Review of We Bought a Zoo on DVD

It was released on April 3 and may be one of the most heartwarming DVD's we own;  We Bought a Zoo stars hollywood faves Matt Damon and Scarlett Johansson and was not what we expected from the trailers we had seen.

For one, the film deals with the issues of loss (the main character lost his wife before the story begins) and a family in turmoil.  As you can expect, however, the trials of owning a run-down zoo (a bonus of buying the house of your dreams) brings the family closer together.  I was anticipating a little more zoo than this movie provided, and my younger kids grew bored during the middle.  My husband and I got a little more than choked up in the intense parts, however, because we could identify with this father struggling to provide and move on for the sake of his kids.  (It's never easy to raise a family, and sometimes, you do outrageous things to make them work.)

This sweet story is well worth the difficult themes, and I would highly recommend it for any children over age 8.  Younger kids can see it, too, but a scene with a dying tiger and a few mild swear words may be too much for the tot crowd.  If you liked Jerry Maguire, this will seem familiar (it is the same director); animal lovers and people fans will make extra shelf space for this flick in their permanent collection.

A slithering snake scene aside, you will likely love this film.  Snag it at Amazon or other retailers on DVD, Blu-Ray, and digital download.


*Screener received to review.  Opinions are 100% my own.