repairs, so Rhonda Blair, the zoo's accountant, gossips that he will probably sell the zoo. The staff's morale sinks, fearing the property will be sold to a buyer that will close it down. Dylan is overjoyed when Lily tells him the rumour about his family leaving, which hurts her feelings. Benjamin learns that Katherine bequeathed him an investment account, with instructions to use the money wisely while listening to his heart. Duncan advises  him to walk away and start over with the money, but Benjamin decides to use the money for the repairs. Dylan, unhappy about having to stay, confronts his father and a heated argument ensues. 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. Prior to the zoo's grand opening, the facility passes a stringent inspection by Ferris, who grudgingly wishes them good luck. They learn that the worst rainstorm in 100 years may wash out the zoo's grand opening. Fortunately, the weather clears by morning, but they are disappointed when no visitors arrive. Dylan discovers that a fallen tree has blocked the access road, with a large crowd of visitors waiting behind it. The staff help them climb over the tree. There are so many people that they run out of tickets, forcing Benjamin and Kelly to  look for more. They end up face to face in a shed, where Kelly admits that she is in love with Benjamin, and they kiss. 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?" Production. The zoo scenes were filmed at Greenfield Ranch in Hidden Valley, Thousand Oaks, CA, where a zoo  was erected for the filming. Development. In May 2010, Cameron Crowe agreed to direct the 20th Century Fox adaptation of Benjamin Mee's memoir "We Bought a Zoo". He then began rewriting the film's script, which was originally written by Aline Brosh McKenna. This was the first narrative film that was directed by Crowe since the 2005 film "Elizabethtown". The film was released on December 23, 2011. Casting. Crowe traveled to the set of the film "True Grit" to persuade actor Matt Damon to take on the role of the lead character in the film. Crowe also presented a  script of the film, a CD of songs that Crowe burned himself of live versions of classic songs, and a copy of the 1983 film "Local Hero", with instructions "to not just read the script and make a decision". Damon was persuaded to play the role after he was moved by the music and found that "Local Hero" was a "masterpiece". As for Crowe himself, he had already decided on Damon halfway through their meeting, though the distributor Fox still had a shortlist of candidates to play this role. Soundtrack. In August 2011, it was announced that Icelandic musician Jón  Þór "Jónsi" Birgisson, the lead singer of the band Sigur Rós, would be composing the music scores for "We Bought a Zoo". Director Crowe described the choice as "only natural", since "Jónsi has been a part of the making of "We Bought A Zoo" from the very beginning". The song "Gathering Stories" was on the shortlist of 39 songs that have a chance of being nominated for Best Original Song Oscar at the 84th Academy Awards. This song was co-written by Jonsi Birgisson and Cameron Crowe. While the official CD release of the movie soundtrack only includes music by  Jón Þór "Jónsi" Birgisson and Sigur Rós, the complete soundtrack of the film included a variety of artists. Reception. Box office. "We Bought a Zoo" grossed a total of $2,984,875 on its opening day in the U.S. box office, making it the sixth highest-grossing film that weekend. It subsequently earned $14,604,645 in its first four days of screening. Overall, the film grossed $75,624,550 in North America and $37,764,426 internationally for a worldwide total of $113,388,976. It is one of only twelve feature films to be released in over 3,000 theaters and still improve on  its box office performance in its second weekend, increasing 41.4% from $9,360,434 to $13,238,241. Critical response. On review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, the film has an approval rating of 65% based on 172 reviews, with an average rating of 6.20/10. The website's critical consensus reads, ""We Bought a Zoo" is a transparently cloying effort by director Cameron Crowe, but Matt Damon makes for a sympathetic central character." On Metacritic the film has a score of 58 out of 100, based on 40 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews". Roger Ebert, reviewing for the "Chicago Sun-Times", awarded  the film 2.5 stars out of 4, 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". "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."" "The Hollywood Reporter" commented that the film "has heart, humanity and a warmly empathetic central performance from Matt Damon", although it "doesn't dodge the potholes of earnest sentimentality  and at times overplays the whimsy"; ultimately concluding that "Cameron Crowe's film has some rough edges, but it ultimately delivers thanks to Matt Damon's moving performance."" Home media. 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment released "We Bought a Zoo" on DVD and Blu-ray on April 3, 2012. Differences between the movie and real life. The movie's plot and actual events differ. The real Benjamin Mee is British. The story was adapted for an American audience and Mee approved the changes. The actual zoo Mee bought is Dartmoor Zoological Park, located in Devon, England. The fictional zoo in  the film is called Rosemoor Wildlife Park and is located in California. In real life, Benjamin's wife, Katherine, died after they had already bought the zoo and moved in. 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. 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. Instead of an  escaping grizzly bear, as portrayed by the film, it was a jaguar called Sovereign that had escaped. Benjamin's children were also younger (aged four and six respectively) than the children in the film. In the film, the zoo was much easier to buy. In real life, it took almost two years to buy. Benjamin's first offer to buy the zoo was rejected due to his lack of experience in the zoological world. Finally, the real zoo opened on Saturday July 7, 2007. The movie moved that event up to the same date in 2010. This later date fell  on a Wednesday, but was identified in the script as the original Saturday. Legacy. The longtime gag-feud between Matt Damon and Oscars host Jimmy Kimmel continued at the 89th Academy Awards ceremony, where Kimmel jokingly mocked Damon's performance in the movie.