VOD Spotlight: The merry menagerie of "Zookeeper"

From kids who baptize their cats and dogs so that they will go to heaven to adults who mortgage the house to keep favorite pets alive, we love our animals. Zookeeper takes the opposite approach — a situation where animals are so in love with their keeper that they reveal the secret that they can talk to keep him from leaving his position. And who better to love than the likable star, actor Kevin James?

The role of zookeeper Griffin Keyes was created for James, who also co-wrote, produced and stars in the film about a zookeeper who gets tips on finding love from the zoo’s menagerie — which, with the exception of Bernie the gorilla (voiced by Nick Nolte), were comprised of actual animals rather than CGI creations. All the animals were born in captivity and have been trained to be comfortable on film sets.

James, however, was not quite so comfortable around them. Speaking on Late Show With David Letterman, James recalled a scene he did with the wolf, which required he spend time with the wolf’s trainer to understand them better. “The only things I know about a wolf are, A: They can blow your house down and, B: They are extremely hungry, according to the Duran Duran song,” James joked. “It was a scene where I had to bathe this wolf, and I am rubbing the wolf very lightly and this wolf turns and looks at me … he showed me a little teeth and I back off and the wolf trainer came in and said, ‘Your nervous energy is upsetting the wolf.’” This comment, the actor says, did nothing to alleviate his anxiety.

Fortunately for James, most of his scenes involved working with Bernie, played by a stuntman in an animatronic gorilla suit. “It’s kind of a strange thing when you have a half-dressed gorilla and you’ve got to cover him up with a big raincoat or something so he can walk to the set without people taking cell phone pictures,” says one of the gorilla designers, Alec Gillis of Amalgamated Dynamics, whose credits also include X-Men Origins: Wolverine.

And, yes, that is Rosie the Elephant (Water for Elephants) playing Barry in this film.

“Zookeeper” is now showing on Video On Demand. Check your cable system for availability.

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