Last week, Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment released Cameron Crowe’s (Almost Famous, Jerry Maguire) latest feel good film, We Bought a Zoo, on Blu-ray/DVD/Digital Copy combo pack.
Based on a true story, We Bought a Zoo tells the story of LA Newspaper columnist, adventurist and single father Benjamin Mee (Matt Damon) who, while raising two kids on his own after his wife died, decides that it’s time to start a fresh life and bring back the positive family vibe that was lost with his wife by buying a house in the country. The kicker is that the house has a zoo on the property, Rosemoor Animal Park to be exact, and that with the purchase of the home he now has to care for these animals too. With the help of Kelly Foster (Scarlett Johansson), the head zookeeper, and her small but dedicated team, Benjamin decides that, despite his limited budget, lack of experience and almost no time, they are going to reopen the zoo and have their own backyard adventure.
I should start off by saying this isn’t Cameron Crowe’s best film but it does get the job done. It’s a feel good film that most mainstream audience members will enjoy and can walk away with their family feeling completely satisfied. The acting works and there is enough comedy mixed with family and personal drama that makes your investment in the characters worth it. Even with its predictable ending, you’re bound to sit there with a smile on your face and may even be thinking about a few of the messages the film had to say about life, love and the idea of letting go. I can see this as a film kids could watch on repeat the way I constnatly rewatched Mary Poppins as a child.
My one takeaway from the film was that “you only need 20 seconds of insane courage” and everything will either fall into place or you’ll be a bumbling idiot, but at least with those 20 seconds you can say you tried. Watch the movie to truly understand what this means.
Besides just being a very inspiring and positive family film about adjusting to life’s heavy hand, one of my favorite aspects of the film is the score, which was composed by Jónsi of the band Sigur Rós. I didn’t realize how inspirational and moving it was until I left the film’s menu playing on my TV for ten minutes. It’s Jónsi’s music that really helps propel the film forward and enhance its family friendly tone.
The disc:
The package comes with a blu-ray, which looked very good on my screen, a DVD and a digital copy. There are over 2 ½ hours of special features which I have listed below and provided commentary on the ones I felt required it:
20 Deleted and extended scenes
Audio commentary with Director Cameron Crowe, actor J.B. Smoove and Editor Mark Livolsi
Gag Reel –The reel has some funny bits, cute bits, and other entertaining videos but none of it is stupid because they put the soulful soundtrack to it in order to keep it in line with the movie’s feel good principles. Plus, it features the famous “it’s peanut butter jelly time!” song for good measure.
We Shot a Zoo – This is a behind the scenes look at the film split up into four featurettes
Their Happy is Too Loud – An 18 minute featurette that gives us a pretty in-depth look at the score mixing and composing process. Cameron Crowe interviews Jónsi (an Icelandic native musician) and learns about his roots in music and how the score came to be realized. He also explains to us how the score has changed his perspective on using string instruments in his films. The music feels less Hollywood to him and, in Crowe’s opinion, it takes you into the world of the zoo, which I happen to agree with.
The Real Mee – A 29 minute feature where we have the opportunity to listen to the real Benjamin Mee talk about how he ended up purchasing the disheveled zoo in southwest England and how it changed his family’s life. With footage of the zoo’s animals and his kids strolling through the park cut into the feature, we hear Mee discuss all the challenges he faced, the lessons he learned, and all the different type of help he received to make this revitalization project a reality.
Photo Gallery
Movie Rating: A wonderful family film that should be a staple in every kid’s movie library (6.5/10)
Blu-ray Rating: 7.5/10
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