Parents' Guide to

Zoo Wars

By Renee Longstreet, Common Sense Media Reviewer

age 6+

Subpar animated animal adventure inspired by Star Wars.

Movie NR 2018 70 minutes
Zoo Wars Poster Image

A Lot or a Little?

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

  • Zoo Wars Movie: Nuke Tiptoes at His Console
  • Zoo Wars Movie: Boo Boo Squeal
  • Zoo Wars Movie: Nuke Joins Forces With B-52
  • Zoo Wars Movie: The Heroes are Menaced
  • Zoo Wars Movie: Princess Sparklefeather

Community Reviews

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age 2+

Based on 1 parent review

Shannonbe
Shannonbe Adult
April 12, 2021
age 2+

Waste of your time

Ok spoilers below... 1. Low budgeted movie 2. Who the heaven made this movie 3. Is this movie budget like 200k? 4. Would recommend this for babies or 3-5 year olds So this elephant is working and a voice tells him to hit a letter on his keyboard and it takes him a long time to hit that dang keyboard letter. After he hits it he is transported to a other dimension and he is told he is "The Chosen One". to save the universe, and he supposedly has unspeakable powers to save the universe from a evil RAT? So then he goes to someone to get more information to how to telleport himself to a other part of the dimension to stop the evil rat. Meanwhile the rat learns of this "Savior of the universe" and turns out the rat has powers to and the powers is called... The powers of the Sauce. So I guess you say a sauce name like Saracha. tomatoe sauce etc to control smeone's mind? It doesn't really make any sense. The end: it turns of the savior is acully the Flea inside the elephant's ear. And the flea tickles the evil rat to the point the rat can't stop laughing. So the rat is stuck rolling on the flor untill the flea is exhausted from tickling the rat. So yeah... don't bother watching it. Same goes for the movie... Zoo Wars 2. Goes like similar like the first one. There is some movies you could literally fall asleep in the middle of the movie and this is one of thoese movies.
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What's the Story?

An opening crawl (inspired by Star Wars) in ZOO WARS reveals that the Zooverse is made up of heroes -- The Nice Side -- and villains -- The Mice Side. Boo Boo Squeal, leader of the evil Mice, declares his intention. Wielding the power of "The Sauce," Boo Boo seeks no less than universal domination over the world. The only thing standing in his way is the missing "Chosen One" a legendary warrior powerful enough to thwart BooBoo's plan. The first step for BooBoo is capturing the Princess Sparklefeather (Bobbi Maxwell), and forcing her to give up the whereabouts of the Chosen One. Meanwhile, on the Nice Side, Nuke Tiptoes (KJ Strock), a bored elephant in a dead-end coding job, hears a voice in his head that will change his life. Nuke has been tapped to rescue the princess, find the Chosen One, and save their world. Rounding up a team of rough-and-tumble accomplices, Nuke, a reluctant new hero, sets out on a mission to stop BooBoo and bring peace back to the Zooverse.

Is It Any Good?

Our review:
Parents say (1 ):
Kids say (2 ):

Blaming the extensive awfulness of this movie on lack of funds lets off the filmmakers who want kids and their families to spend time and money on this leaden dud too easily. There's simply nothing to recommend here. The humor is based on regurgitating names of sauces (most of which kids won't recognize) and lame squabbles/insults between leading characters that seem endless. The animation is artless, amateurish, and boring. Most scenes consist of animals sitting in chairs in a straight line looking at the camera. It doesn't help that performances and writing are weak as well. With so many better movies available for at home viewing, it's important to help kids learn the value of quality filmmaking and avoid time wasters like Zoo Wars.

Talk to Your Kids About ...

  • Families can talk about using a classic story to create something new as the filmmakers did here with Zoo Wars. What are the advantages of transferring a concept and/or characters from a tried-and-true franchise like Star Wars to a new work? Think about such things as "name recognition" (marketing) and ease of building a story,

  • What element from Star Wars was represented by "The Sauce" in this movie? Did you recognize such phrases as "The Power of The Sauce," "The Sauce is used for good and evil," "All is Sauce"? Which character from Star Wars reminded viewers of Luke Skywalker?

  • Squeezy Whistle the squirrel was considered a "rogue" warrior. Why was he told "You have to take a stand" when he said he had "no side"? Do you think it's important to "take a stand" for a cause you believe in? Have you ever done that?

Movie Details

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