When I decided to watch "Zookeeper" it was because it starred Kevin James, and his movies are usually quite good. "Zookeeper" didn't fail to deliver. I found this movie to be a really good one, catchy story and a nice romantic touch to it.

Initially I was a bit worried with the talking animals part, fearing it might have turned into another "Dr. Dolittle" spin off, but "Zookeeper" was nothing of the sorts. The talking animals just added a sense of comedy and a good amount of personality to the movie. So do not dread this aspect of the movie.

The story is very compelling and moving. Zookeeper Griffin Keyes (played by Kevin James) is dumped by his girlfriend Stephanie (played by Leslie Bibb) on a very well-planned and romantic set-up. Years later, Stephanie reappears in Griffin's life, and things are turned upside down. But who is Griffin now, where is he supposed to be, and how will he get there to be with the love of his life? This is the major line of the movie, then there are lots of nice sidelines to the story as well.

"Zookeeper" has a good cast, and the chemistry between Kevin James and Rosario Dawson (playing Kate) is really great. And the animal voices are done by a group of great people as well. Nick Nolte as Bernie the gorilla, Adam Sandler as Donald the monkey (eventhough he sounds like he just had his entire mouth shot full of tranquilizers in this movie),Sylvester Stallone as Joe the lion, Cher as Janet the lioness, and the list goes on and on.

I had feared that Adam Sandler was going to be all-shadowing in this movie, but his role was only a supporting one. Yeah, I am not much of a fan of his work. So I was personally relieved to find that Kevin James was the one pulling the load of this movie.

"Zookeeper" has a good amount of comedy in it as well, and I was laughing aloud a good number of times throughout the course of the movie. And for those of you who like romance, then "Zookeeper" has that as well. I liked the storyline, because it was a, albeit somewhat stereotypical, romantic comedy. But it all worked out well for a greater unity.

This movie will entertain children and adults alike, because there is something in this movie for everybody. If you haven't seen "Zookeeper" already, then get in gear and sit down to watch it.

If you are about to ask me what possessed me in seeing Zookeeper, my answer would be curiosity. At first, I wasn't sure whether I wanted to see Zookeeper. The cast in general didn't appeal to me, apart from Nick Nolte and Rosario Dawson, and the trailer in the cinema when I went to see Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2 had me cringing.

When I eventually dragged myself to see Zookeeper I was overall very unimpressed. Is it the worst movie of the year? Not quite, that would be either Big Momma 3, River of Darkness or Spy Kids 4. But it is low on my "films I saw in 2011" list.

I know Zookeeper is a family movie, I get that. But in my book, just because it's a family movie, doesn't automatically mean it's a good movie. Just for the record, I love family movies, some of my favourites are family movies, such as Disney, Pixar, movies like The Wizard of Oz, The Secret Garden, A Little Princess, Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, ET, Black Beauty and The Black Stallion. Zookeeper just isn't my idea of a good family movie that's all.

I love family movies that touch you and reach out to the child within you, and also ones that appeal to a wide audience. Of course Zookeeper isn't that type of movie, but family movies can also entertain. I admit I raised a smile once or twice, mainly because of Bernie the Gorilla, and the movie didn't make me cringe as much as its trailer did, but overall Zookeeper just didn't entertain me.

Firstly, the writing is pretty much a mess. Not only is the script poorly written and a vast majority of the gags predictable and cringe worthy, but to me the humour would go over the heads of most kids and adults would find it childish.

The storyline is also incredibly predictable, and while some of the final act felt rushed a lot of it because of the humour not working felt dull. Not only that, it is very unoriginal, not always a problem, but seriously just how many times have we had the Dr Doolittle/talking animals idea? I did like some of the scenery and the animals do look great. The editing however could've been much tighter. The music is forgettable and doesn't always fit with the mood, and the direction is plodding and unfocused.

I do wish there was better news about the acting, but sadly no. I am not a fan of Kevin James, though I wasn't going to let that spoil the movie experience. However because his character so clichéd and material so weak, James tries too hard and overdoes it, badly. Rosario Dawson is pretty much wasted in a thankless role.

The animals are in a way more interesting than the humans, they look fine and their material somewhat funnier. Voice work is more problematic, some do decently but some grate fast. Adam Sandler and Maya Rudolph are incredibly irritating, while Sylvester Stallone sounds bored. Cher tries her best but her character is not among the most interesting. The best, and the only one I really did like, was Nick Nolte as Bernie.

Overall, messy and doesn't work in my opinion. 2/10 Bethany Cox

Kevin James retreads his formula as the lovable fat guy left heartbroken when his marriage proposal to a hot blonde (Leslie Bibb) goes wrong as she dumps him.

James is a zookeeper who loves his job cares a lot for the animals, has a sweet relationship with fellow worker Rosario Dawson but is looking for a career change by workings for his brother's executive car dealership.

As Bibb comes back into his life, working in the car dealership and earning big bucks is an attractive option as he hopes this will win her back.

So far so good but then the film throws a curve ball as the zoo animals start to speak as they do not want him to leave. So you have Nick Nolte, Sly Stallone, Adam Sandler, Cher as some of the voices and supposedly to provide some of the laughs.

However James realises that he seems closer to Dawson than Bibb who has another ex boyfriend in tow and is also sad to leave the zoo.

The film has a bright start as James gets jilted while he has made a big effort getting engaged but once again he attracts all the hot ladies and then you have the animals, many of them from Africa who start to speak in English and despite the famous voices, they are not really funny, some of its rather irritating.

The film itself is not very funny, goes a predictable path regarding its romance and comedy. There are a couple of minor bad guys, one of them who abuses the gorilla voiced by Nick Nolte and there is very little there apart from the animals talking that makes it stand out as a comedy.