San Diego Zoo - in Popular Culture

In Popular Culture

  • The shots of the private zoo at Xanadu in Orson Welles' 1941 film Citizen Kane were filmed at the San Diego Zoo.
  • The San Diego Zoo was the filming location for the long-running documentary television series Zoorama.
  • The San Diego Zoo, along with the St. Louis Zoo, were frequently mentioned in the Yogi Bear series of media as possible destinations Ranger Smith may ship Yogi to if he caused too much trouble at Jellystone Park. In the 1964 film Hey There, It's Yogi Bear!, Yogi was actually shipped to the San Diego Zoo, and his escape from being shipped off forms the plot of the film.
  • In addition to its normal publicity efforts, and web page, the zoo also produced a short TV program for a number of years with Joan Embery. Joan Embery brought various animals to The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson between 1971 and 1987, and more recently (between 1993 and 2008) The Tonight Show with Jay Leno. The zoo loaned the animals.
  • The zoo was featured prominently in the 2004 movie Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy, though filming was done at the old Los Angeles Zoo, not at the San Diego Zoo.
  • In the DreamWorks feature film Madagascar, the animals from Central Park Zoo in New York City think they are in the San Diego Zoo when they land in Madagascar: "White, sandy beaches; cleverly simulated natural environment; wide-open enclosures. I'm telling you, this could be the San Diego Zoo. Complete with fake rocks." In the sequel Madagascar 2, they also guess that they crash-landed in San Diego when they see a reservation in Africa with a beautiful lake and lots of animals.
  • The Zoo is featured in the 1965 film Scavenger Hunt, in which each of the five teams in a scavenger hunt steals an ostrich from the Zoo. (Actual ostriches were not used.)
  • The Beach Boys' 1966 album Pet Sounds has a cover and various album photography from the San Diego Zoo.
  • The 6ths first album Wasps' Nests includes a song called "San Diego Zoo", which features comprehensive directions on how to get to the zoo.
  • The zoo is talked about, though not actually shown, in the film The Lost World: Jurassic Park.
  • The first YouTube video, Me at the zoo was shot in San Diego Zoo and was uploaded to it on, April 23, 2005, by the co-creator, Jawed Karim. It can still be viewed on YouTube.
  • A regular visitor was acclaimed director and animator Chuck Jones, who often drew the animals at this zoo.
  • On the episode "Mothers and Daughters" of season 7 of Keeping Up With the Kardashians, the Kardashian family attends the San Diego Zoo with grandmother MJ. The visit highlights the "behind the scenes" and animal feeding tours that the zoo also provides for the public at a higher fee.

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