Night at the Museum is a 2006
fantasyFantasy is a genre of fiction that commonly uses magic and other supernatural phenomena as a primary element of plot, theme, or setting. Many works within the genre take place in imaginary worlds where magic is common...
adventure-
comedy filmComedy film is a genre of film in which the main emphasis is on humour. They are designed to elicit laughter from the audience. Comedies are mostly light-hearted dramas and are made to amuse and entertain the audiences...
based on the 1993 children's book
The Night at the MuseumThe Night at the Museum, published in 1993, is a children's picture book written and illustrated by Milan Trenc. This book is Trenc's best known title, and in 2006 was produced as a feature film titled Night at the Museum...
by
Milan TrencMilan Trenc is a Croatian illustrator, comics publisher, film director, novelist and educator.Born in Zagreb, there Trenc first went to the School of Applied Arts, which is a high school, then studied film direction at the Zagreb Academy of Dramatic Arts...
. It follows a
divorceDivorce is the final termination of a marital union, canceling the legal duties and responsibilities of marriage and dissolving the bonds of matrimony between the parties...
d father trying to settle down, impress his son, and find his destiny. He applies for a job as a
night watchmanA security guard is a person who is paid to protect property, assets, or people. Security guards are usually privately and formally employed personnel...
at New York City's
American Museum of Natural HistoryThe American Museum of Natural History , located on the Upper West Side of Manhattan in New York City, United States, is one of the largest and most celebrated museums in the world...
and subsequently discovers that the exhibits, animated by a magical
EgyptianAncient Egypt was an ancient civilization of Northeastern Africa, concentrated along the lower reaches of the Nile River in what is now the modern country of Egypt. Egyptian civilization coalesced around 3150 BC with the political unification of Upper and Lower Egypt under the first pharaoh...
artifact, come to life at night.
Released on December 22, 2006 by
20th Century FoxTwentieth Century Fox Film Corporation — also known as 20th Century Fox, or simply 20th or Fox — is one of the six major American film studios...
, which presented the
1492 Pictures1492 Pictures is an American film production company founded by director Chris Columbus in 1995. The name is a play on Columbus's more famous namesake, Christopher Columbus, and his 1492 landing in the Americas....
/21 Laps Entertainment Production in association with Ingenious Film Partners, the film was written by Robert Ben Garant and Thomas Lennon of
Comedy CentralComedy Central is an American cable television and satellite television channel that carries comedy programming, both original and syndicated....
's
Reno 911!Reno 911! is an American comedy television series on Comedy Central that ran from 2003 to 2009. It is a mockumentary-style parody of law enforcement documentary shows, specifically COPS, with comic actors playing the police officers. Most of the material is improvised, using a broad outline, and...
and
MTVMTV, formerly an initialism of Music Television, is an American network based in New York City that launched on August 1, 1981. The original purpose of the channel was to play music videos guided by on-air hosts known as VJs....
's
The StateThe State is a half-hour sketch-comedy television show, originally broadcast on MTV between December 17, 1993 and July 1, 1995. The show combined bizarre characters and scenarios to present sketches that won the favor of its target teenaged audience...
and produced and directed by
Shawn LevyShawn Adam Levy is a Canadian-American actor, director and producer who directed the comedy films Big Fat Liar, Just Married, Cheaper by the Dozen, The Pink Panther, Night at the Museum, Date Night, and the sci-fi movie Real Steel...
. Also producing for 1492 Pictures were
Chris ColumbusChristopher Joseph "Chris" Columbus is an American film director, producer and screenwriter. Columbus had his largest success with the first two films in the Harry Potter series, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone and Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, along with Home Alone, the last...
and
Michael BarnathanMichael Barnathan is a film producer who has produced and executive-produced films such as Used People, the first three Harry Potter films, Rent, Cheaper by the Dozen and Night at the Museum. He was also the producer for the 2010 film adaptation Percy Jackson & the Olympians: The Lightning Thief of...
