We Bought a Zoo

A a barrage of positivity that relies on the typical trademarks that Cameron Crowe sprinkles into each of his films: strong characters that you can't help but sympathize with, some sparkle between main characters, a common goal to work towards, a dash of emotions and personal attitudes that need to be changed, all adding to one of the film of the year. Crowe hasn't overstretched himself this time around, and made a modest, intimate film that is emotionally transparent and relatable, even though it's actually woefully unoriginal and ordinary. But even fleshing out the characters and dialogue and adding a catchy soundtrack is quite a feat in a production like this. The last scene is awesome. (04/20/2016)

A thoroughly upbeat spectacle, for which one obviously has to be in the mood (and I was). I was still worried about five minutes before the film started that it would be too cute, full of babbling children, funny animals and so on. Of course, no such thing happened. Excellent sympathetic actors, nice script, humor, a tear here and there (really!)... And the sensational character of the zoo inspector played by John Michael Higgins. (10/12/2013)

A film that is not afraid to deliberately touch you, yet is perfectly optimistic and intentionally smiling with every thought and point. The whole group of teenagers, children, dedicated caretakers, and gazing animals could easily crumble into a meaningless family mess. But Cameron Crowe proved that he still has a firm hand in calming down turbulent emotions. A film for everyone. Literally. 90%. (04/04/2012)

A completely professionally made film (perfect editing, amazing cinematography, breathtaking sets...), which thanks to its "soft drink" script manages to attack the viewer's emotions quite indiscriminately at some moments. Fortunately, the whole thing actually feels on the whole quite natural and civil (mainly thanks to the excellent cast), and therefore there is no need to wonder if Cameron Crowe is just forcing your emotions or if the characters are so wonderfully written and acted that you just believe them all. What’s more, the story itself is so beautifully human that perhaps it must ultimately soften even otherwise purely cynical hearts. The ending is so very moving it's almost unwelcome :))) (10/28/2013)

Yeah, why not? Why not, for once in your short life, take your own path full of bumps, where even your loved ones will lose their sense of security? Why not believe in something that others would never hope for? Why not throw away past traumas and start again? We Bought a Zoo has an unoriginal story that as a whole ends in the most unexpected way, but I absorbed the varied and beautiful flavours and feelings contained in the individual scenes, the sweetly humorous dialogue, and the overall mood and motivational atmosphere of the film with as much joy as a kiss emoji from my crush (yeah, I wish she would actually think of me at least once a month). A small film, but with a big heart and a haunting last line that almost brought tears to my eyes. 75% (11/22/2015)