Despite all the changes (which were approved by the real Benjamin Mee), We Bought a Zoo hasn't lost the heart of its story at all. Also, Benjamin Mee, played here by Matt Damon, is widowed from the start of the movie, well before he buys the zoo, and his kids are older. This movie has changed the story somewhat, the biggest change being that the film is set in California. Not long after purchasing the zoo, Benjamin Mee's wife died, leaving him to raise their two children. None of them had any prior experience of running a zoo but they have since turned the zoo around and it is now a thriving enterprise. Benjamin Mee, along with his wife and mother, decided to buy a zoo in Dartmoor, a very rural part of England. We Bought a Zoo is a sweetly charming film based on a real-life story that will warm even the coldest of hearts. In the real Dartmoor zoo, the jaguar did indeed escape into the tiger enclosure. When Benjamin Mee first meets the zoo keeping staff, it is mentioned that there's a weak fence between the jaguars and the tigers. In real-life, Benjamin Mee doesn't have hair.īen Stiller, Tom Cruise, and Leonardo Di Caprio were all considered for the role of Benjamin Mee. In the trailer above, Rosie tells her dad (Matt Damon) that he's better than the other daddies as he has hair. He, and his children, make an appearance in the movie as the first family that climb over the tree blocking the road to the zoo.

We Bought a Zoo is loosely based on the real-life story of Benjamin Mee, who bought a Zoo in Dartmoor, England.

Dartmoor zoo benjamin mee