20th Century Fox has released the first trailer and poster for Cameron Crowe's We Bought a Zoo.  Based on the memoir by Benjamin Mee, the film tells the story of a man who decides to buy and run a zoo with his family following the death of his wife. The cast includes Matt Damon, Scarlett Johansson, Patrick Fugit (Almost Famous), Elle Fanning (Somewhere), Thomas Haden Church, J.B. Smoove (Date Night) and John Michael Higgins (Yes Man).

The trailer starts off strong enough but right about the time a Damon voiceover explains "You don't need any sort of special knowledge to run a zoo, just a lot of heart" it loses me. I'm no expert, but I'd like to think running a zoo does require some sort of special knowledge. On the bright side, the film looks to have plenty of heartwarming moments and Church's work seems to be as strong as ever. We Bought a Zoo opens December 23.  Check out the trailer and poster after the jump.

Click over to Apple to watch the trailer in HD:

Here's the poster and official synopsis for We Bought a Zoo [click to enlarge]:

This holiday season, acclaimed filmmaker Cameron Crowe (Jerry Maguire, Almost Famous) directs an amazing and true story about a single dad who decides his family needs a fresh start, so he and his two children move to the most unlikely of places: a zoo. With the help of an eclectic staff, and with many misadventures along the way, the family works to return the dilapidated zoo to its former wonder and glory.

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