. The cast includes
Ben StillerBenjamin Edward "Ben" Stiller is an American comedian, actor, writer, film director, and producer. He is the son of veteran comedians and actors Jerry Stiller and Anne Meara....
,
Carla GuginoCarla Gugino is an American actress known for her roles of Sally Jupiter in Watchmen, Dr. Vera Gorski in Sucker Punch, Lucille in Sin City, Amanda Daniels in seasons 3, 5 and 7 of Entourage, Ingrid Cortez in the Spy Kids film trilogy, and as the lead characters of the television series Karen Sisco...
,
Dick Van DykeRichard Wayne "Dick" Van Dyke is an American actor, comedian, writer, and producer with a career spanning six decades. He is the older brother of Jerry Van Dyke, and father of Barry Van Dyke...
,
Mickey RooneyMickey Rooney is an American film actor and entertainer whose film, television, and stage appearances span nearly his entire lifetime. He has won multiple awards, including an Honorary Academy Award, a Golden Globe and an Emmy Award...
,
Bill CobbsWilbert "Bill" Cobbs is an American film and television actor. He has starred in over 120 television programs and movies.-Life and career:...
,
Jake CherryJake Cherry is an American teen actor who appeared as Nick Daley in Night at the Museum and Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian, and as Edie Britt's son Travers McLain in Desperate Housewives. His film debut was alongside Jennifer Aniston in Friends with Money...
,
Ricky GervaisRicky Dene Gervais is an English comedian, actor, director, radio presenter, producer, musician, and writer.Gervais achieved mainstream fame with his television series The Office and the subsequent series Extras, both of which he co-wrote and co-directed with friend and frequent collaborator...
, and
Robin WilliamsRobin McLaurin Williams is an American actor and comedian. Rising to fame with his role as the alien Mork in the TV series Mork and Mindy, and later stand-up comedy work, Williams has performed in many feature films since 1980. He won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his performance...
. A new novelization of the screenplay by Leslie Goldman was published as a film tie-in.
A sequel titled
Night at the Museum: Battle of the SmithsonianNight at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian is an American adventure comedy film directed by Shawn Levy, and starring Ben Stiller, Hank Azaria, Amy Adams, Owen Wilson, Robin Williams, and Steve Coogan. The film is a sequel to Night at the Museum...
was released on May 22, 2009.
Plot
Larry Daley (
Ben StillerBenjamin Edward "Ben" Stiller is an American comedian, actor, writer, film director, and producer. He is the son of veteran comedians and actors Jerry Stiller and Anne Meara....
) is divorced, unable to keep a stable job, and has failed at many business ventures. His ex-wife (
Kim RaverKimberly Jayne "Kim" Raver is an American actress.She is best known for her numerous roles on TV: as Kim Zambrano on Third Watch, Audrey Raines on 24, Nico Reilly on Lipstick Jungle, and, most recently, Teddy Altman on Grey's Anatomy.-Personal life:Raver was raised in New York City by her mother,...
) believes that he is a bad example to their ten years-old son Nick (
Jake CherryJake Cherry is an American teen actor who appeared as Nick Daley in Night at the Museum and Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian, and as Edie Britt's son Travers McLain in Desperate Housewives. His film debut was alongside Jennifer Aniston in Friends with Money...
), and Larry fears that Nick respects his future stepfather,
bondIn finance, a bond is a debt security, in which the authorized issuer owes the holders a debt and, depending on the terms of the bond, is obliged to pay interest to use and/or to repay the principal at a later date, termed maturity...
traderA trader is someone in finance who buys and sells financial instruments such as stocks, bonds, commodities and derivatives. A broker who simply fills buy or sell orders is not a trader, as they are merely executing instructions given to them. According to the Wall Street Journal in 2004, a managing...
Don (
Paul RuddPaul Stephen Rudd is an American actor and screenwriter. He has primarily appeared in comedies, and is known for his roles in the films Clueless, Wet Hot American Summer, Anchorman, Halloween: The Curse of Michael Myers, The 40-Year-Old Virgin, Knocked Up, Dinner for Schmucks, The Object of My...
