Release Date: April 3, 2012 Rating: PG Running Time: 124 minutes

Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment presents an inspiring adventure based on a true story of one man who brought a zoo back to life and family back together in WE BOUGHT A ZOO, arriving on Blu-ray, DVD and digital download April 3. Directed by acclaimed filmmaker Cameron Crowe (Almost Famous, Jerry Maguire) and starring Matt Damon (Contagion, True Grit), Scarlett Johansson (Iron Man 2, Vicky Cristina Barcelona) and Thomas Haden Church (Easy A, Sideways), WE BOUGHT A ZOO is “a sweet-natured tale…that you’ll want to see with your kids” (Liz Braun, Jam! Movies).

Benjamin Mee (Damon) is a Los Angeles newspaper columnist and adventure writer who, as a single father, faces the challenges of raising his two young children. Hoping that a fresh start and a new life will restore their family spirit, Mee quits his job and buys an old rural house outside the city 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 (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 it in his own backyard.

We Bought A Zoo is one of my favorite films of 2011. I was hesitating as to whether or not I would say that because I have not read the book from which the film is based on and as a book lover, I am hoping that the film did the book justice. After viewing the film, I can say that I am looking forward to reading the book even more. But I had a feeling even before hearing that the film was based on a true story that the film would do the story justice because Cameron Crowe, who directed Almost Famous directed this project and his vision is magnificent. And between Crowe and Aline Brosh McKenna, the screenplay was in good hands. The dialogue was wonderful, the pacing was perfect, the characters had depth (though it was clear that so much of that depth was not able to be explored, so I am especially looking forward to the book for this reason), and the balance of drama and comedy is so clever. At times, the comedy slips in and other times it’s front and center… and it works.

The casting was also very smart. At first, it may be offsetting to see Matt Damon in this role that he is in, not a stud, I’ll say. But soon after, you’ll forget all about that and the characters will engage you more than the well known actors on screening engaging you. Back to the characters for a moment… the relationship between Ben and his son was full of so much tension. It led up to one big blow out which was one of the most powerful scenes in the entire film. This kid was so relatable and reminded me of myself in so many ways when I was younger. It was frightening in that way but also very much necessary to show for these individuals to be heard and appreciated.

We see over time how this family grows closer together and what a wonderful, uplifting story that is. We don’t see that enough these days. Each relationship explored in this film has a distinct conflict added onto the overall conflicts that come with Ben buying a zoo so there’s plenty to engage the viewer. As a big fan of characters, I was pleased to find that the characters really made the story here. Yes, Ben bought a zoo not long after becoming a widow, taking on a financial burden having faith that things would turn around. But the people (and the animals that we will all fall in love with) along the way, that’s the journey that really connects the viewer and the story. We Bought A Zoo has heart and I’d say is a joy to watch for all ages. I can see myself popping in this Blu-ray quite a lot this summer (it’s got that kind of tone) and I encourage you to get your copy to do the same. You will not be disappointed.

Bonus Features:

Deleted & Extended Scenes – There are 20 deleted and extended scenes. If you enjoyed the film, spending an extra 45 minutes to watch these scenes is definitely worth it. The first scene, “Elevator Empathy” made me laugh out loud and will certainly make you laugh out loud. People are so funny in these situations. Hysterical. “Quick Learner” also brought a bit of a laugh. How did the cast not laugh during the scene, “Just Can’t Get a Handle On It?” “Disaffected Youth” among others will also make you chuckle. “We’re Living The Story” has one of my favorite line exchanges in the film so I was thrilled to see the extended scene on here, get as much as possible out of this scene as I can. I can only imagine that “Buster is Loose” was cut because of time because I cannot find anything wrong with this scene. Which brings us to the scenes that I am actually satisfied with being cut. I was glad that “Life is Elemental” was cut because it would have changed the emotions leading up to Ben giving the okay to put down the tiger. “Thank You, Rhonda” also was a great scene to cut because it would have confused viewers as to what to think about Rhonda. I did like how Rhonda was portrayed in the final scene, “Opening Day.” Too bad that wasn’t in the film!

Featurettes – There are three behind the scenes featurettes included on the Blu-ray; “We Shot a Zoo (1 hour 15 minutes),” “Their Happy is Too Loud (17:29 minutes),” and “The Real Mee (28:35 minutes).” The first is a great origin story from Benjamin and Katherine Mee’s vision to scouting locations, casting, working with Cameron Crowe, the animals, and more. What I love about these featurettes is that they are narrated with and the interviews are on location and used as voice over narrations which is rare. It brings a great feel to the featurette, because you can listen to the cast and crew while watching what happened on location rather than just watching and listening to them talk about it with brief behind the scenes looks. The first featurette is a bit time consuming but worth watching. The second featurette is dedicated to making the score and what a beautiful featurette it is. The final featurette is for those who want to hear it straight from Benjamin Mee. If there’s one featurette to watch, it would be this one and it’s only 28 minutes long so you have no excuse not to watch it!

Commentary – The commentary is conducted by Director Cameron Crowe, Actor J.B. Smoove and Editor Mark Livolsi. What really brings this commentary to life is the inclusion of comedian/actor, J.B. Smoove. This brings for quite a hysterical commentary… probably the most entertaining commentary of 2012 so far. Smoove takes over the commentary even though his part in the film is actually rather small. But his chemistry with Crow and Livolsi is great and it works very well. Along with the laughs, there are still plenty of technical bits shared and it’s intertwined in a very engaging way. If you have time to catch one commentary this Spring, let it be this one.

* Gag Reel (7 minutes)

* Photo Gallery

Own We Bought A Zoo on Blu-Ray and DVD today.