Plot
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.
He tours many homes with his 7-year-old daughter, Rosie, and their realtor, Mr. Stevens, but find none to their liking until Rosie sees a listing for a large old house. Mr. Stevens tries to dissuade them from considering it, but as they tour the grounds, Benjamin declares that "it's perfect". Stevens explains that if they want the house, then they must also buy the zoo on the property which closed several years before. Benjamin, seeing Rosie playing happily with the peacocks, resolves to buy the zoo.
Dylan, frustrated by the idea of moving away from his friends, retreats into his art. Benjamin's brother, Duncan, tries to discourage him from the purchase, but he buys it anyway.
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.
Walter Ferris, a strict USDA inspector, arrives for a surprise visit and makes a list of repairs that would cost over $100,000. Benjamin cannot afford the repairs and gossip spreads 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 rumor 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 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.
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 the morning of the grand opening, but they are disappointed when it appears that no one is visiting.
Dylan discovers that a fallen tree has blocked the access road with a large crowd of visitors waiting behind it. The staff help everyone climb over the tree, and the attendance is so high that they run out of tickets. Benjamin and Kelly set out to find more and end up face to face in a shed, where Kelly admits that she has a crush on 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?"
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. [2] 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. [2] 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. [15]
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." [16] On Metacritic the film has a score of 58 out of 100, based on 40 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews". [17]
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]
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."" [20]
Differences between the movie and real life
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.
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.
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]
In the film, the zoo was much easier to buy. In real life, it took almost two years to buy. [27] Benjamin's first offer to buy the zoo was rejected due to his lack of experience in the zoological world. [27] Finally, the real zoo opened on Saturday 7 July 2007. The film moved that event to the same date in 2010. This later date fell on a Wednesday, but was identified in the script as the original Saturday.
