Product Details

• Actors: Ben Stiller
• Format: Dolby, DTS Surround Sound, Special Edition, Subtitled, Widescreen, NTSC
• Language: French (Dolby Digital 2.0 Surround), English (Dolby Digital 5.1), English (DTS ES), Spanish (Dolby Digital 2.0 Surround)
• Subtitles: English, Spanish
• Region: Region 1 (U.S. and Canada only. Read more about DVD formats.)
  
• Aspect Ratio: 2.20:1
• Number of discs: 2
• Rating: PG (Parental Guidance Suggested)
• Studio: 20th Century Fox
• DVD Release Date: April 24, 2007
• Run Time: 110 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars See all reviews (390 customer reviews)
• ASIN: B000NOKJCM
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #10,137 in Movies & TV (See Bestsellers in Movies & TV)

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Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

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

On the DVD

The delightful package of special features on Night at the Museum (Two-Disc Special Edition) logically focuses on the film's many effects and unique needs. Featurettes and little narratives on various niche aspects of Night's production abound. Among them is "Bringing the Museum to Life," an overview of star Ben Stiller and the rest of the cast's vivid imaginations while they reacted to conditions and characters that were not actually present at the time of shooting. Director Shawn Levy is very much the star in this clip, as it turns out the hands-on filmmaker was unabashed about standing in for such computer-generated creations as Rexy, the T-Rex skeleton that comes to puppyish life in the feature. Levy shines, too, in "Directing 101" (which has more footage of him running around like everything from a horse to a fierce friend of Genghis Khan) and "Fox Movie Channel Presents: Life After Film School," the latter a half-hour segment from the cable channel’s ongoing series in which film school students interview folks already in the business. (The Levy show is really a pleasure.) "Monkey Business" takes a look at the training of the little monkey whose character vexes Stiller’s overwhelmed hero to an extreme. A blooper reel is full of hilarious gaffes, the best of which finds Stiller and Ricky Gervais pretty much incapable of getting through a single scene without losing it. "Building the Museum" answers the question: Did they actually shoot that thing inside a real museum? (The answer: no, which makes the set even more impressive.) "Historical Threads" takes a look at costumes, while trailers, extended scenes, a commentary track by Levy, and a DVD-ROM game ("Reunite with Rexy") give a viewer lots to do here. --Tom Keogh

Night at the Museum Extras

Ben Stiller on Director Shawn Levy

Ricky Gervais on the size of his trailer and eating cheese.

Beyond Night at the Museum

See What DVDs Meant Special Effects to Amazon DVD Editors As Kids

More Adventure Films for Kids & Family

The Night at the Museum Paperback Book

Stills from Night at the Museum

Product Description
Ben Stiller leads an all-star cast including Robin Williams and Dick Van Dyke in this hilarious blockbuster hit. When good-hearted dreamer Larry Daley (Stiller) is hired as night watchman at the Museum of Natural History, he soon discovers that an ancient curse brings all the exhibits to life after the sun sets. Suddenly, Larry finds himself face-to-face with a frisky T. rex skeleton, tiny armies of Romans and cowboys and a mischievous monkey who taunts him to the breaking point. But with the help of President Teddy Roosevelt (Williams), Larry may just figure out a way to control the chaos and become a hero in his son's eyes. Boasting jaw-dropping special effects and laugh-out-loud moments, Night at the Museum is your ticket to nonstop fun!

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

94 of 107 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars This Dude Had a Fun Time, December 30, 2006

By	Monkdude (Hampton, Virginia) - See all my reviews (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)

I thought this movie would mostly be for kids, but I think I laughed as much if not more than the younger folks around me. The CGI is good, the plot is neat, and Ben Stiller, Owen Wilson, and Robin Williams deliver the goods. It was also a treat to see Dick Van Dyke and Mickey Rooney in action again. Not to mention that Carla Gugino is a feast for the eyes. It's nice to watch a good film for the whole family once every so often. It makes you feel like a kid again, without a care in the world.

83 of 97 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Take your family to the Museum, December 22, 2006

By	Kevin J. Loria (New Orleans, LA USA) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

This solid family movie from director Shawn Levy (the new PINK PANTHER, CHEAPER BY THE DOZEN 2) comes from a solid book like Jumanji, and Zathura, the 1993 kid's mystery-comedy of the same name.Like the original story, Larry (or was it Hector originally) becomes a night guard at New York's Museum of Natural History,in order to "grow up" in the eyes of his ex-wife and his son. He expects to have an easy time. But on his first night, he dozes off, then wakes up to a missing dinosaur skeleton.Soon his learns that history really comes alive at this museum and he's got his hands full keeping it in line.