), more than him.
Cecil (
Dick Van DykeRichard Wayne "Dick" Van Dyke is an American actor, comedian, writer, and producer with a career spanning six decades. He is the older brother of Jerry Van Dyke, and father of Barry Van Dyke...
), an elderly night
security guardA security guard is a person who is paid to protect property, assets, or people. Security guards are usually privately and formally employed personnel...
about to retire from the
American Museum of Natural HistoryThe American Museum of Natural History , located on the Upper West Side of Manhattan in New York City, United States, is one of the largest and most celebrated museums in the world...
, hires Larry despite his unpromising
résuméA résumé is a document used by individuals to present their background and skillsets. Résumés can be used for a variety of reasons but most often to secure new employment. A typical résumé contains a summary of relevant job experience and education...
. The museum plans to replace Cecil and two colleagues Gus (
Mickey RooneyMickey Rooney is an American film actor and entertainer whose film, television, and stage appearances span nearly his entire lifetime. He has won multiple awards, including an Honorary Academy Award, a Golden Globe and an Emmy Award...
) and Reginald (
Bill CobbsWilbert "Bill" Cobbs is an American film and television actor. He has starred in over 120 television programs and movies.-Life and career:...
) with one guard. They advise Larry to leave some of the lights on and warn him not to let anything "in...or out".
Once night comes, Larry discovers that the exhibits come to life, including a living
TyrannosaurusTyrannosaurus meaning "tyrant," and sauros meaning "lizard") is a genus of coelurosaurian theropod dinosaur. The species Tyrannosaurus rex , commonly abbreviated to T. rex, is a fixture in popular culture. It lived throughout what is now western North America, with a much wider range than other...
skeleton nicknamed "Rexy" who behaves like a dog; a mischievous
capuchin monkeyThe capuchins are New World monkeys of the genus Cebus. The range of capuchin monkeys includes Central America and South America as far south as northern Argentina...
named Dexter (
CrystalCrystal is a female capuchin monkey and animal actor. She portrayed the irritating monkey Dexter in the 2006 film Night at the Museum and the 2009 sequel Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian...
), which always steals Larry's keys; rival miniature civilizations led by
Old WestThe American Old West, or the Wild West, comprises the history, geography, people, lore, and cultural expression of life in the Western United States, most often referring to the latter half of the 19th century, between the American Civil War and the end of the century...
cowboy Jedediah (
Owen WilsonOwen Cunningham Wilson is an American actor and writer, known for his roles in the films The Haunting, The Royal Tenenbaums, Zoolander, Meet the Parents, Wedding Crashers, You, Me and Dupree, Bottle Rocket, the Cars series, The Darjeeling Limited, Marley & Me, Midnight in Paris, Shanghai Noon,...
) and
RomanThe Roman Empire was the post-Republican period of the ancient Roman civilization, characterised by an autocratic form of government and large territorial holdings in Europe and around the Mediterranean....
general Octavius (
Steve CooganStephen John "Steve" Coogan is a British comedian, actor, writer and producer. Born in Manchester, he began his career as a standup comedian and impressionist, working as a voice artist throughout the 1980s on satirical puppet show Spitting Image. In the early nineties, Coogan began creating...
); an
Easter IslandEaster Island is a Polynesian island in the southeastern Pacific Ocean, at the southeasternmost point of the Polynesian triangle. A special territory of Chile that was annexed in 1888, Easter Island is famous for its 887 extant monumental statues, called moai, created by the early Rapanui people...
MoaiMoai , or mo‘ai, are monolithic human figures carved from rock on the Chilean Polynesian island of Easter Island between the years 1250 and 1500. Nearly half are still at Rano Raraku, the main moai quarry, but hundreds were transported from there and set on stone platforms called ahu around the...
