Dylan, unhappy about having to stay, confronts his father and they have a heated argument. They reconcile the next morning and Dylan admits he misses Lily. Benjamin tells Dylan his favorite motto: that you only need 20 seconds of courage for something great to happen. Benjamin realizes that instead of trying to start over by forgetting his wife, he should accept that she will always be a part of him. Dylan, following his father's advice, confesses his love to Lily, and she forgives him. Thomas Haden Church Joins 'Killer Joevbvb' & 'We Bought A Zoo' ". ScreenRant. 6 October 2010 . Retrieved 2010-10-29. After nine years in private ownership, during which Benjamin developed the collection, rebuilt the reputation of the Zoo, launched the Education and Research Department, he and his family donated the Zoo to a newly created charity, Dartmoor Zoological Society (DZS ). DZS is now operated by a dedicated team of specialists that report to the trustees who have overall responsibility for the running and development of the DZS.

Matt Damon as Benjamin Mee, the father of Dylan and Rosie Mee, the owner of the zoo and the love interest of Kelly Foster, who is trying to restart his life after the death of his first wife, Katherine. [4] Rich, Katey (2010-05-17). "Cameron Crowe Commits To We Bought A Zoo For Late 2011 Release". Cinema Blend . Retrieved 2010-10-29. More than 10 years after the film initially aired, it is still regularly watched by people across the world, and it still shown on TV, including this weekend on Channel 4 at 13:25 on Sunday, January 8. In the interim, Dartmoor Zoo became a charity, allowing them to accept more donations from kind-hearted visitors, and save money in other areas. As the film clearly points out, it is very expensive to run a zoo.The in-progress Amur Leopard enclosure. While it used to home jaguars (who ate part of the wooden hutch) and lions, Benjamin hopes it will soon hold one of the rarest species on earth (Image: Shannon Brown/PlymouthLive) a b Fleming, Mike (2010-11-09). "Cameron Crowe Taps His 'Almost Famous' Alter Ego For 'Zoo,' And Elle Fanning, Too". Deadline . Retrieved 2011-12-29. In August 2011, it was announced that Icelandic musician Jón Þór "Jónsi" Birgisson, the lead singer of the band Sigur Rós, would be composing the music scores for We Bought a Zoo. [11] Director Crowe described the choice as "only natural", since "Jónsi has been a part of the making of We Bought A Zoo from the very beginning". [11] Benjamin takes Dylan and Rosie to the restaurant where he met Katherine. He tells them the story of how he worked up the nerve to approach her table with "20 seconds of insane courage." He visualizes her at the table, and asks why such an amazing woman would talk to someone like him. She responds, "Why not?"

John Michael Higgins as Walter "Walt" Ferris, a strict zoo inspector who earns the dislike of many people, especially Peter MacCreedy. In 2011, We Bought a Zoo came to screens for the first time, putting Dartmoor Zoo - or Rosemoor Zoo as it's known in the film - on a global stage. It was a two-year process before Benjamin and his two children, Milo and Ella, got to sit down at the premiere and see their lives on the big screen, thinking "what did they do to my story?" Rolling in the Deep' Rolls Away With Song of the Year at 2012 BMI London Awards". BMI.com. October 9, 2012 . Retrieved May 29, 2015. Harris, Scott (2010-06-24). "Matt Damon May Lead Cameron Crowe's 'We Bought a Zoo' ". Moviefone. Archived from the original on 2012-04-05 . Retrieved 2011-10-29. Dragan, while waiting patiently for breakfast, posed so wonderfully in the early morning sunlight (Image: Shannon Brown/PlymouthLive)

We were silly enough to come and look at it, to rule it out," Benjamin said. "And, of course, we got caught up in the whole drama that, if it was going to close, which it looked like it was, most of the animals would be destroyed. So we pulled out all the stops and went through lengthy negotiations for about six months and managed to buy the zoo as a broken closed zoo without a license." The zoo scenes were filmed at Greenfield Ranch in Hidden Valley, Thousand Oaks, California, where a zoo was erected for the filming. [8] [9] Development [ edit ] Rooney, David (27 November 2011). "We Bought a Zoo: Film Review". The Hollywood Reporter . Retrieved 2011-12-30.