We Bought a Zoo - Parents Movie Review

movie review rating guide for parents and families

MPAA Rating
PG

for language and some thematic elements

Genre
Comedy, Drama

Director
Cameron Crowe

Starring
Matt Damon, Scarlett Johansson, Thomas Haden Church, Patrick Fugit, Colin Ford

Studio
20th Century Fox

Release Date/In Theaters
12/23/2011

Movie Summary

A widower, played by Matt Damon, tries to create a home for his children and ends up buying a zoo. He finds running a zoo is more difficult than he thought but that it brings his family together just when they need it.

Movie Review for Parents

-by Ginger

Did you ever wonder what it would be like to own your own zoo? So did this family movie guide. Well, the Mees had not imagined it either until this movie. Benjamin Mee is a father, not unlike many fathers in this day and age. He must struggle to make ends meet, at the expense of family time. He wants more time with his family, so for Christmas, he decides to move them to a place in the country. The only catch, it is a zoo, it is literally…a zoo.
            Buying a zoo is every child’s dream, and the Mee children get just that. When the Mees buy the zoo, it is in financial and structural ruin. It is a real fixer-upper. Benjamin feels that it takes more heart than money to run a zoo. Together the Mees go on a wonderful journey where they find themselves and find their place as a family. This is a drama that is designed to appeal to kids as well as adults.
            This movie guide found that it is one of those wonderful emotional journey movies: it makes you laugh, it makes you cry sort of movie. It touches your heart in many ways and makes you take a look at your own life. It has stellar performances by both animals and human characters. Younger children might not get as much out of it as school aged children, but this is still an excellent family movie. The younger ones will at least love the animals. The younger kids in the movie are really cute and have some great lines.
            The movie is about the themes of it’s never too late to start over, eternal hope, and finding joy in life. The thematic elements involve times of frustration and anger by the main characters. The main character takes his anger out on a barrel. It is a movie about courage and finding out what is important in life. The thematic elements mentioned in the official movie rating and language did not detract from this being a good family movie. They were well placed and added to the plot. In terms of film reviews for families, they were meant to illustrate a point, which is different from the gratuitous violence and foul language found in other movies rated family friendly by the MPAA. This being said, We Bought A Zoo would make a wonderful family movie matinee out during the holidays. This family movie guide would not even give a second thought to bringing the little ones along too. It is a wonderful movie for the entire family.