(
Brad GarrettBradley "Brad" Garrett is an American actor, voice actor, stand-up comedian, and professional poker player. Throughout he has appeared in numerous television and film roles....
) obsessed with
"gum-gum"Chewing gum is a type of gum traditionally made of chicle, a natural latex product, or synthetic rubber known as polyisobutylene. For economical and quality reasons, many modern chewing gums use rubber instead of chicle...
; and a wax model of
Theodore RooseveltTheodore "Teddy" Roosevelt was the 26th President of the United States . He is noted for his exuberant personality, range of interests and achievements, and his leadership of the Progressive Movement, as well as his "cowboy" persona and robust masculinity...
(
Robin WilliamsRobin McLaurin Williams is an American actor and comedian. Rising to fame with his role as the alien Mork in the TV series Mork and Mindy, and later stand-up comedy work, Williams has performed in many feature films since 1980. He won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his performance...
).
Roosevelt explains that since an
EgyptianAncient Egypt was an ancient civilization of Northeastern Africa, concentrated along the lower reaches of the Nile River in what is now the modern country of Egypt. Egyptian civilization coalesced around 3150 BC with the political unification of Upper and Lower Egypt under the first pharaoh...
artifactAn artifact or artefact is "something made or given shape by man, such as a tool or a work of art, esp an object of archaeological interest"...
—the Golden Tablet of
PharaohPharaoh is a title used in many modern discussions of the ancient Egyptian rulers of all periods. The title originates in the term "pr-aa" which means "great house" and describes the royal palace...
Akhmenrah—came to the museum in 1952, all of the exhibits come to life each night. If the exhibits are outside of the museum during
sunriseSunrise is the instant at which the upper edge of the Sun appears above the horizon in the east. Sunrise should not be confused with dawn, which is the point at which the sky begins to lighten, some time before the sun itself appears, ending twilight...
, however, they turn to dust. Roosevelt helps Larry by restoring order, and he decides to remain as a guard.
On Cecil's advice, Larry studies
historyHistory is the discovery, collection, organization, and presentation of information about past events. History can also mean the period of time after writing was invented. Scholars who write about history are called historians...
to prepare himself better. He also learns from a museum
docentDocent is a title at some European universities to denote a specific academic appointment within a set structure of academic ranks below professor . Docent is also used at some universities generically for a person who has the right to teach...
, Rebecca Hutman (
Carla GuginoCarla Gugino is an American actress known for her roles of Sally Jupiter in Watchmen, Dr. Vera Gorski in Sucker Punch, Lucille in Sin City, Amanda Daniels in seasons 3, 5 and 7 of Entourage, Ingrid Cortez in the Spy Kids film trilogy, and as the lead characters of the television series Karen Sisco...
), who is writing a dissertation on
SacagaweaSacagawea ; was a Lemhi Shoshone woman, who accompanied the Lewis and Clark Expedition, acting as an interpreter and guide, in their exploration of the Western United States...
(
Mizuo PeckMizuo Peck is an American actress best known for playing Sacagawea in the film Night at the Museum and its sequel.-Life and career:Peck was born in New York City, New York of Japanese, Irish, English, and Cherokee descent...
) but does not feel she knows enough about her subject.
The next night, Larry uses what he has learned to better control the exhibits. Four Neanderthals set fire to a display, however, and one turns to dust when he leaves the museum at dawn, so museum director Dr. McPhee (
Ricky GervaisRicky Dene Gervais is an English comedian, actor, director, radio presenter, producer, musician, and writer.Gervais achieved mainstream fame with his television series The Office and the subsequent series Extras, both of which he co-wrote and co-directed with friend and frequent collaborator...
) almost fires Larry. He offers Rebecca a meeting with Sacagawea, but she believes that he is mocking her and the museum.
Larry brings Nick to the museum to show him the exhibits, but none is alive. They find Cecil, Gus, and Reginald stealing the tablet and other valuable objects. Like the exhibits, the guards receive enhanced vitality from the artifact; wishing to retain their health and fund their retirements, the three plan to
frameA frame-up or setup is an American term referring to the act of framing someone, that is, providing false evidence or false testimony in order to falsely prove someone guilty of a crime....
