At my house, if a movie features animals of any kind we're almost guaranteed to see it at some point. That comes with having a veterinarian for a wife and two animal-loving daughters. (Of course, I'm not an ogre and have to say I like animals too, considering we have always had pets.) At one time when we were living in Phoenix, we had our own private zoo - two dogs, two cats, a rabbit, two Desert Tortoises and two African tortoises. We're down to two dogs and three rats now, but you get the idea...
When We Bought a Zoo came to theaters, we were destined to see it and most of us did. Somehow I missed it, so when it came out on DVD and Blu-ray, I knew I needed to see it too.
Starring Matt Damon (Contagion, True Grit), Scarlett Johansson (Iron Man 2, Vicky Cristina Barcelona), and Thomas Haden Church (Easy A, Sideways, and TV's Wings), director Cameron Crowe (Almost Famous, Jerry Maguire) takes us on a journey with a grieving family and a small zoo that's fallen on hard times.
Benjamin Lee (Damon) is a newspaper writer who is adjusting to being a single father and trying to raise his two kids while finding his own way after his wife's death to cancer. Deciding that it's time to start fresh, he looks for a new house to begin a new chapter of their lives. When they finally settle on a house, it turns out it comes with a bit of baggage - a zoo named the Rosemoor Animal Park. Dozens of different species live there under the care of head zookeeper Kelly Foster (Johansson) and her dedicated, but eclectic team.
Can Lee, his kids, and the zoo staff pull it together in time to open for the season? Or will the pressure get to be too much?
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