Zookeeper
Metascore
30 out of 100

Generally unfavorable reviews - based on 29 Critics

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 4 out of 29
  2. Mixed: 10 out of 29
  3. Negative: 15 out of 29
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  1. Austin Chronicle
    Reviewed by: Kimberley Jones
    Jul 7, 2011
    0
    I'm not gonna sugarcoat this: Movies don't have to be this bad.
  2. Boston Globe
    Reviewed by: Mark Feeney
    Jul 7, 2011
    38
    As for other voices, the most notable are Adam Sandler, whose capuchin monkey wears out his welcome pretty quickly; Maya Rudolph, whose jivey giraffe comes perilously close to aural blackface; and Nick Nolte's gorilla.
  3. Chicago Reader
    Reviewed by: J.R. Jones
    Jul 16, 2011
    30
    The best thing I can say about this sleep-inducing kiddie comedy is that the need to bring in a PG rating must have precluded the endless series of giant-turd gags promised by the title.
  4. Christian Science Monitor
    Reviewed by: Peter Rainer
    Jul 8, 2011
    25
    Numbingly inane comedy.
  5. Movieline
    Reviewed by: Michelle Orange
    Jul 7, 2011
    20
    The talking animals, though less tough to look at than those in "Marmaduke," are murder on the ears: Maya Rudolph as a neurotic giraffe and Sandler voicing a monkey could take the paint off of a Buick.
  6. New York Daily News
    Reviewed by: Joe Neumaier
    Jul 8, 2011
    20
    A children's comedy about talking animals that feels as if it were written by children or, perhaps, by talking animals.
  7. New York Post
    Reviewed by: Lou Lumenick
    Jul 8, 2011
    12
    Zookeeper barely avoids a zero-star rating because of James.
  8. Philadelphia Inquirer
    Reviewed by: David Hiltbrand
    Jul 7, 2011
    38
    The film would be a moth-eaten mess without the wisecracking animals. Not that it's funny with them.
  9. ReelViews
    Reviewed by: James Berardinelli
    Jul 7, 2011
    25
    The "special effects" employed to have the animals' mouths form words might have been state-of-the-art 20 years ago, but they're outdated today, and the gorilla looks like a guy in the monkey suit that was abandoned after the 1976 version of "King Kong." I guess CGI was too sophisticated for the technical crew.
  10. Slant Magazine
    Reviewed by: Simon Abrams
    Jul 6, 2011
    0
    It's monumentally terrible. "Big Mommas: Like Father, Like Son" now has competition for worst picture of the year.
  11. The Globe and Mail (Toronto)
    Reviewed by: Jennie Punter
    Jul 7, 2011
    25
    Unfortunately, nobody had the good sense to call the comedy authorities and shut this Zookeeper down.
  12. Time Out New York
    Reviewed by: Matt Singer
    Jul 12, 2011
    20
    Fans of the spectacle of Kevin James falling over (nine times in 104 minutes!) and shockingly brazen product placement ("Is T.G.I. Friday's as incredible as it looks?") may dig this deranged comedy; everyone else will be scratching their heads.
  13. USA Today
    Reviewed by: Scott Bowles
    Jul 7, 2011
    38
    There isn't much in the way of plot to get in the way of Sandler's world: There's poo, ripped pants and hot girls falling for fat guys.
  14. Variety
    Reviewed by: Brian Lowry
    Jul 7, 2011
    30
    Ultimately, it's a marketing pitch in search of a movie that proves punishingly flat.
  15. Village Voice
    Reviewed by: Nick Schager
    Jul 7, 2011
    10
    A comedy whose cliché-embracing stupidity borders on the surrealistic.

User Reviews

All reviews »
User Score
4.2 out of 10

Mixed or average reviews- based on 88 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 7 out of 30
  2. Mixed: 5 out of 30
  3. Negative: 18 out of 30
  1. MichiganMan
    7
    In summary: a pleasant way to spend 2 hours with the kids.

    I took my kids (6 year old boy, 9 year old girl) to see Zookeeper, and all thre    e of us came away entertained. Kevin James plays essentially the same role in all his films (Paul Blart, Hitch), the lovable loser too shy and awkward to get the girl. But, he plays the part well, has charisma, and does some excellent physical / slapstick comedy.

    The kids loved the talking animals, the humor was good for all ages, and there is nothing offensive beyond some toilet humor. All in all it was a solid family flick that was low on the annoyance factor (think Chipmunks or Smurfs). If you're looking for "A Film", you're in the wrong theatre; if you want a pleasant way to spend 2 hours with the kids, you could worse than Zookeeper.    … Full Review »
  2. scrieciu
    3
    Where can I start. There's not a lot of things to say about this movie. Well, it wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. The story concept is very unoriginal. Everything about this movie is cliche. Talking animals is so ten years ago. We already have '' Doctor Dolittle '' (1998), '' Cats & Dogs '' (2001) and more. These kind of movies are not popular anymore and people are getting bored by this. Also, I specifically want to point out Joe Rogan. His acting skills sucks. Why the heck did they casted him ? He really annoyed me. An other thing that I didn't like is the way Adam Sandler did the voice of Donald the Monkey. It was just stupid and retarded. He tried so hard, that it was ridiculous. I can't believe Sylvester Stallone (as Joe the lion) and Nick Nolte (as Bernie the gorilla) were apart of this movie. They should be a shamed of them self. At some points it was enjoyable, but it was to predicable. There's absolutely nothing special about '' Zookeeper ''. I manage to laugh four times, so don't expect this to be the comedy of the year. It's far from it.… Full Review »
  3. Ironmonger
    8
    You could say that this movie is corny, terrible, not well done... but those people just don't see the point of the movie. This movie was a classic, but probably not like polar express classic. It reminded me a lot of Paul Blart mall cop (since the same guy played the lead role). The movie lived up to the hype, but didn't exceed it. The moral of the movie was about a man being true to himself and his friends. To me, it was a combination of night at the museum (due to the fact that something really unexpected seemed to come to life) and Paul Blart Maul Cop (for both plot and commedy). If you liked both of those movies, see the movie once. It may be a little corney, but it is a very good family friendly movie. The people who don't like this movie don't think about what is happening. They just see "bad anamatronics" and "corney plot". If you look deeper, you'll see it is a funny family friendly movie that was very creative and worth seeing the first time. Maybe in a year, you'll see it again for laughs.… Full Review »
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