Larry for the thefts, and disabled the tablet to stop the exhibits from interfering. Nick reactivates the artifact, but Cecil locks him and his father in the Egyptian room and flees with the tablet.
Larry releases the Akhmenrah's (
Rami MalekRami Said Malek is an American actor. He is best known for his role as the gay teenage next-door-neighbor, "Kenny" on the FOX comedy series The War at Home; for his role as Merriell "Snafu" Shelton in the HBO miniseries The Pacific; and for his role as the pharaoh Ahkmenrah in the feature films...
)
mummyA mummy is a body, human or animal, whose skin and organs have been preserved by either intentional or incidental exposure to chemicals, extreme coldness , very low humidity, or lack of air when bodies are submerged in bogs, so that the recovered body will not decay further if kept in cool and dry...
from his
sarcophagusA sarcophagus is a funeral receptacle for a corpse, most commonly carved or cut from stone. The word "sarcophagus" comes from the Greek σαρξ sarx meaning "flesh", and φαγειν phagein meaning "to eat", hence sarkophagus means "flesh-eating"; from the phrase lithos sarkophagos...
. The pharaoh speaks English from many years as an exhibit at
CambridgeThe University of Cambridge is a public research university located in Cambridge, United Kingdom. It is the second-oldest university in both the United Kingdom and the English-speaking world , and the seventh-oldest globally...
, and helps Larry and Nick escape. The three find the other exhibits fighting, and Larry convinces them to work together. Although some of the exhibits capture Gus and Reginald without difficulty, Cecil escapes by
stagecoachA stagecoach is a type of covered wagon for passengers and goods, strongly sprung and drawn by four horses, usually four-in-hand. Widely used before the introduction of railway transport, it made regular trips between stages or stations, which were places of rest provided for stagecoach travelers...
with Larry, Nick, Akmenrah, and Atilla the Hun in pursuit in
Central ParkCentral Park is a public park in the center of Manhattan in New York City, United States. The park initially opened in 1857, on of city-owned land. In 1858, Frederick Law Olmsted and Calvert Vaux won a design competition to improve and expand the park with a plan they entitled the Greensward Plan...
, where they stop him and regain the tablet. Rebecca sees the exhibits return to the museum before sunrise and realizes that Larry was telling the truth; he introduces her to Sacagawea.
Dr. McPhee fires Larry due to the chaos during the night, but rehires him when news reports of the strange events around the museum—such as
cave paintingCave paintings are paintings on cave walls and ceilings, and the term is used especially for those dating to prehistoric times. The earliest European cave paintings date to the Aurignacian, some 32,000 years ago. The purpose of the paleolithic cave paintings is not known...
s in the museum's subway station, dinosaur
footprintsTrace fossils, also called ichnofossils , are geological records of biological activity. Trace fossils may be impressions made on the substrate by an organism: for example, burrows, borings , urolites , footprints and feeding marks, and root cavities...
in
Central ParkCentral Park is a public park in the center of Manhattan in New York City, United States. The park initially opened in 1857, on of city-owned land. In 1858, Frederick Law Olmsted and Calvert Vaux won a design competition to improve and expand the park with a plan they entitled the Greensward Plan...
, and cavemen sightings—raise attendance. Larry, Nick, and the exhibits celebrate, while Cecil, Gus, and Reginald are forced to become museum janitors as punishment.
Production
The building featured in the film, which was constructed on a sound stage in Burnaby, is based on the
American Museum of Natural HistoryThe American Museum of Natural History , located on the Upper West Side of Manhattan in New York City, United States, is one of the largest and most celebrated museums in the world...
in New York City, external shots of which were used in the movie.
Trainers spent several weeks training Crystal, who plays the troublemaking monkey Dexter, to slap and bite Stiller in the film.
