We Bought a Zoo

We Bought a Zoo
Theatrical release poster
Directed by	Cameron Crowe
Produced by	Julie Yorn Cameron Crowe Marc Gordon
Screenplay by	Aline Brosh McKenna Cameron Crowe
Based on	We Bought a Zoo by Benjamin Mee
Starring	Matt Damon Scarlett Johansson Thomas Haden Church Patrick Fugit Colin Ford Elle Fanning Maggie Elizabeth Jones Angus Macfadyen John Michael Higgins
Music by	Jónsi
Cinematography	Rodrigo Prieto
Edited by	Mark Livolsi
Production company	Vinyl Films LBI Entertainment Dune Entertainment
Distributed by	20th Century Fox
Release date	December 23, 2011 (2011-12-23)
Running time	124 minutes
Country	United States
Language	English
Budget	$50 million
Box office	$120.1 million

We Bought a Zoo is a 2011 American family comedy-drama film loosely based on the 2008 memoir of the same name by Benjamin Mee. It was written and directed by Cameron Crowe and stars Matt Damon as Benjamin Mee, who purchases a dilapidated zoo with his family and takes on the challenge of preparing the zoo for its reopening to the public. The film also stars Scarlett Johansson, Maggie Elizabeth Jones, Thomas Haden Church, Patrick Fugit, Elle Fanning, Colin Ford, and John Michael Higgins. The film was released in the United States on December 23, 2011 by 20th Century Fox. The film earned $120.1 million on a $50 million budget. We Bought a Zoo was released on DVD and Blu-ray on April 3, 2012 by 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment. Dartmoor Zoological Park (originally Dartmoor Wildlife Park), on which the film is based, is a 33-acre zoological garden located near the village of Sparkwell, Devon, England.

Recently widowed Benjamin Mee (Matt Damon), still grieving his loss and dealing with the expulsion of his 14-year-old son, Dylan (Colin Ford), from school, decides to make a fresh start by buying a new house. He tours many houses with his 7-year-old daughter, Rosie (Maggie Elizabeth Jones), and his realtor, Mr. Stevens (J.B. Smoove), but finds none he likes until his daughter finds a listing with what seems like the perfect house. They drive to an old large house and Benjamin inspects the property, telling his realtor it is perfect. When they hear a lion roar, Stevens explains that the house comes with a zoo in the back, which closed several years before; if they want the house, they must buy the zoo.