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Parents' Guide to

It's a Zoo in Here

By Grace Montgomery, Common Sense Media Reviewer

age 7+

Monkey caper is cute and clean but has muddled plot.

Movie NR 2014 87 minutes
It's a Zoo in Here Poster Image

A Lot or a Little?

What you will—and won't—find in this movie.

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age 7+

Based on 1 parent review

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What's the Story?

Chris (Jacob Horsley) has just moved in with his workaholic dad, Alan (Ry Barrett), in a new town and is having trouble making friends. But when he joins the local soccer team, he meets Mara (Soma Bhatia), his cute new neighbor who's also an animal advocate. When she invites him to liberate the mistreated animals from Malik the Magnificent's (Keith Cooper) show at the local fair, Chris unintentionally ends up bringing home Momo, a performing monkey. As Malik starts combing the neighborhood to find his missing monkey, Chris must keep Momo a secret from his dad, try to impress Mara with his soccer skills, and try to get the best of bully Jackson, (Christian Vespi) who wants to beat Chris on the soccer field and win Mara's heart.

Is It Any Good?

Our review:
Parents say (1 ):
Kids say (1 ):

IT'S A ZOO IN HERE has a lot of elements that might appeal to a lot of kinds of kids: animal hijinks, soccer drama, and some cute adolescent romance. Unfortunately, there are too many plot elements and too many conflicts, making the movie mostly feel a bit muddled. Chris is struggling with hiding a monkey, trying to get his workaholic dad to pay attention to him, learning how to do the perfect free kick, and dealing with a bully who wants to make his life miserable. And the character of Chris' dad has a whole subplot dealing with a creepy boss who'd rather keep him at work all evening and on weekends so she can flirt with him. There's just too much going on.

The acting also is pretty bad, from both the adult and kid actors. With so many other fun animal adventures out there, this is one you can safely skip.

Talk to Your Kids About ...

  • Families can talk about Chris' rescue of Momo the monkey. Do you think it was right for him to hide the monkey? Or should he have given him back to his owner?

  • If you know an adult is doing something wrong, what are some ideas of things you could do, depending on the stituation?

  • In sports, which is more important to you: playing fair or winning?

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