Director Cameron Crowe is bringing his latest work, "We Bought a Zoo" to cinemas around new year.

Starring Matt Damon, Scarlett Johannson and Thomas Haden Church, it's a heartwarming comedy-drama of how a single father and his young family cheer themselves up after the mother dies.

In "We Bought a Zoo", Matt Damon plays Benjamin Mee, a father who impulsively buys a rundown wildlife zoo to re-energize himself and his two kids, after his wife dies of cancer. The movie is based on a memoir by the leading character in real life, the actual Benjamin Mee.

An Academy Award-nominee in 2004, Thomas Haden Church plays Damon's brother. He says he couldn't pass up the opportunity to work with Damon, one of his favorite actors, and one of his favorite directors, Oscar winner Cameron Crowe.

Thomas Haden Church, actor of "We Bought a Zoo", said, "The opportunity to be in a movie that Cameron is directing and love Matt. Followed his career for 15 years and really admire his choices and I just think he's a remarkable gifted and grounded dude as an actor and also a really great writer...And then Cameron you know is just a legendary writer/director and a guy I really consider to be my generation."

The film's young stars, Elle Fanning and Colin Ford had the advantage of knowing one another before filming began. It turns out that the pair go to the same school. And they're already preparing for what their classmates will say about playing romantic love interests in the film.

Elle Fanning and Colin Ford said, "Elle's in the grade below me so, I always have to add that because I'm in high school and she's in middle school so it makes a big difference. But yeah we were friends before so making the kind of romantic scenes a little more simple because we kind of just plugged our friendship into the spot where that fits."

The cast had the opportunity to work alongside a menagerie of zoo animals. Crystal the Capuchin monkey is everybody's favorite co-star, who always stays on actor Patrick Fugit's shoulder. Actress Scarlett Johansson also stars in the film as an overworked zookeeper, struggling to keep the dilapidated business running.

"We Bought a Zoo" opens in worldwide theaters around new year.