What Do The Critics Say?
"Usually films that feature real animals speaking have so obviously used CGI fakery it's distracting, but the team behind "Zookeeper" have produced the best looking mouth movements on screen to date. The vocal cast are exceptional as well. Zookeeper" is pure commercial comedy fodder and not of the highest order, but for what it's set out to do, it's done surprisingly well. I was surprised by how enjoyable what I saw was."
Laura Clifford REELING REVIEWS
"The idea of zoo animals trying to help their favourite zookeeper Griffin trying to find true love isn’t a bad one. And the scene when Griffin takes a gorilla out of the zoo for a meal at a local restaurant is a hoot. I didn't dislike it and reckon children will be amused by the talking animals and impressed by the quality of the effects."
Graham Young BIRMINGHAM POST
"While certainly no classic, Zookeeper is a charming and lovably imperfect film. James's slapstick routines and the celebrity voices are somewhat gimmicky, but the inoffensive nature of the film will offer a welcome distraction from those sick of superheroes or 3D robots. As predictable and basic as the jokes may be, however, there is an innocence to the film."
James Luxford THE NATIONAL
"Though silly and disposable, the film's heart and physical comedy make it relatively satisfying. Zookeeper exhibits no brains and a silly sense of humor. But surprisingly, those things, combined with some fine physical humor from Kevin James, prove to make for a relatively satisfying family comedy. It makes the film's flaws: predictable plot, unimaginative jokes, sappiness: both forgivable and somewhat enjoyable."
David Roark CHRISTIANITY TODAY
"There is little in this PG comedy that any sharp-nosed moviegoer won't smell coming from miles away. But that doesn't get in the way of its pleasures. Did we mention that things just go better with Kevin James? Well-trodden comedy hooks become strangely more amusing. Goofball physical shtick elicits broader smiles. The bumblingly stupid is made endearing. We laughed a lot. We teared a couple of times. Mostly: and it's becoming a habit; we just appreciated the blundering wonder that is Kevin James. "Zookeeper" is a keeper."
Lisa Kennedy DENVER POST
"Add a commentRecommend DR Dolittle could talk to the animals while Amy Adams enlisted their help with a spot of spring cleaning in Enchanted. Now a zookeeper takes advice from the animals in his care to win the woman of his dreams in this surprisingly endearing comedy. While Zookeeper doesn't really cast any lingering animal magic, it has enough laughs to keep family audiences engaged. Sandler snaffles the best lines as the cheeky primate who believes he is superior to the other animals because of his thumbs."
Catherine Jones LIVERPOOL ECHO
"Jokes in the "Zookeeper" script speak directly to the youngest audience members, but writers Nick Bakay, Rock Reuben and James, himself, haven’t left mom and dad out of the mix. There’s a surreal quality to some of Zookeeper's humor that will fly over the heads of kids as it has parents scratching their own noggins in disbelief. Kevin James’s pain is his audience’s pleasure. There’s no tree he won’t swing into, no pole he won’t headbutt and no staircase he won’t throw his seemingly indestructible body down in the name of comedy. Box office receipts confirm that his audience laps up this self-inflicted physical abuse."
