ScarJoe Exotic
An outsider with a flair for the extreme and zero veterinary or zoological qualifications purchases a rural zoo, lives on the property, and uses the caged tigers to work through his own problems. The zoo staff is a ragtag bunch of weirdos who aren’t fairly compensated. We’re not talking about Tiger King. Well, we are talking about Tiger King, but we’re also describing the 2011 Cameron Crowe movie We Bought a Zoo. One man’s feel-good movie about a family being brought together via a ramshackle private zoo is another’s animal rights nightmare. All it needs is the right indie-folk soundtrack. So do you know your ScarJo from your Joe Exotic?
Who Said It: Tiger King or We Bought a Zoo?
We give you a quote. You tell us what it's from.
“Hey all you cool cats and kittens!”
Tiger King
We Bought a Zoo
Yes, we’re starting things off with Carole Baskin’s iconic cat-phrase. No, that’s Carole Baskin’s iconic cat-phrase. “These animals need somebody to rescue them.”
Tiger King
We Bought a Zoo
We couldn’t fool you. That’s not Carole from Big Cat Rescue. That’s Matt Damon before he buys a zoo. You may think that’s Carole Baskin talking, but no. That’s Matt Damon before he buys a zoo. “We’re all in cages, man.”
Tiger King
We Bought a Zoo
Nailed it. That’s Thomas Haden Church. No, that isn’t Joe Exotic. That’s Thomas Haden Church, man. “I use my music as an escape from my reality.”
Tiger King
We Bought a Zoo
Yep, this sounds like literally any Cameron Crowe character, but of course it’s Joe Exotic. Nope, this sounds like literally any Cameron Crowe character, but of course it’s Joe Exotic. “I’ve been an adventure addict my whole life.”
Tiger King
We Bought a Zoo
You got it, that’s Matt Damon. Could this be any number of real-life big cat collectors? Sure. Is it? Course not. It’s Matt Damon. “He knew the ins and outs of strange and exotic adventure.”
Tiger King
We Bought a Zoo
Yep, that’s the description of Matt Damon’s character in We Bought a Zoo. It even uses the word “exotic,” but this isn’t an interview subject talking about Joe. It’s a child actor talking about Matt Damon in We Bought a Zoo. “Our mission is to give these animals a fighting chance.”
Tiger King
We Bought a Zoo
Yes, that’s GW Zoo staffer Saff explaining why he returned to work after a tiger mauled his arm. No, it may sound like an inspirational quote from We Bought a Zoo, but it’s actually GW Zoo staffer Saff explaining why he went back to work after a tiger mauled his arm. “The place makes 75% of its revenue in the summertime.”
Tiger King
We Bought a Zoo
Yup, that’s not Joe Exotic talking about pay-to-play and cub photo ops. It’s Matt Damon describing the zoo he wants to buy. Nope, that’s not Joe Exotic talking about pay-to-play and cub photo ops. It’s Matt Damon describing the zoo he wants to buy. "Dying doesn't scare me at all."
Tiger King
We Bought a Zoo
Yep, that’s Joe Exotic, who laughs in the face of danger. That’s not the widower played by Matt Damon. That’s Joe Exotic, who laughs in the face of danger. “She can’t legally work here, so we pay her cash under the table, out of my salary … She lives on the property.”
Tiger King
We Bought a Zoo
Yeah, this is ScarJo introducing a 13-year-old Elle Fanning. Who works at the zoo. The zoo that Matt Damon bought. Such a blatant human rights abuse would have to be Doc Antle describing his business operations, right? Wrong. It’s actually ScarJo introducing a 13-year-old Elle Fanning. Who works at the zoo. The zoo that Matt Damon bought. “No one in the zoo community’s ever heard of you. You know nothing about animals, and you’ve moved into a dump”
Tiger King
We Bought a Zoo
Yup. Sounds like a Jeff Lowe burn. Is another ScarJo classic. Maybe she should play him in the miniseries? Nope. Sounds like a Jeff Lowe burn. Is another ScarJo classic. Maybe she should play him in the miniseries? “You know why animals die in cages? Their soul dies.”
Tiger King
We Bought a Zoo
Good ear! That’s poet laureate Joe Exotic. Nuh-uh, that’s poet laureate Joe Exotic. “They’re called enclosures. They haven’t been called ‘cages’ in like a century. My brief marriage: That was a cage.”
Tiger King
We Bought a Zoo
You’re good at this. That zinger was 100% ScarJo. Gotcha! ScarJo again! “They go from being so sweet to tearing your face off, just like that.”
Tiger King
We Bought a Zoo
Good job, cats and kittens. That’s Carole Baskin. Better luck next time, cats and kittens. That’s Carole Baskin. “You know, tigers have special sensors in the front of their two-inch canines. They can actually detect the pulse in your aorta, so when they attack they bite you, take your pulse with their teeth, reposition those suckers, and boom, there goes your carotid.”
Tiger King
We Bought a Zoo
Correct. “Boom, there goes your carotid” were words spoken by ScarJo. Wrong. That’s not the Tiger King. It’s the Tiger Queen, Scarlett Johansson. “I’ll kill him! I’ll cut off his head with a saw! I’ll kill him without a thought. He stole $1,900 from me.”
Tiger King
We Bought a Zoo
Yep, that’s the Scottish groundskeeper who hates the central villain of We Bought a Zoo: the dreaded USDA inspector. $1,900 is petty enough motivation to order a hit in Tiger King land, but this is pure unadulterated WBAZ. “I am never going to financially recover from this.”
Tiger King
We Bought a Zoo
Yes, and it’s already a meme. No, that’s Joe Exotic, and it’s already a meme. “My big boy, Dillon.”
Tiger King
We Bought a Zoo
You got it: That’s not Joe Exotic talking about his third (fourth?) husband. That’s Matt Damon talking about his son. Sorry, that’s not Joe Exotic talking about his third (fourth?) husband. That’s Matt Damon talking about his son. “The cats are my responsibility no matter who owns the zoo.”
Tiger King
We Bought a Zoo
You got it, that’s Joe Exotic after Jeff Lowe bought the zoo. No, that’s Joe Exotic after Jeff Lowe bought the zoo. "We bought a zoo."
Tiger King
We Bought a Zoo
You wouldn't believe how many times they actually say this in the movie. Oh come on.How Well Do You Know Tiger King From We Bought a Zoo?ncG1vNJzZmivp6x7t8HLrayrnV6YvK57kWlpaWdgaXy1tcaeqWajmaO0bsPEZpmorZedwW6tjLOmqGWhqry1sYyqrKKyXp3Brrg%3D