When your backyard is a zoo
MANILA, Philippines - We Bought A Zoo is a funny, inspiring and true story about the magical power of family to persevere in the face of extraordinary challenges. This is acclaimed filmmaker Cameron Crowe’s (Jerry Maguire) first motion picture for all audiences, and stars Matt Damon, Scarlett Johansson and Thomas Haden Church. Damon portrays a single dad who, looking to give his family a much needed fresh start, moves to a home situated in the middle of a zoo, which he and his two children will attempt to bring back to its once glorious state. The film weaves together warmth, laughter and a spirit of optimism.
Damon’s Benjamin Mee is a Los Angeles newspaper columnist and adventure writer who, as a single father, faces the challenges of raising his two young kids. Hoping that a fresh start and a new life will restore their family spirit, Mee quits his job and buys an old rural house on 18 acres outside the city that comes with a unique bonus feature: a zoo named the Rosemoor Animal Park, where dozens of animals reside under the care of head zookeeper Kelly Foster (Scarlett Johansson) and her dedicated team.
With no experience, limited time and a shoestring budget, Mee sets out with the support of his family and the local community to reopen the zoo. Now, Benjamin is no longer reporting an adventure story; he’s living his own…and it is right in his own backyard.
As the story opens, Benjamin finds himself struggling with the balancing act of raising two kids, ages 14 and 7. “Benjamin decides that they need something new — and so he sets off to find a new place to live, and he finds this beautiful piece of property — and it feels like destiny,” says Damon. “Then they discover that there’s an old zoo that comes with the property. Benjamin knows nothing about zoos, but in the spirit of adventure his late wife would have appreciated, he decides to go for it and buy the zoo.”
Overseeing the exotic and domesticated animals featured in the film is veteran animal coordinator, Mark Forbes whose company Birds & Animals Unlimited has provided and trained animals for many productions. Forbes and a team of 30 specialized animal trainers worked with the nearly 75 animals featured in the film, including an African Lion, Bengal Tigers, North American Grizzly Bears, White-Backed Vultures, White-Faced Capuchins, Hamadryas Baboons, Eurasian Eagle-Owls, Crested Porcupines, Asian Small-Clawed Otters, a Binturong, Grevy’s Zebras, Ostriches, Chilean Flamingos, Indian Blue Peacocks, Peahens, a Zebu, Dromedary Camels, Alpacas, a Kangaroo, a Leopard, a Red Fox, and a Scarlet Macaw.
During production, the zoo animals were not kept in the enclosures at the zoo set. Instead, they were brought in on a daily basis as needed. The animals were all housed with their respective owners and trainers and various animal compounds in the Southern California area.
For Damon, a husband and father of young children, spending several months at the zoo set transcended work because it offered a lot of family time. “It was great to have all these kids around and have my kids come to set and interact with them,” he notes. “I would have been unable to play this character 10 years ago; I wouldn’t have been able to relate to him. I think that whatever Cameron has gone through in his personal life and whatever I’ve gone through in my personal life has kind of lined us up to be interested by this material.”
We Bought A Zoo opens in cinemas on Jan. 18 from 20th Century Fox and distributed by Warner Bros.
