As parents, we do things for our children that might go against every instinct we have. That’s pretty much the feeling I had last month when I walked into our local movie theatre with my daughter and purchased two tickets to see We Bought a Zoo.

We had a free day, and we always like to go to the movies together. I figured I would survive the Matt Damon effort in my final movie-going experience of 2011. Besides, I would have movie popcorn to cheer me up.

A couple of hours later, I apologized silently to everyone involved with the movie for ever doubting them. I thought I bought a ticket for a goofy kids romp when I really paid to see a pretty emotional story of loss, regret and ambition with a solid cast and surprisingly strong story.

I had no idea of the background of the true story which inspired the film, but found myself pleasantly surprised when I discovered they made the overall story darker than the tale of the English man who bought a zoo with his mother and brother. Damon did an outstanding job in carrying the emotional weight of the movie-version of Benjamin Mee. The presence of his small daughter wasn’t just for laughs. She did a great job in counter-balancing her sullen and angry teenage brother.

Oh, and she brought down the house when she called John Michael Higgins’ character “a dick.” She didn’t actually call him that, but she did use the word in correct context and proved to parents and grandparents in the theatre that they should have read up about the film a little bit more before they brought a 5-year-old to see the animals. Those kids learned a bunch of new words that day.

I commend Cameron Crowe, who has producer, writer and director credits on this one, for not beating us over the head with a forced love story between Damon and Scarlett Johannson. It’s there, but exists around the edge of the film.  They could have left it out altogether since it occupies such little space, but a little is better than a lot.

I don’t think the movie will win any wards, either in real life or at The Brians, but it delivered a much better experience than I expected and should probably vault higher on people’s list of things to see if they missed it.