Book Vs the Movie - Night at the Museum

 When I first saw the trailers for this movie I didn't even realize that Robin Williams was in it.  Ben Stiller, Dick Van Dyke, Mickey Rooney, Owen Wilson,  but somehow I missed Robin Williams. 

The premise of the movie is this: Larry, a divorced dad, needs a job fast so he won't look like a loser to his son.  Never successful in career opportunities, he takes a job as lone night watchman for the Museum of Natural History.  The other guards are being let go in an effort to downsize and cut back costs.  Oh, and everything in museum comes to life at night because of an ancient mummy's curse. 

The movie: Ben Stiller plays Larry and Robin Williams plays Teddy Roosevelt (the wax figure, not the real thing).  Need more?  Ok, the dinosaurs play fetch, the miniatures tie Larry to the railroad tracks and hit him with a train, and Attila the Hun wrecks havoc.  And the monkeys steal the keys.  I saw this in a packed movie theater with lots of kids and it was a big hit.  I loved this film.  It had lots of action, silliness, and adventure all rolled into a PG-rated good time.

The book:  Originally written around 1993 by Milan Trenc, this is a cute picture book.  Different from the movie, the plot centers around Larry and his new job as a night guard at the museum, but there seem to be dozens of others working with him. He only has to watch the dinosaurs, but when they disappear, he is tricked by the other guards into helping them perform their jobs throughout the museum.  In the end it turns out the dinosaurs were only playing hide and seek and were not missing at all.

The winner:  As much as I liked the book, I liked the movie better.  It was far more exciting and interesting.  The book would be appropriate for any young child while the movie may be a little intense for some young children.  On the other hand, my 6 year old nephew saw the movie and thought "it rocked!"  And you'll never look at an Easter Island Head the same.  Don't know what I'm talking about?  Go see the movie!