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We Bought a Zoo poster

Movies that feel likeWe Bought a Zoo (2011)

Benjamin has lost his wife and, in a bid to start his life over, purchases a large house that has a zoo – welcome news for his daughter, but his son is not happy about it. The zoo is in need of renovation and Benjamin sets about the work with the head keeper and the rest of the staff, but, the zoo soon runs into financial trouble.

If you loved We Bought a Zoo, the closest films we have are English Vinglish (2012), Alibi.com (2017) and Paper Planes (2014). All three share We Bought a Zoo's witty and playful feel, which is what we rank on before quality.

Seen the big three already? The under-the-radar pick below is Freaky Friday (2003).

🍅 64% Rotten Tomatoes★ 7 IMDb ↗TMDB ↗dir. Cameron Crowecontemplativewittyplayfulwarmcozyromantic
6 of 12 streaming nowDisney Plus · Brew

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If We Bought a Zoo hit the spot, these will too

English Vinglish poster
English Vinglish
2012 · dir. Gauri Shinde
🍅 83%★ 7.8comedy · drama · family

Both land stillness and wit at once

In the United States for the first time, an Indian housewife with a limited command of English turns Manhattan into her personal language school.

Alibi.com poster
Alibi.com
2017 · dir. Philippe Lacheau
🍅 67%★ 6.5comedy · familyRent or buy

Playful and warm in the same breath

The difference: Takes it somewhere less contemplative than We Bought a Zoo does

Greg founded a company called Alibi.com that creates any type of alibi. With his associate, Augustin, and Medhi his new employee, they devise unstoppable stratagems and stagings to cover their clients. But meeting Flo, a pretty blonde who hates men who lie, will complicate Greg's life, which begins by hiding the true nature of his activity. During the presentation to parents, Greg understands that Gérard, the father of Flo, is also one of their clients.

Paper Planes poster
Paper Planes
2014 · dir. Robert Connolly
🍅 85%★ 6.2comedy · family · dramaStarz

Drama built on comfort, twice over

Dylan discovers he has a talent for making paper planes. He has a chance to compete in a world championship, but he'll have to face bullies and self-doubt to do so.

Marley & Me poster
Marley & Me
2008 · dir. David Frankel
🍅 64%★ 7comedy · family

The same preoccupation in both: love

A newly married couple, in the process of starting a family, learn many of life's important lessons from their trouble-loving retriever, Marley. Packed with plenty of laughs to lighten the load, the film explores the highs and lows of marriage, maturity and confronting one's own mortality, as seen through the lens of family life with a dog.

Elf poster
Elf
2003 · dir. Jon Favreau
🍅 85%★ 7.1comedy · family · fantasyRent or buy

Romantic comedy, and it commits to that

The difference: Sits closer to fantasy than We Bought a Zoo does

When young Buddy falls into Santa's gift sack on Christmas Eve, he's transported back to the North Pole and raised as a toy-making elf by Santa's helpers. But as he grows into adulthood, he can't shake the nagging feeling that he doesn't belong. Buddy vows to visit Manhattan and find his real dad, a workaholic.

Freaky Friday poster
Freaky Friday
2003 · dir. Mark Waters
🍅 88%★ 6.4comedy · family · fantasyDisney+

Witty family in both cases

Mother and daughter bicker over everything -- what Anna wears, whom she likes and what she wants to do when she's older. In turn, Anna detests Tess's fiancé. When a magical fortune cookie switches their personalities, they each get a peek at how the other person feels, thinks and lives.

The Princess Diaries 2: Royal Engagement poster
The Princess Diaries 2: Royal Engagement
2004 · dir. Garry Marshall
🍅 25%★ 5.9comedy · drama · familyDisney+

Drama with a pulse of stillness, in both cases

The difference: The scrappier of the two with critics

Mia Thermopolis is now a college graduate and on her way to Genovia to take up her duties as princess. Accompanied by her friend Lilly, Mia continues her 'princess lessons', like riding horses side-saddle and archery. But her already complicated life is turned upside down once again when she learns that she is to take the crown as queen earlier than expected, all while she meets a mysteriously charming young man.

Mr. Popper's Penguins poster
Mr. Popper's Penguins
2011 · dir. Mark Waters
🍅 47%★ 6comedy · family

One thread runs through both: zoo

Tom Popper is a successful businessman who’s clueless when it comes to the really important things in life...until he inherits six “adorable” penguins, each with its own unique personality. Soon Tom’s rambunctious roommates turn his swank New York apartment into a snowy winter wonderland — and the rest of his world upside-down.

Mr. Bean's Holiday poster
Mr. Bean's Holiday
2007 · dir. Steve Bendelack
🍅 50%★ 6.4family · comedy

Both lean on play more than on comedy

Mr. Bean wins a trip to Cannes where he unwittingly separates a young boy from his father and must help the two reunite. On the way he discovers France, bicycling and true love, among other things.

Fala Sério, Mãe! poster
Fala Sério, Mãe!
2017 · dir. Pedro Vasconcelos
★ 6.1comedy · family

Warm family in both cases

Ângela Cristina, mother of teenager Maria de Lourdes, has to deal with the difficulties and delights of guiding her daughter during one of the most complicated stages of life.

Bedtime Stories poster
Bedtime Stories
2008 · dir. Adam Shankman
🍅 27%★ 6.1fantasy · comedy · familyDisney+

Cozy comedy in both cases

Skeeter Bronson is a down-on-his-luck guy who's always telling bedtime stories to his niece and nephew. But his life is turned upside down when the fantastical stories he makes up for entertainment inexplicably turn into reality. Can a bewildered Skeeter manage his own unruly fantasies now that the outrageous characters and situations from his mind have morphed into actual people and events?

Cheaper by the Dozen poster
Cheaper by the Dozen
2003 · dir. Shawn Levy
🍅 25%★ 6comedy · familyDisney+

Family with a pulse of wit, in both cases

The Baker brood moves to Chicago after patriarch Tom gets a job coaching football at Northwestern University, forcing his writer wife, Kate, and the couple's 12 children to make a major adjustment. The transition works well until work demands pull the parents away from home, leaving the kids bored -- and increasingly mischievous.

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The best-reviewed films that share We Bought a Zoo’s defining feeling.