Back to trending
We Bought a Zoo

We Bought a Zoo

Drama · Comedy · Family · 2011

Benjamin has lost his wife and, in a bid to start his life over, purchases a large house that has a zoo – welcome news for his daughter, but his son is not happy about it. The zoo is in need of renovation and Benjamin sets about the work with the head keeper and the rest of the staff, but, the zoo soon runs into financial trouble.

Movie details

We Bought a Zoo

“A true zoo story.”

2011 Drama · Comedy · Family 2h 4m

Critical arithmetic

One number, for now.

TMDB

6.8 / 10

Community rating

Benjamin has lost his wife and, in a bid to start his life over, purchases a large house that has a zoo – welcome news for his daughter, but his son is not happy about it. The zoo is in need of renovation and Benjamin sets about the work with the head keeper and the rest of the staff, but, the zoo soon runs into financial trouble.

CriticWise case file

What this film says about your taste.

Not a recommendation score. A measure of how closely the film’s taste signals resemble yours.

The archetype split

Who fights over We Bought a Zoo?

The split comes from the same five-axis model used by the test, not audience ratings or review sentiment.

Taste neighbourhood

Nearby on the taste map.

TMDB supplies the candidates. CriticWise reorders them by craft, strangeness, prestige, emotion, and pace.

My Dog Skip

My Dog Skip

Comedy · 2000

A shy boy is unable to make friends in Yazoo City, Mississippi in 1942, until his parents give him a terrier puppy for his ninth birthday. The dog, which he names Skip, becomes well known and loved throughout the community and enriches the life of the boy, Willie, as he grows into manhood.

Because of Winn-Dixie

Because of Winn-Dixie

Family · 2005

A girl, abandoned by her mother when she was three, moves to a small town in Florida with her father. There, she adopts an orphaned dog she names Winn-Dixie. The bond between the girl and her special companion brings together the people in a small Florida town and heals her own troubled relationship with her father.

Bambi II

Bambi II

Animation · 2006

Return to the forest and join Bambi as he reunites with his father, The Great Prince, who must now raise the young fawn on his own. But in the adventure of a lifetime, the proud parent discovers there is much he can learn from his spirited young son.

Red Dog

Red Dog

Drama · 2011

The legendary true story of the Red Dog who united a disparate local community while roaming the Australian outback in search of his long lost master.

The One and Only Ivan

The One and Only Ivan

Family · 2020

A gorilla named Ivan who’s living in a suburban shopping mall tries to piece together his past, with the help of other animals, as they hatch a plan to escape from captivity.

Charlie & Boots

Charlie & Boots

Comedy · 2009

After a family tragedy, Charlie and his estranged son, Boots, try to put their differences aside and head off on the road trip of a lifetime - from regional Victoria to the Cape York Peninsula - they overcome many challenges to reach their dream - to fish off the northernmost tip of Australia.

A Dog Year

A Dog Year

Comedy · 2009

Jon Katz is close to burnout. He's a writer with writer's block; his wife has left for her sister's because he's emotionally distant; he rarely answers his phone. A kennel sends him a border collie that's undisciplined because of abuse. Despite a series of mishaps, Jon decides to keep trying with the dog, and he rents a dilapidated farm house to give the dog room to run. A local handyman refers Jon to a woman who might be able to help him train the dog. Reluctantly, Jon gives her a try. Is the dog the problem, or the owner?

My Own Love Song

My Own Love Song

Comedy · 2010

A wheelchair-bound singer and her best friend embark on a roadtrip to Memphis.

Saving Flora

Saving Flora

Adventure · 2019

Flora is a circus elephant who can no longer perform her tricks. The night before she's scheduled to be euthanized, the circus owner's 14-year old daughter, Dawn, sneaks Flora from the circus. All that stands between them and the safety of the elephant preserve is two hundred kilometers of woods, one raging river, two elephant hunters and the fear of not making it.

Homeward Bound II: Lost in San Francisco

Homeward Bound II: Lost in San Francisco

Adventure · 1996

When the pets accidentally get separated from their vacationing owners, Chance, Shadow, and Sassy navigate the mean streets of San Francisco, trying to find their home across the Golden Gate Bridge. But the road is blocked by a series of hazards, both man and beast.

Where it lives

Watch in your region.

Cinema release signals and current streaming, rental, and purchase options for your region.

Streaming availability data supplied by JustWatch.

Names above the title

The people responsible.

Directed by

Cameron Crowe

Written by

Cameron Crowe · Aline Brosh McKenna

Matt Damon

Matt Damon

Benjamin Mee

Scarlett Johansson

Scarlett Johansson

Kelly Foster

Thomas Haden Church

Thomas Haden Church

Duncan Mee

Colin Ford

Colin Ford

Dylan Mee

Maggie Elizabeth Jones

Maggie Elizabeth Jones

Rosie Mee

Angus Macfadyen

Angus Macfadyen

Peter MacCready

Elle Fanning

Elle Fanning

Lily Miska

Court is in session

Put We Bought a Zoo on trial.

Two incompatible taste archetypes. One film. Read the arguments, then issue a completely binding cultural ruling.

The defence The Sentimental Softie

“Sincerity is not manipulation.”

The film risks embarrassment to make emotion communal, and that openness is harder than fashionable detachment.

The prosecution The Cool Ironist

“The strings are showing.”

Every cue tells you exactly what to feel and when, leaving sentiment to do the work character should have done.