Fierce Creatures - Plot

Plot

The principal setting of the story is Marwood Zoo (Marwood is John Cleese's middle name), a fictional zoo that resembles Marwell Wildlife. Marwood Zoo has recently been acquired by Octopus Inc., a conglomerate headed by billionaire New Zealander Rod McCain (Kevin Kline), the most powerful man alive. Octopus Inc. requires that all its investments return at least a 20% profit.

The director of the zoo is retired Hong Kong Police Force officer Rollo Lee (John Cleese). In order to meet the new revenue target, Lee institutes a "fierce creatures" theme, on the assumption that a zoo that only exhibits dangerous animals and emphasizes violence will attract more visitors.

All the animal keepers, including the spider-handler Bugsy (Michael Palin), vociferously protest the policy, and make various attempts to get Rollo to change his mind.

When newly-hired executive Willa Weston (Jamie Lee Curtis) arrives at the zoo from Octopus Inc. to take over, she demotes Rollo to middle management. Tagging along is Vince McCain (also played by Kevin Kline), vice president of marketing for Octopus Inc. and son of Rod McCain.

The animals' keepers are enraged when Vince covers zoo and animals alike with advertisements after secretly garnering numerous sponsorships.

When Rod McCain arrives in London for a visit, everyone is concerned about the zoo's status. Rollo and Bugsy learn that Rod wants to close the zoo for under-performing, and it is revealed that Vince has been stealing the sponsorship money.

A confrontation takes place at the zoo office, with Willa, Rollo and Bugsy stopping Vince from running off with a bag containing the money. When Bugsy refuses to shut up, Vince loses his temper and grabs a Beretta pistol from the management office. Rod arrives just as Vince is being subdued, and he announces that the police are on the way to arrest Vince for stealing. Vince tries but fails to shoot his father, and when Bugsy takes the pistol it accidentally goes off, shooting Rod between the eyes.

In the panic that follows, a plan emerges to fool the arriving police. The animal caretakers work together to dress Vince up as Rod, since he can imitate his father's New Zealand accent fairly well. When the police and Rod's assistant, Neville, arrive, Vince (as Rod) tells them that he has re-written his will, specifying that the zoo will become a trust of the caretakers and Vince inherits everything else, and he wants all of them to be witnesses. After signing the new will, Vince locks himself in a caretaker hut where he feigns Rod's suicide.

Now free, the zookeepers destroy the evidence of McCain's ownership. Vince becomes the new CEO of Octopus (along with firing Neville), while Willa and Rollo begin a new life together while continuing to run the zoo.