Family movie "We Bought a Zoo" touching and inspiring

When I first saw the trailer for “We Bought a Zoo,” I thought this could be quite a touching and inspiring movie or it could be overly sappy. Would my kids go for sappy? They prefer funny and action. Hmm. Maybe it would be funny? Luckily, it did have some comic relief, but mostly it was a moving film with a message to dream. And while it is a sentimental movie, I came away feeling it was more touching than sappy.

The movie, based on a true story, is about reporter Benjamin Mee (Matt Damon) coping with the death of his wife and raising a family. He’s challenged by his son’s increased moodiness and penchant for getting in trouble (stealing, bizarre drawings that concern school officials, getting expelled). Benjamin finds he needs a change for his family, so he quits his job and seeks a new home. The perfect one just happens to be attached to a zoo. He takes the plunge, hoping that getting the zoo ready to open will bring the family together. He gets help from the zoo staff, who cared for the animals while the house was empty. It’s a struggle emotionally and financially. Just as Benjamin readies to end his adventure, thinking he’s run out of cash, he finds that his late wife built a little nest egg that allows the zoo to move forward. Happy, happy. Also stars Scarlett Johansson, Thomas Haden Church and Elle Fanning. My grade: B+ BTW, my kids both gave it an A+.

“We Bought a Zoo” is rated PG for language and some thematic images. What you should know if you take kids:

-Some disturbing, violent art images produced by teenage son.
-Some of the bad language comes from a frustrated teen.
-Suspense as one of the zoo staff has to fix a lock to a cage as the other distracts the animal.
-The mom has died, so there are flashbacks to when she was alive. (This may lead to some questions from little ones).
-A bear looks as though it will attack one of the characters.
-One of the animals is very sick and eventually dies.
-Some social drinking is shown.
-Some young love/flirtation drama.

This is a great movie for a family chat after. So much to talk about, from coping with death, teen emotions, daring to dream, facing adversity, etc.

Cheers!