Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #1320 in DVD
• Released on: 2007-08-20
• Rating: Parental Guidance
• Format: PAL
• Number of discs: 1
• Running time: 104 minutes

Amazon.co.uk Review
An irresistible concept meets computer-generated wonders in Night at the Museum, inspired by a 1993 children's book by Milan Trenc. Ben Stiller stars as Larry Daley, an underachieving inventor waiting for his ship to come in while getting evicted from one apartment after another for lack of funds. Larry's son needs some stability, so the well-meaning ne'er-do-well takes a job as night watchman at New York City's Museum of Natural History. What the soon-to-retire guards (Dick Van Dyke, Mickey Rooney, Bill Cobbs) don't tell him is that an ancient pharaoh's tablet in the museum causes everything on display to come to life at night. Thus, Larry meets representations of Teddy Roosevelt, Attila the Hun, fire-worshipping cavemen, and Roman Empire soldiers, and learns to cope with an excitable T-Rex and man-eating, ancient animals. The film might have left things at that, but an added story element gives Night at the Museum some extra urgency and excitement, especially for kids: Larry becomes responsible for keeping this nightly miracle going and preventing anything in the museum from dying due to exposure to sunrise. Computer effects, as well as wildly imaginative costumes and makeup, help make the film appeal to the 8-year-old in everyone. Director Shawn Levy (The Pink Panther) works with a hugely talented cast, including Robin Williams, Owen Wilson, Ricky Gervais, Carla Gugino, and Steve Coogan. --Tom Keogh

Synopsis
Ben Stiller plays Larry Daley, a down-on-his-luck divorced father in this family-friendly tale directed by Shawn Levy (JUST MARRIED, CHEAPER BY THE DOZEN). Larry has lots of ideas and dreams, but none of them come to fruition. In an attempt to prove his stability to his ex-wife (Kim Raver) and his son, Nicky (Jake Cherry), Larry accepts a job as a night guard at the Museum of Natural History. But the elderly night guards who hire him (played by entertainment legends Mickey Rooney, Dick Van Dyke, and Bill Cobbs) fail to mention one crucial detail: when the museum is closed, everything inside comes to life. From Attila the Hun to miniature Roman soldiers, African mammals to Neanderthal men, and Egyptian mummies to dinosaur skeletons, the museum teems with lively activity. Now it’s Larry’s job to control the mayhem and show his son that he is, indeed, a great man after all. There might be a moral to this story, which is based on the book of the same name by Milan Trenc, but the screenplay and action remain light and breezy. Stiller is perfect as Larry, particularly in scenes with a sneaky monkey who repeatedly gets the better of him. Brief appearances by Anne Meara (Stiller’s real-life mother) and Paul Rudd add to the fun. Carla Gugino plays a museum docent, Ricky Gervais portrays the incomprehensible museum director, and Robin Williams moonlights as a wax figure of Teddy Roosevelt that comes to life. Owen Wilson and Steve Coogan are particularly amusing as a bickering miniature cowboy and a Roman soldier.

Customer Reviews

Really entertaining
One of the first things i noticed about this film was the list of big names in the cast, Ben Stiller, Owen Wilson, Robin Williams, Steve Coogan, Ricky Gervais & Dick Van Dyke (fortunatley Dick was not required to do his dodgy cockney accent for this film).

The film is based on a childrens story but is also a great comedy for adults to enjoy with Dexter providing quite a few laughs in the film. The acting in the film is all very good and you can beleive all the characters. The film balances the seriousness of its moral of a father being a hero and role model in the eyes of his son with the fast paced comedy.

The CGI in the film is also well done and not to over the top so that when you watch the dinasour running about you think 'look at that dinosaur running about' instead of 'thats good cgi of a dinosaur running about'

This is a very good film for the whole family I heartily recommend this film to everyone.

An excellent family film
My son (aged 5) adores this film. He was firstly drawn in by the T Rex but went on to watch the whole film. He now asks to watch it every day. It is a great film for all the family, especially those who are big fans of Ben Stiller, Owen Wilson and Ricky Gervais. Great fun.

Night in with a great DVD
I avoided this at the cinema because it had Ben Stiller and Ricky Gervais in it - I'm kicking myself for missing out on seeing it first on the big screen! I will definitely go see the sequel.

Night at the Museum is a film that children will love and - although this is said incorrectly about many films - adults will love it just as much.

There are some big names in the cast and an even bigger special effects budget. Robin Williams tries as always to steal the show, but Ben Stiller proves that he is a far better and likeable actor than I previously thought. You genuinely want him to do well and prove to his young son that he isn't a failure. The time the museum exhibits come to life for the first time is one of the best fantasy sequences I have ever seen. I haven't laughed out loud so much at a comedy film for ages, and can see that in years to come, people are going to look back at this film and regard it as a classic.