Secret Zoo

{{Infobox film

| name = Secret Zoo

| image = Secret_Zoo.jpg

| caption = Theatrical poster

| director = Son Jae-gon

| based_on = {{based on|I Don't Bully You|Hun}}

| producer = {{plainlist|

Kim Sung-hwan
Park Hyun-tae

}}

| screenplay = {{plainlist|

Son Jae-gon
Lee Yong-jae
Kim Dae-woo

}}

| starring = {{Plainlist|

}}

| music = Lee Jean-hui

| cinematography = Lee Seung-hoon

| editing = Lee Kang-hui

| studio = {{Plainlist|

AboutFilm
DCG Plus

}}

| distributor = Acemaker Movieworks

| released = {{Film date|2020|1|15}}

| runtime = 117 minutes

| country = South Korea

| language = Korean

| budget = {{KRW|10 billion}}{{cite web|first=Jung-sun|last=Park|url=https://news.joins.com/article/23684353|script-title=ko:100억원은 우습다..한국영화 제작비 대폭 상승|date=January 17, 2020|website=JoongAng Ilbo|language=ko|access-date=May 20, 2020}}
{{nowrap|(~US$8.1 million)}}

| gross = $9.5 million{{Cite Box Office Mojo|title=Secret Zoo|access-date=January 26, 2025|id=11566164}}{{cite web|title=Secret Zoo (2020)|url=https://www.koreanfilm.or.kr/eng/films/index/filmsView.jsp?movieCd=20183002|website=Korean Film Council|access-date=May 20, 2020}}

}}Secret Zoo ({{Korean|hangul=해치지않아|lit=I Don't Bully You}}) 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.{{cite news|date=January 20, 2020|script-title=ko:'해치지않아', 주말 흥행 1위…"안재홍X강소라, 코믹 케미"|url=https://www.dispatch.co.kr/2060759|work=Dispatch|access-date=March 10, 2020|language=ko}} Based the webtoon I Don't Bully You by Hun,{{cite news|date=January 3, 2020|script-title=ko:안재홍 이색 공약, '해치지 않아' 어떤 영화?|url=http://biz.heraldcorp.com/culture/view.php?ud=202001031007361266624_1|website=Herald Corp|language=ko|access-date=March 10, 2020}} it was released on January 15, 2020, in South Korea and on January 24 in the United States.{{cite web|url=https://www.hancinema.net/usa-secret-zoo--south-korean-comedy-premieres-1-24-137840.html|title=[USA] "Secret Zoo" – South Korean Comedy Premieres 1.24|date=January 17, 2020|website=HanCinema|access-date=May 20, 2020}}

Plot

Stuck in a dead-end temp position at a renowned law firm, attorney-at-law Tae Soo (Ahn Jae-Hong) dreams of one day landing a permanent position there. One day, he is given a special job to revitalize a failing zoo. The problem is, there are no animals. Moreover, he has exactly 3 months to do so. With the zookeepers' help, he comes up with a brilliant idea of having the zookeepers dress up as animals.

One by one, the zookeepers put on animal suits and masks and become polar bears, lions, gorillas, and sloths. The new zoo opens and Tae Soo's polar bear goes viral when a video of him drinking a can of coke hits the internet. Thanks to everyone's help, the zoo with fake animals is a massive hit and Tae Soo can now go back to the law firm with a permanent job. But before he leaves the zoo, he finds out what his law firm was planning with the zoo.

Can Tae Soo come up with another brilliant idea to save not only himself but the zookeepers and the zoo?

Cast

Ahn Jae-hong as Kang Tae-soo
Kang So-ra as Han So-won{{cite web|url=http://english.chosun.com/site/data/html_dir/2020/01/11/2020011100382.html|title=Actress Kang So-ra Learns How to Take Things Easy|date=January 11, 2020|website=The Chosun Ilbo}}
Park Yeong-gyu as Director Seo
Kim Sung-oh as Kim Gun-wook
Jeon Yeo-been as Kim Hae-kyung
Park Hyuk-kwon as President Hwang
Seo Hyun-woo as Secretary Oh
Jang Seung-jo as Sungmin
Park Hyung-soo as Barrister Song
Kim Heung-rae as Black Nose
Lee Hyun-wook as Min Chul-hyun
Han Ye-ri as Min Chae-ryung
Kim Gi-cheon as Representative Go
Song Duk-ho as Person in audience
Kim Hyun as Dismissed employee

Production

Principal photography began on October 8, 2018 and filming was completed on January 19, 2019.{{cite web|last=Kim|first=Bo-ra|url=http://news.chosun.com/site/data/html_dir/2019/12/30/2019123002811.html|script-title=ko:'이층의 악당' 손재곤 감독, '해치지않아'로 10년 만에 컴백(종합)[현장의 재구성]|date=December 30, 2019|website={{ill|Osen (newspaper)|ko|OSEN|lt=OSEN}}|publisher=The Chosun Ilbo|language=ko|access-date=May 20, 2020}}

Reception

=Box office=

The film debuted in first place during its opening weekend.{{cite web|last=Conran|first=Pierce|url=https://www.koreanfilm.or.kr/eng/news/reports.jsp?blbdComCd=601008&seq=573&mode=VIEW|title=Secret Zoo Opening Confines Bad Boys For Life|date=January 21, 2020|website=Korean Film Council|access-date=May 20, 2020}} However, ticket sales decreased by 77% in its second week.{{cite web|last=Conran|first=Pierce|url=https://www.koreanfilm.or.kr/eng/news/reports.jsp?blbdComCd=601008&seq=574&mode=VIEW|title=The Man Standing Next dges Out Hitman in Busy Lunar New Year Weekend|date=January 29, 2020|website=Korean Film Council|access-date=May 20, 2020}}

=Critical response=

Secret Zoo holds {{a or an|{{RT data|score}}}} approval rating on the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, based on {{RT data|count|spell=y}} reviews.{{Cite web|url=https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/secret_zoo|title=Secret Zoo|website=Rotten Tomatoes|publisher=Fandango|access-date={{RT data|access date|df=iso}}}}

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."{{cite web|last=Rechtshaffen|first=Michael|url=https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/movies/story/2020-01-23/secret-zoo-review-south-korea-comedy|title=Review: Cuddly South Korean comedy 'Secret Zoo' delivers laughs and heart|date=January 23, 2020|website=Los Angeles Times|access-date=May 20, 2020}} 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."{{cite web|last=Kotzathanasis|first=Panos|url=https://www.hancinema.net/hancinema-s-film-review-secret-zoo-138108.html|title=[HanCinema's Film Review] "Secret Zoo"|date=January 25, 2020|website=HanCinema|access-date=May 20, 2020}}