PantheraLeoMelanochaita
Well-Known Member
Normally I can't stand these corny Hallmark movies, but they're tempting me with this one set at my favorite aquarium...
Zoos in the Movies
- Thread starter Simon Hampel
- Start date
Strathmorezoo
Well-Known Member
I see that Dudley zoo was in an ITV series Three Little Birds,written by Sir Lenny Henry, portraying itself in 1957.The scenes were mainly by the Tiger, Wolverines and Sealions,plus briefly by the Queen Mary restaurant. One scene showed a zookeeper feeding the Sealions.The keeper was Richard Brown, a curator currently at the zoo,its been along time since Richard was a junior technician working for me at Birmingham University University
Cobi
Well-Known Member
The X-Files episode Fearful Symmetry is set in a zoo in Idaho but filmed at Stanley Park Zoo and Vancouver Aquarium.
The zoo is portrayed as being somewhat low budget and facing closure yet there are scenes with underwater viewing of the belugas in the background, a species unlikely to be kept at this kind of zoo.
The plot also features a gorilla that was brought from Malawi, not exactly its natural range.
Then again, this kind of lack of accuracy or attention to detail is not at all unusual in X-Files episodes.
The zoo is portrayed as being somewhat low budget and facing closure yet there are scenes with underwater viewing of the belugas in the background, a species unlikely to be kept at this kind of zoo.
The plot also features a gorilla that was brought from Malawi, not exactly its natural range.
Then again, this kind of lack of accuracy or attention to detail is not at all unusual in X-Files episodes.
The latest issue of Zoo Grapevine & International Zoo News (Issue 74, Spring 2025) has a 5-page article (written by Robert Cook) about Zoos in Film: Part One and there is a discussion about 19 movies. It's a fabulous concoction of zoos and films...what more could anyone want in life? 
Here is the order of the movies in the article, which also includes 19 colour photos (one from each selection):
Goodbye Christopher Robin - 2017 (London Zoo)
About a Boy - 2002 (London Zoo)
Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone - 2001 (London Zoo)
Turtle Diary - 1985 (London Zoo)
An American Werewolf in London - 1981 (London Zoo)
Withnail and I - 1987 (London Zoo)
The Omen - 1976 (Windsor Safari Park - now closed)
Mutiny on the Buses - 1972 (Windsor Safari Park - now closed)
Zoology - 2016 (unknown zoo in a Russian film)
Life of Pi - 2012 (Taipei Zoo)
Braindead - 1992 (Wellington Zoo)
Zoo - 2017 (Belfast Zoo)
Mr. Popper's Penguins - 2011 (Staten Island Zoo)
The Santa Clause - 1994 (Toronto Zoo)
Baby's Day Out - 1994 (Lincoln Park Zoo)
Split - 2016 (Philadelphia Zoo)
50 First Dates - 2004 (Sea Life Park Hawaii and Six Flags Marine World)
Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home - 1986 (Monterey Bay Aquarium)
Free Willy - 1993 (Reino Aventura)
I was surprised to learn that I've only watched 11 of the 19 movies, as I'm a film buff. It's time for me to search for some more zoo-related films!
Up next: There will be a Part Two in a future issue of Zoo Grapevine & International Zoo News, where the author will "look at zoos that moviemakers created for themselves using sets or animation. We'll also bring all the examples together to draw conclusions about the ways zoos are represented on film."
Here is the order of the movies in the article, which also includes 19 colour photos (one from each selection):
Goodbye Christopher Robin - 2017 (London Zoo)
About a Boy - 2002 (London Zoo)
Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone - 2001 (London Zoo)
Turtle Diary - 1985 (London Zoo)
An American Werewolf in London - 1981 (London Zoo)
Withnail and I - 1987 (London Zoo)
The Omen - 1976 (Windsor Safari Park - now closed)
Mutiny on the Buses - 1972 (Windsor Safari Park - now closed)
Zoology - 2016 (unknown zoo in a Russian film)
Life of Pi - 2012 (Taipei Zoo)
Braindead - 1992 (Wellington Zoo)
Zoo - 2017 (Belfast Zoo)
Mr. Popper's Penguins - 2011 (Staten Island Zoo)
The Santa Clause - 1994 (Toronto Zoo)
Baby's Day Out - 1994 (Lincoln Park Zoo)
Split - 2016 (Philadelphia Zoo)
50 First Dates - 2004 (Sea Life Park Hawaii and Six Flags Marine World)
Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home - 1986 (Monterey Bay Aquarium)
Free Willy - 1993 (Reino Aventura)
I was surprised to learn that I've only watched 11 of the 19 movies, as I'm a film buff. It's time for me to search for some more zoo-related films!
Up next: There will be a Part Two in a future issue of Zoo Grapevine & International Zoo News, where the author will "look at zoos that moviemakers created for themselves using sets or animation. We'll also bring all the examples together to draw conclusions about the ways zoos are represented on film."