Ben Stiller, as Larry, panics his way from exhibit to exhibit,as only he knows how. Briefly intiated by the original nightwatchmen, played by comedy, TV and film legends Dick Van Dyke,Bill Cobbs and Mickey Rooney.
The retiring watchmen are worth the price of admission (watch the closing credits as they reveal the ultimate fate of the three characters and Mr. Van Dyke shows that he can still chimney-sweep with the best of them.

Owen Wilson yet again teams-up with Stiller for a small part literally, he's a miniature from an historical diorama (see Starsky & Hutch, The Royal Tenenbaums, Meet the parents, Permanent Midnight, Zoolander for more super Stiller/Wilson team-ups). Actually the role is more than a cameo and is worthy of the story. The two play off each other superbly, like a modern-day Bing & Hope, only funny (I Kid, I Kid).

Another standout casting is Robin Williams lending Larry a hand as an animated-wax Teddy Roosevelt. Williams is able to savory his moments of insanity as a relatively static historical mentor while enfusing others with moving realism and soulfulness (seriously).

Loads of great visuals, especially at the IMAX engagements, like the animated dog-like T-Rex, Mammoths, stampedes and more. Definitely in the spirit of Jumanji, only with much more heart.

24 of 26 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars I Think that T-Rex Skeleton Wants to Play Fetch? --- and other hilarious reasons to watch this film..., April 20, 2007

By	C. Crockett "Domino713" (Indiana, USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: Night at the Museum (Widescreen Edition) (DVD)

A movie where history literally comes alive? No way! But, somehow, this kooky idea works in an endearing and surrealistic way.

Ben Stiller stars as Larry Daley, an underachiever with a penchant for bouncing from job to job as he is constantly evicted from one apartment after another. Having had a divorce, Larry shares custody of his son with his ex-wife and her new husband. After finally being fed up with feeling inadequate in the eyes of his son, Larry takes a job as a night watchman at the Museum of Natural History in hopes that the semblance of stability will help earn back his ex-wife's and his son's respect. However, things are not always how they appear, as Larry soon discovers that at night, the museum comes to life...

The film has a bit of a slow start as the plot lays the ground work for Larry's desperate acceptance of the night watchman's position. I was left feeling anxious for the hilarity to ensue when the museum finally awakens from it's slumber. Fortunately, once the storyline finally gets to that point, the wacky hijinks commence, one right after the other, causing the film to become far more satisfying. If you overlook the fact that this is a Ben Stiller vehicle (as in, a comedic role that has a fairly cookie-cutter resemblence to most of Ben Stiller's previous roles) the movie turns out to be a wild ride of incredible special effects, and hilarious moments in the interaction between Larry and the newly life-like museum displays.

Robin Williams does an amazing job as a wax figure of Teddy Roosevelt, who becomes a sort of guide and mentor to Stiller's character of Larry as Larry struggles to come to terms with the unbelievable things he is witnessing. Owen Wilson also has a small supporting role as a teeny tiny cowboy from one of the displays in the diorama room, who is hell-bent on busting out of his display and doing battle against the Roman General, Octavius (equally tiny) who resides in the display next to his. Wilson's character is also fairly typical of his usual roles, but that doesn't make it any less funny. Actually (if you're looking for a little trivia) Wilson and Stiller only came face-to-face during filming once, for only a few minutes. All of Wilson's scenes were filmed in one day (in front of a green screen so that his character can be shrunk down to size and re-inserted into the film). The production crew placed a toothpick on the various sets so that Stiller had a focal point for where he was supposed to look when delivering his dialogue during the scenes that would eventually include Wilson's shrunken cowboy.

This whole movie is one giant leap into the magical realm of suspended reality that Hollywood is so good at creating. Can museums really come to life? No --- but man, it be cool if they did. Keep your eye out for my favorite (and in my opinion, the funniest) scene from the film in which Larry finally confronts Attila the Hun, who makes a habit of chasing him down and attempting to dismember him each night. Larry squares off against Attila and his barbaric horde, and proves he's in control by bringing Attila to tears. You have to see it to truly appreciate the humor. I also enjoyed the keys stealing monkey, Dexter, and his crazy penchant for causing Larry a lot of trouble. As far as special features go, this particular disc only has 2 audio commentaries available. If you're wanting more than that in the special features department, you're probably better off purchasing the 2-disc special edition.

Bottom line -- it gets off to a slow start, but eventually picks up and dazzles the audience with it's style, humor, and the general laugh-worthy age old question of "Can't we all just get along"?