Sean O'Connell WASHINGTON POST
The Inside Story
For those wondering where the genesis for "Zookeeper" came from: the answer lies with producer Todd Garner ("Next"). "I have two kids and we go to the zoo all the time. Their expectation is they’re going to be able to communicate with the animals. So the idea was to make a movie about animals teaching a zookeeper how to find love. Our goal was to create an idea where all the fantasies of the children in all of us could come true." The success of such an idea would depend on making the right choices when it came to casting the linchpin upon which the whole storyline depended: the key character, Griffin Keyes. "This role was made for Kevin James," says director Frank Coraci ("Click"). "I’ve been watching him for years and he’s always made me laugh, on "The King of Queens" and in "Hitch", in "Chuck and Larry" and in "Paul Blart: Mall Cop". He’s sort of a little bit Jackie Gleason, a little bit of Jimmy Stewart, but he makes it his own: loveable, very original comedy. He reaches all ages across the board, so I think this movie is his kind of movie." Kevin James, who played Nick Brannen in "The Dilema", co-wrote, produced, and stars in the film. He plays a zookeeper at a crossroads in his life. "Griffin takes a lot of pride in his job, but after flaming out in his latest relationship, he thinks he’s got to make a clean break and move on. But the animals think he’s the best zookeeper they’ve ever had: they can’t risk losing him. So that’s when they reveal they can talk. It’s risky for them, because things tend not to go well for them when people know they can talk, but they’re in dire straits. They have no other choice." Once the script was written, the filmmakers were able to attract a truly all-star cast of comedy voices to play the animals. "We were incredibly fortunate to get the voice cast that we have. Adam got on board first to play the monkey and now, I can’t imagine anybody else playing that part," says Coraci. "Adam is so talented, he could have voiced any animal in this movie, but I can’t think of a better match than the monkey," says co-screenwriter Nick Bakay("Paul Blart: Mall Cop"). "The monkey is one of our best animal actors. It did incredible faces and exhibits tons of personality, just like Adam." Oscar® winner Cher ("Moonstruck") joins the film as the zoo’s lovely and loving lioness, with David di Donatello Award winner Sylvester Stallone as the king of the jungle himself. Golden Globe winner Nick Nolte ("The Prince of Tides") plays Bernie, the gruff gorilla, who becomes an unlikely friend to Griffin. The voice cast also includes Emmy winner Judd Apatow as Barry the elephant; Jim Breuer ("Once in the Life") as a neighborhood crow; Saturn Award winner Jon Favreau ("Iron Man") and Faizon Love ("Couples Retreat") as Jerome and Bruce, a pair of quarreling grizzly bears; Richie Minervini ("Paul Blart: Mall Cop") as an ostrich; Maya Rudolph (Lillian in "Bridesmaids") as a Mollie the giraffe; UFC fighter Bas Rutten ("Paul Blart: Mall Cop") as Sebastian the wolf and Emmy winner Don Rickles as the frog. On camera, the filmmakers have also assembled a cast of equally strong actors. To coordinate the animals, the filmmakers turned to Mark Forbes of Birds & Animals Unlimited. Forbes was able to use his extensive contacts to locate the exotic animals, which have been trained to be part of a film production. "All the animals that we used in this film were born in captivity and have been trained from a very young age," Forbes ("Because of Winn-Dixie") revealed. "They all have set experience. They’ve all been around all the lights, the cameras, and all the people. All of our activity on set is monitored by American Humane."
"We found the animals from all over the country. The bears came from Utah, the lions came from L.A.," Forbes ("Evan Almighty") added. "It was very important to us to use live animals in this movie. With real animals, you get unpredictability and realism that would be missing if you animated them in CG," Garner (2003's "Anger Management") explained. "The comedy in this movie depends upon spontaneity, and there are so many moments when the animals did things we couldn’t have predicted, and our writing team was able to write to those moments. It added so much to the movie." But there was one animal who wasn't real. Bernie the Gorilla. To create him the filmmakers turned to Alec Gillis ("Congo") and Tom Woodruff Jr ("Alien 3") of Amalgamated Dynamics Inc to create an animatronic gorilla that could show off his dance skills at TGI Friday’s. The location chosen by filmmakers to shoot "Zookeeper", was one they were already familiar. "We shot "Paul Blart: Mall Cop" in Boston and it was such a great experience that we always thought we’d come back," says Garner. "We just didn’t know we’d come back right away! But when we were scouting, we realized that Franklin Park had everything we needed, including a perfect area to build our zoo." Coraci says, "The best part about designing a zoo for a movie is that you can create your own vision. Each animal has an iconic enclosure: the bears in a North American mining town; the elephants in Indian temples and overgrown vines; the monkey has a Balinese island and a little sandy beach; the lions, the Serengeti; the giraffe, Timbuktu. On camera, the filmmakers have also assembled a cast of equally strong actors. Rosario Dawson plays a veterinarian and eagle expert, Kate, the object of Griffin’s affections. In her role, 2009 Image Award winner Dawson ("Seven Pounds") got to work closely with Sydney, the eagle. "It gave me a lot of respect and awe for her power. I was fascinated by watching her and playing with her, watching the little spot in her chest where she hides food, how long her legs are, how strong her claws are. Seeing that, I could imagine why my character loves what she does so much. She’s such a beautiful creature. She’s a Wedge Tailed Eagle. She’s very in love with her trainer, Tony." So, was she well behaved? "She’s okay with other females around her, but she hates it when any other male is around her." Leslie Bibb ("Iron Man") plays Griffin’s ex-girlfriend, the one who broke his heart and sets in motion his plan to leave the zoo. "My character, Stephanie, she’s a little crazy. She’s what you might call a hot mess. She’s not the nicest girl. She’s kind of selfish with a real sense of entitlement. It’s kind of fun to walk in those shoes and since she works in fashion, believe me, they are beautiful shoes. She has a great wardrobe." Though Bibb only has a few scenes with the animals, she couldn’t resist a visit to the on-set menagerie. "It was like Noah’s Ark opening up. They come out and you can pet them and you can feed them bananas. Rosie, the elephant, is a really sweet girl. So beautiful, so big, and so smart." Bibb also relished the chance to work alongside Kevin James. "Kevin has this great everyman quality about him. I know I sound like a cornball, but I really do think there’s something really magical about Kevin James. He’s so funny and he’s so likeable you just root for his characters." It can be a challenge, acting opposite an animatronic gorilla, but Kevin James was up for it. And working with such a talented cast only served him better. "Every day on this movie was the best day. I got to work with a great cast: everyone was so funny and really raised my game."
