Cameron Crowe is basically a DJ who happens to direct movies. If you look at his track record—Almost Famous, Jerry Maguire, Say Anything—the music isn't just background noise. It’s a character. But when he tackled the real-life story of Benjamin Mee in 2011, he did something unexpected. He didn't just pile on the classic rock anthems. He handed the keys to the kingdom to a guy from Iceland named Jónsi. The result? The we bought a zoo movie soundtrack became one of those rare scores that actually feels like a living, breathing part of the landscape.
It’s weirdly beautiful.
Most people remember the movie for Matt Damon trying to fix a broken enclosure or Scarlett Johansson being, well, Scarlett Johansson. But if you strip away the visuals, the music tells a much deeper story about grief and starting over. Jónsi, the frontman of the post-rock band Sigur Rós, brought this ethereal, almost childlike wonder to a movie that could have easily been a cheesy Hallmark special.
The Jónsi Factor: Why This Wasn't Your Typical Hollywood Score
Usually, a director hires a traditional orchestral composer. You get strings, you get horns, you get "Tension Track A." Crowe didn't want that. He was obsessed with Sigur Rós. He’d actually used their music before in Vanilla Sky. For this project, he wanted that specific, crystalline sound that Jónsi Birgisson is famous for.
Honestly, it was a gamble.
Jónsi hadn't done a full film score before this. He was used to writing sprawling, ten-minute epics in a made-up language (Hopelandic, for the nerds out there). To pull this off, he had to condense that massive sound into something that fit a family film. He recorded it in Iceland and Los Angeles, mixing toy pianos, celestas, and his signature bowed guitar.
There's a specific texture to the we bought a zoo movie soundtrack that sounds like morning sunlight. Tracks like "Gathering Stories" and "Boy Lilikoi" aren't just songs; they’re vibes. You’ve probably heard "Gathering Stories" in a dozen commercials since then, but in the context of the movie, it’s the emotional payoff of the whole journey. It was co-written by Crowe himself, which shows just how intertwined the direction and the music really were.
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Breaking Down the Tracklist
It’s not all just Jónsi’s original score, though. Crowe sprinkled in some legendary needles drops that ground the movie in reality. You’ve got:
- Tom Petty: "Don't Come Around Here No More." It plays during a chaotic scene where the escaped snakes are being rounded up. It shouldn't work, but it does.
- Neil Young: "Cinnamon Girl." A classic Crowe move.
- Bob Dylan: "Buckets of Rain." This is used so subtly it almost disappears into the dialogue.
- The Mowgli's: "San Francisco."
- Bon Iver: "Holocene."
The mix of Jónsi’s atmospheric "glacier-pop" and these grit-and-dirt American classics creates a strange contrast. It’s like the movie is caught between a dream and the very real problem of having to buy 500 pounds of raw horse meat to feed tigers.
The Emotional Core: "Go Do" and "Gathering Stories"
If you’re looking for the heart of the we bought a zoo movie soundtrack, you have to look at the songs that involve vocals. Most of the score is instrumental, which lets the heavy emotional scenes breathe. But when Jónsi sings, it feels like the movie is finally exhaling.
"Go Do" is basically the anthem of the film. It’s frantic. It’s got these chirping woodwinds and a driving beat that mirrors the frantic energy of a dad who just spent his life savings on a dilapidated zoo in the middle of nowhere. It’s about movement. It’s about the "20 seconds of insane courage" line that everyone quotes from the movie.
Then there’s the final track, "Gathering Stories."
This song was actually shortlisted for an Academy Award for Best Original Song. It didn't win, which is a bit of a crime, but it captured something special. It features Jónsi’s soaring falsetto layered over a building orchestral arrangement that feels like a victory lap. When you hear that piano riff kick in, you can almost see the gates of Rosemoor Wildlife Park opening for the first time.
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What Most People Miss About the Production
The soundtrack wasn't just slapped on in post-production. Cameron Crowe is famous for playing music on set while the actors are performing. He wants them to feel the rhythm of the scene.
During the filming of We Bought a Zoo, he was reportedly playing Jónsi’s demos for Matt Damon and the rest of the cast to help them tap into the "wonderment" of the story. You can see it in the performances. There’s a sincerity there that matches the music. It’s not cynical. In an era of gritty reboots and dark dramas, this soundtrack was aggressively optimistic.
It’s also worth noting the contribution of Nico Muhly. While Jónsi is the face of the score, Muhly—a contemporary classical powerhouse—helped with the arrangements. This is why the orchestral elements feel so sophisticated. They aren't just "movie strings." They have a complexity that you’d find in a concert hall.
Why the Vinyl is a Collector’s Item Now
If you’re a physical media nerd, you know that the we bought a zoo movie soundtrack on vinyl is a bit of a "white whale" for some. The original pressing by Columbia Records wasn't massive.
The artwork is beautiful—usually featuring the sun-drenched photography that matches the film’s color palette. Because Jónsi has such a dedicated cult following from his Sigur Rós days, the demand for this record often exceeds the supply. It’s one of those soundtracks that people listen to who haven't even seen the movie. That’s the ultimate test of a score, isn't it? Can it stand alone as an album?
In this case, the answer is a hard yes.
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The Lasting Legacy of the Rosemoor Sound
We’re over a decade out from the movie’s release, and people still use these tracks for wedding videos, travel vlogs, and "study with me" playlists. It’s become a shorthand for "inspirational but not annoying."
What Cameron Crowe and Jónsi achieved was a specific kind of magic. They took a story about a grieving family and turned it into a sonic exploration of hope. It doesn't shy away from the sadness—tracks like "Sinking Friendships" (originally from Jónsi’s solo album Go, but repurposed here) are heartbreaking—but it always leans toward the light.
Most movie scores are forgotten the second the credits stop rolling. This one stuck. Maybe it’s because it feels handmade. It doesn't sound like a computer-generated algorithm told a composer to "make the audience feel sad now." It sounds like a guy in a studio in Reykjavik trying to figure out what a tiger's soul sounds like.
Actionable Insights for Music Fans
If you're looking to dive deeper into this specific sound or want to recreate that vibe in your own listening habits, here is what you should do:
- Listen to the full Jónsi solo album Go: Most of the DNA for the We Bought a Zoo score comes from this record. It’s the bridge between his rock work and his film work.
- Check out the "Hidden" tracks: Look for "Aevin Endar" by Sigur Rós. It wasn't on the official soundtrack CD but was used in the film's marketing and key emotional beats.
- Explore the "Crowe-Core" genre: If you liked the mix of indie and classic rock, listen to the Elizabethtown or Almost Famous soundtracks. They are the spiritual siblings to this record.
- High-Fidelity Listening: This is a score that demands good headphones. Jónsi layers so many tiny sounds—bells, whispers, glockenspiels—that you miss on cheap phone speakers.
The we bought a zoo movie soundtrack is a masterclass in how to use atmosphere to tell a story. It’s the sound of a family building something out of nothing. Even if you aren't a fan of the "Matt Damon buys a zoo" premise, the music stands as a testament to what happens when a visionary director and a singular musical talent get in a room together and decide to make something beautiful.
Next time you need to feel like life is actually going to be okay, just put on "Gathering Stories" and turn it up. It works every time.