Secret Zoo


Secret Zoo is a 2020 South Korean comedy film directed by Son Jae-gon, starring Ahn Jae-hong, Kang So-ra, Park Yeong-gyu, Kim Sung-oh and Jeon Yeo-been. Based on the webtoon I Don't Bully You by Hun, it was released on January 15, 2020 in South Korea and on January 24 in the United States.

Plot

Kang Tae-soo is a probationary employee of a law firm. One day, he saved the President Hwang from a protest of the company's trade union. After that, President Hwang appointed Kang as the new Director of Dongsan Park Zoo, as well as promising to make him as a permanent employee. Kang, however, faced a problem when he realised there were no animals at the zoo. In fact, the zoo had been facing a financial matter. Although Kang and the zoo workers were willing to buy new animals, they did not have enough time and money.
One day, both Kang and the ex-Director Seo went to a restaurant and drank alcohol until being inebriated. While they were returning to their home, suddenly, Kang was shocked when he saw a tiger. Park then approached to the tiger and soon realised that it was actually a stuffed. This motivated Kang to locate fake animals as he believed people would not really care about the animals' "realnesses". Soon, the zoo requested a production company to produce realistic creature suits of a polar bear, giraffe, gorilla, lion and sloth.

Cast

Main

Principal photography began on October 8, 2018 and filming was completed on January 19, 2019.

Reception

Box office

The film debuted in first place during its opening weekend. However, ticket sales decreased by 77% in its second week.

Critical response

Michael Rechtshaffen of the Los Angeles Times said that "resistance might not be futile, but to deny oneself the amiably goofy charms of South Korea's Secret Zoo, an inspired family comedy that gives fresh meaning to faux fur, would be a real shame." For Panos Kotzathanasis of HanCinema, "Secret Zoo is a film that aims at providing fun for its audience, and in that regard, it succeeds to the fullest.