We Bought a Zoo has that win-win combination of cute furry animals and cute famous actors. You may be able to hazard a guess at the plot, but the twist is that the zoo purchaser is Matt Damon, a newly bereaved father of two. So the family drama becomes a sentimental meditation on grief, with a funny, sunshiney centre. This slow-drip of heartwarming recovery may be irritating for the more sophisticated viewer, but it’s a perfectly pleasant movie, with Scarlett Johansson as the luscious zookeeper, and a brilliant Outnumbered-style performance from 8-year-old Maggie Elizabeth Jones as the daughter Rosie.
Loosely based on the real-life story of Benjamin Mee, who bought a zoo on Dartmoor, in Devon, the California-set film has a fine cast of creatures, including an ageing tiger, and locals, who are equally varied and peculiar. PG (123mins)