I didn’t read the whole thread, but we can’t forget the Philadelphia Zoo in Rocky.
peruvianbirdie
Well-Known Member
IIRC Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel.
That's one, there's also.
Three's Company, mostly the Intro
Escape from the Planet of the Apes
Actress Kim Hunter spent a considerable time at the Los Angeles Zoo in preparation for her role as Zira in the 1968 film Planet of the Apes, particularly in order to realistically portray the few kissing scenes shared by Zira and Cornelius: "They kiss somewhat as we do, but not exactly. With apes, it's more a biting of the lips, and a caressing, rather than the solid contact humans prefer to make. Anyhow, it's really very dear."
Many years later, researching her role as Maurice in the 2011 film Rise of the Planet of the Apes, actress Karin Konoval also spent time at the Los Angeles Zoo with two old male orangutans, and another named Towan at Woodland Park Zoo in Seattle. Corinna Bechko, who wrote a number of successful Planet of the Apes comic series' for BOOM! Studios, holds a Zoology degree and spent many years working with wildlife and in zoos, including a research position at Los Angeles Zoo collecting behavioural data on chimpanzees and orangutans. Corinna believes that 'Bruno' the male orangutan at LA Zoo was used as a model for the character of Maurice. Konoval later confirmed that Maurice was based on "fiesty" Bruno, on Towan's "heart and soul" and on Clyde the walking orangutan.
The Waterhole scene from Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes could be where the Los Angeles Zoo once was.
The Monster Zoo Graphic Novel took place at this Zoo.
In fact, the Los Angeles Zoo started off with Movies with Animals.
Lions and Tigers and Cameras! How the Movies Gave Los Angeles a Zoo
Lions and Tigers and Cameras! How the Movies Gave Los Angeles a Zoo
The latest issue of Zoo Grapevine & International Zoo News (Issue 74, Spring 2025) has a 5-page article (written by Robert Cook) about Zoos in Film: Part One and there is a discussion about 19 movies. It's a fabulous concoction of zoos and films...what more could anyone want in life?
Here is the order of the movies in the article, which also includes 19 colour photos (one from each selection):
Goodbye Christopher Robin - 2017 (London Zoo)
About a Boy - 2002 (London Zoo)
Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone - 2001 (London Zoo)
Turtle Diary - 1985 (London Zoo)
An American Werewolf in London - 1981 (London Zoo)
Withnail and I - 1987 (London Zoo)
The Omen - 1976 (Windsor Safari Park - now closed)
Mutiny on the Buses - 1972 (Windsor Safari Park - now closed)
Zoology - 2016 (unknown zoo in a Russian film)
Life of Pi - 2012 (Taipei Zoo)
Braindead - 1992 (Wellington Zoo)
Zoo - 2017 (Belfast Zoo)
Mr. Popper's Penguins - 2011 (Staten Island Zoo)
The Santa Clause - 1994 (Toronto Zoo)
Baby's Day Out - 1994 (Lincoln Park Zoo)
Split - 2016 (Philadelphia Zoo)
50 First Dates - 2004 (Sea Life Park Hawaii and Six Flags Marine World)
Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home - 1986 (Monterey Bay Aquarium)
Free Willy - 1993 (Reino Aventura)
The latest issue of Zoo Grapevine & International Zoo News (Issue 75, Summer 2025) has a 6-page article (written by Robert Cook) about Zoos in Film: Part Two and there is analysis of 18 movies.
Here is the order of the movies in the article, which also includes 14 colour photos:
We Bought a Zoo - 2011
The Zookeeper's Wife - 2017
The Zookeeper - 2001
Eraser - 1996
Bird on a Wire - 1990
Fierce Creatures - 1997
Zookeeper - 2011
The Day After Tomorrow - 2004
Madagascar - 2005
Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them - 2016
Lady and the Tramp - 1955
Wonka - 2023
Batman Returns - 1992
Finding Dory - 2016
Jurassic Park - 1993
Jurassic World - 2015
The Lost World: Jurassic Park - 1997
Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom - 2018
I've watched 14 out of the 18 movies.
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I've done a bit better with this list having seen 11 of the 18, and own 9 of them on DVD.
Hix
komodoskar
Well-Known Member
I've watched two films recently, not mentioned here, that are shot in real-life zoos.
The Lady from Shanghai (1947), which features an impactful scene shot at the old Steinhart Aquarium in the California Academy of Sciences in San Francisco, and it is certainly an insight into how aquariums have changed, as it features a large turtle species banging up against the glass of its far-too-small tank.
And also, the much less well-known Czech film The Girl on the Broomstick (1971), which shows off some of Zoo Praha's old owl enclosures.
The Lady from Shanghai (1947), which features an impactful scene shot at the old Steinhart Aquarium in the California Academy of Sciences in San Francisco, and it is certainly an insight into how aquariums have changed, as it features a large turtle species banging up against the glass of its far-too-small tank.
And also, the much less well-known Czech film The Girl on the Broomstick (1971), which shows off some of Zoo Praha's old owl enclosures.