We Bought a Zoo: The Amazing True Story of a Young Family, a Broken Down Zoo, and the 200 Wild Animals That Change Their Lives Forever

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We were silly enough to come and look at it, to rule it out," Benjamin said. "And, of course, we got caught up in the whole drama that, if it was going to close, which it looked like it was, most of the animals would be destroyed. So we pulled out all the stops and went through lengthy negotiations for about six months and managed to buy the zoo as a broken closed zoo without a license." Dylan, unhappy about having to stay, confronts his father and they have a heated argument. They reconcile the next morning and Dylan admits he misses Lily. Benjamin tells Dylan his favorite motto: that you only need 20 seconds of courage for something great to happen. Benjamin realizes that instead of trying to start over by forgetting his wife, he should accept that she will always be a part of him. Dylan, following his father's advice, confesses his love to Lily, and she forgives him. Kelly is a great-looking woman (after all, she looks like Scarlett Johansson), but she's all business, dedicated to the welfare of the animals. She can see that Benjamin has a lot to learn. One of their first differences involves Spar, an old Bengal tiger who is in deep depression. (So would we all be, if we had to live alone for 16 years in an efficiency apartment.) Should Spar be put down? Kelly and Ben have an emotional debate. verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ The story of Dartmoor Zoo might be a familiar one, but there's always something new happening. Though the film We Bought A Zoo, starring Matt Damon and Scarlett Johansson, came out over a decade ago, Zoo CEO Benjamin Mee says its still capturing new audiences.

Principe, Darleen (12 December 2013). "Historic Hidden Valley property proving a tough sell". Thousand Oaks Acorn. Benjamin takes Dylan and Rosie to the restaurant where he met Katherine. He tells them the story of how he worked up the nerve to approach her table with "20 seconds of insane courage." He visualizes her at the table, and asks why such an amazing woman would talk to someone like him. She responds, "Why not?" Salter, Jessica (3 Mar 2012). "We Bought a Zoo: the true story behind the film". The Daily Telegraph. Archived from the original on 2020-09-19 . Retrieved 30 Nov 2013.Gabrielle to visit Plymouth, Bath and Bournemouth on 30 Years of Dreaming tour Read More Related Articles At the film's outset, Benjamin Mee is still in mourning after the death of his wife. He's raising their kids Dylan ( Colin Ford), in his mid-teens, and Rosie (Maggie Elizabeth Jones), who is 7. Dylan is nabbed for shoplifting, and Benjamin, a journalist, decides it's time to leave the big city and raise them in the country. He finds an ideal house, which the real-estate agent only gradually explains comes with its own menagerie. The place was once a private zoo, shut down for reasons involving money and regulations, and Kelly Foster (Johansson) minds the animals with the help of Peter (Angus Macfadyen), a pipe-puffing Scotsman, and Kelly's teen niece, Lily ( Elle Fanning), who seems not entirely unaware she's in a script that may require her to sooner or later kiss Dylan. His story, and that of his family, both humans and animals, is portrayed in his best-selling book ‘We Bought a Zoo’, which was also turned into a hit movie by Cameron Crowe, starring Matt Damon as Benjamin Mee and a host of other stars, including Scarlett Johansson.

Dragan, while waiting patiently for breakfast, posed so wonderfully in the early morning sunlight (Image: Shannon Brown/PlymouthLive)Rolling in the Deep' Rolls Away With Song of the Year at 2012 BMI London Awards". BMI.com. October 9, 2012 . Retrieved May 29, 2015. Instead of an escaping grizzly bear, as portrayed by the film, it was a jaguar called Sovereign that had escaped. [27] Benjamin's children were also younger (aged four and six respectively) than the children in the film. [27]

The zoo scenes were filmed at Greenfield Ranch in Hidden Valley, Thousand Oaks, California, where a zoo was erected for the filming. [8] [9] Development [ edit ] He added the experience was "hugely formative" for him at the time - knowing they didn't know how to run a zoo and having to learn on the job, they saw first hand the very real risk to people and animal's lives. Benjamin's brother, Duncan ( Thomas Haden Church), is an accountant who urgently advises Ben not to buy a zoo. Well, that's the function of a good accountant. How many times has my own accountant entreated me, "Roger, whatever you do, don't buy a zoo!"Thomas Haden Church as Duncan Mee, [5] Benjamin's older brother and an accountant and Dylan and Rosie's uncle Maggie Elizabeth Jones as Rosie Mee, Benjamin's 7-year-old daughter and Dylan's younger sister, who is very curious about all of the animals in the zoo and thinks living at a zoo is a grand adventure.