(Cover) - EN Showbiz - Frank Coraci "laughed out loud" when imagining Kevin James portraying his Zookeeper character.

Kevin, 46, is lovable Griffin Keyes in Frank's movie about a group of zoo animals who decide to help Griffin find love by breaking their vow of silence.

Frank knew instantly that funnyman Kevin would be right for the role opposite Hollywood actress Rosario Dawson, and couldn't control his hysterics when imagining the comic in the part.

"Kevin James and the studio asked me to do the movie. When I read the script and imagined Kevin in the lead role, I laughed out loud. I felt the movie could be hilarious and appeal to a very wide audience," he told Cover Media.

Frank had a great time hanging out with Rosario, Kevin and the other castmembers between takes. Everyone on set made sure there was plenty of time for fun between all the hard work, and the animal characters got involved in the high-jinks too.

"This movie was hard work, but that was always a blast since the cast, crew and myself constantly made each other laugh by any means necessary even if it meant letting the monkey, Crystal, slap me on the head repeatedly," he blushed.

Moviemaker Frank also took the time to praise Kevin. He considers the multi-talented star to be one of Hollywood's greatest talents.

"Kevin, like all great stand-up comedians, would often improvise in many of the comedic situations. As much as I can as a director, I try to throw out spontaneous things for actors to react to and a comedian's first impulse is usually pure, unfiltered comedy.

"Because we were making a movie with animals, that often made it even easier for me, because they would give us all spontaneous things to react to. Kevin was great with that stuff. He was also a writer and producer on the film, so he was a huge part of creating his character Griffin Keyes," smiled Frank.

Zookeeper hits UK cinemas on July 29 2011. (C) Cover Media