And what of the voice cast and the real life animals who appear in "Zookeeper"? Legendary singer and actress Cher who voices Janet the Lioness notes: "If the lion is king of the jungle, she’s the power behind the throne. But she totally plays it cool. Like all powerful ladies, she can let her man play the big man: it’s enough for her to know that he knows who’s in charge." On camera, the lioness is played by Taureg ("The Happening"). "Taureg is an eight year old African lioness and is part of three generations born in captivity," trainer Brian McMillan explained. "We have had her since she was two weeks old." Six time Kids' Choice Award winner Adam Sandler, voices Donald, a Capuchin monkey with a big mouth and big ideas for Griffin on how he can win his lady love. "I was first on board, and I’m a producer on the movie, so I got to pick which animal I wanted to be. The monkey was the only animal smart enough, handsome enough, and funny enough to handle my voice coming out of its mouth." Donald is played on-screen by Crystal ("The Hangover Part II" & "Night of the Museum" I and II). "Crystal is about fifteen and a half years old and is a Weeper Capuchin monkey," says trainer Tom Gunderson, who has worked with her monkey for twelve and a half years. "Capuchins come from either Central or South America; the Weeper Capuchins primarily live in Brazil. Crystal lives at my house with Squirt, the other monkey that was on the film but was never used." Sylvester Stallone ("The Expendables") who brings his unique voice to Joe, the lion notes: "Joe likes to think he’s the king, but the rest of the animals have other ideas about who’s really in charge." Felix is the lion that plays the role on camera. Brian McMillan, who also provided Taureg, the lioness, is Felix’s trainer. He revealed how the ten year old lion likes to be pampered, even babied, before he performs. "Two of our trainers, Jet Shaw and Bettina Browne, always like to fluff him up and spoil him a little bit before we go to work." Felix has visited Africa, appeared in several commercials and was cast in "Evan Almighty". Judd Appatow, best known for his work as a writer-director of "The 40 Year Old Virgin" and "Knocked Up", lent his voice as Barry the elephant for the film. "I always knew that one day I would get to perform with Cher, Stallone and Favreau while pretending to be an elephant. I’ve officially run out of dreams. Rosie is a twenty four year old female Asian elephant and lives in Perris, California, where she is trained by Joanne Smith and Gary Johnson. Rosie’s also appeared in "Evan Almighty". Mother of two, Maya Rudolph (Lucille and Jack), gives voice to Mollie, the giraffe. "My kids are going to go crazy when they see this movie. I got to hear the other voices, and it’s just so funny. It’s just impossible not to laugh at Adam Sandler as a monkey." Mollie is played on camera by Tweet, who appeared in "Ace Ventura: When Nature Calls". UFC fighter Bas Rutten rounds out the voice cast as Sebastian, the wolf. The role is played on-screen by Ricky, a six year old wolf from L.A. Ricky and two of his brothers from the same litter worked on the film, all trained by Tim Williams who explained: "They are part of my family. I’ve had them ever since they were one day old. I hand-raised them, socialized them, and trained them." Williams’ wolfpack, including Ricky, appeared in "The Chronicles of Narnia", "Sin City", and “The Canyon". Though the filmmakers opted to use real animals wherever possible, there was one instance required which required some movie magic. "Gorillas are endangered, says Mark Forbes. "No private party can own a gorilla. So, we used an animatronic gorilla suit to play the role of Bernie."
