Jonas Polsky

by Jonas Polsky

Filmgoers are already dismissing the upcoming zoo-flick “We Bought A Zoo” as another forgettable footnote in the crowded zoosploitation genre. What they don’t know is that it’s probably the year’s most important movie about a family acquiring a paid animal exhibit.

What could at first glance be another run of the mill zoo-centric ownership tale may very well herald the new vanguard of menagerie acquisition films. The manner in which this film tackles the topic of animal exhibit appropriation makes it stand out next to the common zoo-grabber flick.

The story showcases a group of loved ones learning to move on in a new town, and band together through capitalism. Lessons are learned, animals are exploited for profit, and when the cash starts rolling in, emotional wounds are healed. Nothing can be more cathartic than wiping away a tear with a greenback that you earned displaying a captive mammal to the public.

Often you go to the movies and see the same old, same old. Family in turmoil in the first act, buys a zoo in the second act and lives happily ever after. What “We Bought A Zoo” does differently is addresses the timeworn yarn of zoo acquisition from a contemporary financial perspective. It not only looks at how a family goes about buying a zoo, but addresses the post-transaction issues, when the family looks at each other and says, “We Bought A Zoo, Now What?”.

I implore you, don’t dismiss this movie. The sheer variety of animals showcased in this film is worth the ticket price alone. If you’ve felt penned up by previous zoo-outings, herd your pack of wild animals, get down to the cinema and tell them “We Bought A Ticket For ‘We Bought A Zoo.’”

“Never be bought, never be sold.”

We Bought A Zoo.