The sequel to the hilarious (and family friendly) 2006 hit Night at the Museum released on DVD in December, as Ben Stiller's Larry finds himself knee-deep in the Battle of the Smithsonian. Mixing American History 101 with elements of science fiction, loads of special effects, and enough humor to start a successful sitcom, this installment patches together different subplots while teaching lessons that should inspire adults and kids alike.

When the favorite characters from the original film are boxed up by a progressive museum board to be replaced by interactive holographic images, the tablet of Akhmenrah ends up travelling with a variety of those museum pieces to the Federal Archives. Once there, its power lures in Akhmenrah's older brother, Pharaoh Kahmenrah (Hank Azaria), who allies himself with the likes of Al Capone, Napoleon, and Ivan the Terrible to maximize its power. And Larry, with Amelia Earhart (Amy Adams), a bumbling Custer (Bill Hader), and a host of thousands, must battle this new Axis of Evil, after first outsmarting Jonah Hill's Brandon/Brundun, the museum guard.

Throughout the film, some of the best moments are the historical moments, like their encounter with the Lincoln Monument (also Azaria) and Albert Einstein bobblehead dolls (Eugene Levy). And I have to begrudgingly admit that the trio of Cupids are wonderfully and humorously voiced by the Jonas Brothers. The grateful thanks of the Tuskegee Airmen for the previous efforts of Earhart is touching, and of course, the Thinker provides some humor. But I really did miss the work of Robin Williams in the latter parts of the film as Theodore Roosevelt, and I didn't think that Owen Wilson or Steve Coogan got enough screen time, but still&ellips;

It's hard to fault a film that is filled with adventure, humor, meaning, romance, and all-out fun, that also doubles as a movie that you can take your whole family to. I've grown accustomed to cartoons that ask us as adults to completely ignore what we want or to drag our children to something which is developmentally inappropriate for them (Up, anyone?). I know there are jokes aimed at the adults in the film, but nothing that makes me cringe, and there's no violence or threat that seems too frightening for the little kids.

But the charm of this film still remains in the lessons it has to teach about doing what we're called to do, what we dream about doing, and what we're destined for, rather than settling for those things which bring us a quick buck or result in the instant satisfaction that the world preaches. Jedediah Smith (Wilson) tells Larry that they called him so that he could be saved from the humdrum of his life, not because they needed to be saved themselves. In the act of saving them (or being part of the process) Larry finds himself summing up a Night at the Museum-worthy rendition of "you have to lose your life to find it."