What's It All About?
 It seems the animals at the Franklin Park Zoo are the only ones who love kindhearted caretaker, Griffin Keyes. You see, Griffin has lucked out with his recent love Stephanie. He's heartbroken after proposing to her and being turned down. It appears as though he is more comfortable with a lion than a lady, so Griffin has decided, the only way to get a girl in his life, is to leave the zoo and find a more glamorous job. The animals, in a panic, decide to break their time-honored code of silence and reveal their biggest secret: they can talk! To keep Griffin from leaving, they decide to teach him the rules of courtship: animal style. There's no guarantee that they will be of any help, after all Stephanie now has a new man in her life. Anyway, what may work for animals may not have the desired effect when it comes to humans. Never the less, Griffin is prepared to have a go at anything if it brings love.
The Verdict
"When it comes to family/kids fflicks, it's patently obvious, that every so often, one comes along which will require some parents, to take a bullet for the kids. For some that bullet (a.k.a. the flick) will pack the punch of a Magnum 45. For others it will be akin to copping a flesh-wound. For the rest it will release a sigh of relief, because they've happily dodged the bullet. Take the case of "Zookeeper". Forget what most of the critics are saying and lets get down to 'tin tacks' (Australian slang for 'the facts'). It's a family flick. It has everything little-tackers love: lots of cute talking animals; stupid antics and pee pee. The adult bits: mushy love story, yucky kissing and making a goose of one-self over a woman. don't mean a thing to the 'tin lids'. In a family film, the latter are there to hopefully round out the films storyline, so that parents don't suffer pangs of remorse at being stuck in a cinema for ninety minutes or more, while grinding their teeth down to stumps to the gums. "Zookeeper" will probably not work for tweener girls whose taste these days, focus on films starring Anne Hathaway or Kristen Stewart. With a zoo full of talking animals; Kevin James at his dopiest best and a Gorilla out on the town for the night, there's enough here to satisfy most kids and their parents. 3 1/2 STARS."
Who Is Playing Who?
Kevin James
Rosario Dawson
Leslie Bibb
Ken Jeong
Donnie Wahlberg
Joe Rogan
Nat Faxon
Nick Bakay
Jackie Sandler
Nick Turturro
Thomas Gottschalk
Brandon Keener
Robin Bakay
Tanner Blaze
Tom Woodruff Jr
Garon Michael
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Griffin Keyes
Kate
Stephanie
Venom
Shane
Gale
Dave
Franky
TGIF Waitress
Manny
Jurgen
Nimer
Rebecca
Little Boy at Zoo
Bernie Suit Performer
Bernie Suit Performer
Whose Voice Is That?
Nick Nolte
Adam Sandler
Sylvester Stallone
Cher
Judd Apatow
Jon Favreau
Faizon Love
Maya Rudolph
Bas Rutten
Don Rickles
Jim Breuer
Richie Minervini
Bart the Bear
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Bernie the Gorilla
Donald the Monkey
Joe the Lion
Janet the Lioness
Barry the Elephant
Jerome the Bear
Bruce the Bear
Mollie the Giraffe
Sebastian the Wolf
Frog
Crow
Ostrich
Jerome
The Production Team
Directed by Frank Coraci
Screenplay by Nick Bakay/Rock Reuben/Kevin James/Jay Scherick/David Ronn
Story by Jay Scherick & David Ronn
Produced by Todd Garner/Jack Giarraputo/Kevin James/Adam Sandler
Original Music by Rupert Gregson-Williams
Cinematography by Michael Barrett
Film Editing by Scott Hill
Casting by Justine Baddeley & Kim Davis
Production Design by Kirk M. Petruccelli
Art Direction by Daniel T. Dorrance/Domenic Silvestri/Scott Zuber
Set Decoration by Hilton Rosemarin
Costume Design by Mona May
Run Time 102 minutes
Rated PG [AUST]
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