We Bought a Zoo

A completely professionally made film (perfect editing, amazing cinematography, breathtaking sets...), which thanks to its "soft drink" script manages to attack the viewer's emotions quite indiscriminately at some moments. Fortunately, the whole thing actually feels on the whole quite natural and civil (mainly thanks to the excellent cast), and therefore there is no need to wonder if Cameron Crowe is just forcing your emotions or if the characters are so wonderfully written and acted that you just believe them all. What’s more, the story itself is so beautifully human that perhaps it must ultimately soften even otherwise purely cynical hearts. The ending is so very moving it's almost unwelcome :))) (29/10/2013)

Yeah, why not? Why not, for once in your short life, take your own path full of bumps, where even your loved ones will lose their sense of security? Why not believe in something that others would never hope for? Why not throw away past traumas and start again? We Bought a Zoo has an unoriginal story that as a whole ends in the most unexpected way, but I absorbed the varied and beautiful flavours and feelings contained in the individual scenes, the sweetly humorous dialogue, and the overall mood and motivational atmosphere of the film with as much joy as a kiss emoji from my crush (yeah, I wish she would actually think of me at least once a month). A small film, but with a big heart and a haunting last line that almost brought tears to my eyes. 75% (23/11/2015)

A thoroughly upbeat spectacle, for which one obviously has to be in the mood (and I was). I was still worried about five minutes before the film started that it would be too cute, full of babbling children, funny animals and so on. Of course, no such thing happened. Excellent sympathetic actors, nice script, humor, a tear here and there (really!)... And the sensational character of the zoo inspector played by John Michael Higgins. (12/10/2013)

A film that's not afraid to deliberately move you, yet is perfectly optimistic and intentionally smiling with every thought and plot point. The whole group of teenagers, children, dedicated caretakers, and gazing animals could easily crumble into a meaningless family mess. But Cameron Crowe proves that he still has a firm hand in calming down turbulent emotions. A film for everyone. Literally. (05/04/2012)

Today’s American genre movies apparently know only two extremes: either complete rejection of certainties and questioning of basic existential values or a safe escape into an idealised fairy-tale world. Cameron Crowe’s new film falls into the latter group with such irresistible guilelessness that I feel ashamed to criticise it for its naïveté. Since I ultimately didn’t get the good feeling that the film ceaselessly pushes on viewers, I’m not rating it higher, but in the same breath, I can recommend that you give We Bought a Zoo a chance, as it can be touching, depending on your state of mind at the moment. It’s solidly directed and offers tasteful humour, even when it comes to the animals. ___ Though the film doesn’t try to hide its affiliation with the Christmas family comedy category (American premiere date: 23 December), it also doesn’t manage to exploit it in any clever way. It is simply an intentionally nice film and nothing more. The type-casting of the characters is flawless; there is no risk that someone would deviate from the clearly defined course. Radical, though of course temporary, deviations are allowed either in the context of the acknowledged game (MacCready) or to confirm the absolute success of the main characters (Ferris). There are no negative characters that could be taken seriously. To be precise, the creepy inspector is a caricature like something out of a children’s book. Like the film’s cast of animals, he serves only for comic situations that alleviate the mourning for the dead wife and the search for a way back to people. The only effort at more sophisticated involvement of the ever-present animals in the central plot is the impassioned (even by the standards that the film sets) episode with the dying tiger. Otherwise, the animals only a) generate grotesque humour or b) try to convince us that it’s natural for them to be locked up in cages. Thomas Haden Church managed to make the most of his thankless role and, unlike Damon, he can deliver his great pearls of wisdom with a light sense of detached humour. The film otherwise falls desperately short. ___ The “fine” mood spiked with rising intensity towards the end (thanks especially to Elle Fanning) made me wonder if that was an intentional change of stylisation on Crowe’s part, resulting in a very clever practical joke. But probably not. 55% (12/04/2012)