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We Bought a Zoo

Summary: Set in Southern California, a father moves his young family to the countryside to renovate and re-open a struggling zoo.
Runtime: 2 h 04 min
MPAA: PG

Country: United States
Language: English
Movie budget: $ 50,000,000
Domestic: $ 75,624,550
International: $ 44,457,291

Box office:

Budget:$50MDomestic:$75.6MInternational:$44.5MWorldwide:$120.1M

Box office International:

Source: The Numbers

Adaptation/remake:

based on true story, based on book
6%
65%71%

58/10069/100
39%18%
White70.59%Black11.76%Jewish11.76%Latino5.88%
1.75
BechdeltestTalk about a man

Commonsensemedia

Message5/5
Role model4/5
Violence2/5
Sex1/5
Language3/5
Consumerism3/5
Drugs2/5

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Cast
Other Cast, Production

Other cast:

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Parental Guide

Parental Guide: +add

This film gets a 1.75/5 family friendly score

MPAA CertificationNo MPAA rating found yet. Add Family Friendly Rating?

IMDb Rating

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1389137/parentalguide

last updated: 2024-10-25Update data

Commonsensemedia Rating

https://www.commonsensemedia.org/movie-reviews/we-bought-a-zoo

last updated: 2024-10-25Update data

Message
5/5

The film is chock full of positivity. Mee and his team at the zoo all work together for a common good. Open communication, empathy, and effort make the new venture work and help heal the family.

Role model
4/5

Mee is genuinely interested in giving his kids a new adventure so that they, and he, can find joy again after his wife's death. He makes mistakes, but through it all, he keeps the lines of communication open with his kids, especially his 14-year-old, who starts out as rebellious and surly (he steals, kicks snakes, yells and swears at his dad, etc. -- i.e. not someone to emulate) but improves. Even Mee's brother, who doesn't always see things his way, winds up supportive. Kelly is a strong woman who's confident about her zookeeping skills and has genuine affinity for the animals.

Violence
2/5

Some moments may seem dangerous, especially to young viewers. Some of the teenage son's dark, violent drawings are shown; including one of a decapitated head with blood squiring from the neck. The son also kicks a snake as if it were a soccer ball. Some threats ("I'm going to kill him" and someone saying they'd feed their in-laws to tigers -- said as a joke) and a humorous reference to using a tranquilizer gun on a human. In addition to the tranq guns, one apparently real gun is seen.

Sex
1/5

Some flirtation between two teens and two adults; a kiss. Also some mild innuendo related to both humans and animals. A maternity portrait shows a woman topless -- nothing sensitive is shown, and it's not sexual, but her shirt is off.

Language
3/5

Language includes "s--t," "damn," "a--hole," "d--k," "hell," "oh my God" (as an exclamation), and more. Some of the swearing is done by kids.

Consumerism
3/5

Labels/brands seen include Apple, Stella Artois, Budweiser, Rolling Rock, GMC, Ford, Subway, Paxil, Target, and Home Depot.

Drugs
2/5

A few scenes of social drinking among adults and references to drinking; many photos of the passed-away wife include drinks. Mentions of animals' medications and a joke about how a tiger will get a "major buzz" from them.

Methodology
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