Director
Shawn LevyShawn Adam Levy is a Canadian-American actor, director and producer who directed the comedy films Big Fat Liar, Just Married, Cheaper by the Dozen, The Pink Panther, Night at the Museum, Date Night, and the sci-fi movie Real Steel...
credited Ben Stiller for the ensemble cast: "When actors hear that Ben Stiller is in a movie they want to work with him. It['s] a high-water mark and it absolutely draws actors in and I'm convinced that's a big part of why we got this cast."
Cast
- Ben Stiller
Benjamin Edward "Ben" Stiller is an American comedian, actor, writer, film director, and producer. He is the son of veteran comedians and actors Jerry Stiller and Anne Meara....
as Larry Daley
- Robin Williams
Robin McLaurin Williams is an American actor and comedian. Rising to fame with his role as the alien Mork in the TV series Mork and Mindy, and later stand-up comedy work, Williams has performed in many feature films since 1980. He won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his performance...
as Theodore RooseveltTheodore "Teddy" Roosevelt was the 26th President of the United States . He is noted for his exuberant personality, range of interests and achievements, and his leadership of the Progressive Movement, as well as his "cowboy" persona and robust masculinity...
- Jake Cherry
Jake Cherry is an American teen actor who appeared as Nick Daley in Night at the Museum and Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian, and as Edie Britt's son Travers McLain in Desperate Housewives. His film debut was alongside Jennifer Aniston in Friends with Money...
as Nicky Daley, Larry's son.
- Dick Van Dyke
Richard Wayne "Dick" Van Dyke is an American actor, comedian, writer, and producer with a career spanning six decades. He is the older brother of Jerry Van Dyke, and father of Barry Van Dyke...
as Cecil Fredericks
- Carla Gugino
Carla Gugino is an American actress known for her roles of Sally Jupiter in Watchmen, Dr. Vera Gorski in Sucker Punch, Lucille in Sin City, Amanda Daniels in seasons 3, 5 and 7 of Entourage, Ingrid Cortez in the Spy Kids film trilogy, and as the lead characters of the television series Karen Sisco...
as Rebecca Hutman
- Mickey Rooney
Mickey Rooney is an American film actor and entertainer whose film, television, and stage appearances span nearly his entire lifetime. He has won multiple awards, including an Honorary Academy Award, a Golden Globe and an Emmy Award...
as Gus
- Bill Cobbs
Wilbert "Bill" Cobbs is an American film and television actor. He has starred in over 120 television programs and movies.-Life and career:...
as Reginald
- Owen Wilson
Owen Cunningham Wilson is an American actor and writer, known for his roles in the films The Haunting, The Royal Tenenbaums, Zoolander, Meet the Parents, Wedding Crashers, You, Me and Dupree, Bottle Rocket, the Cars series, The Darjeeling Limited, Marley & Me, Midnight in Paris, Shanghai Noon,...
as Jedediah (Uncredited)
- Steve Coogan
Stephen John "Steve" Coogan is a British comedian, actor, writer and producer. Born in Manchester, he began his career as a standup comedian and impressionist, working as a voice artist throughout the 1980s on satirical puppet show Spitting Image. In the early nineties, Coogan began creating...
as Octavius
- Patrick Gallagher
-Career:Gallagher is best known for his television roles as Det. Joe Finn in Da Vinci's Inquest, the alcohol salesman in Entourage, Leon in The Line, Farhod the Fierce in Pair of Kings, and Ken Tanaka in Glee, and his film roles as Awkward Davies in Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World...
as Attila the HunAttila , more frequently referred to as Attila the Hun, was the ruler of the Huns from 434 until his death in 453. He was leader of the Hunnic Empire, which stretched from the Ural River to the Rhine River and from the Danube River to the Baltic Sea. During his reign he was one of the most feared...
- Rami Malek
Rami Said Malek is an American actor. He is best known for his role as the gay teenage next-door-neighbor, "Kenny" on the FOX comedy series The War at Home; for his role as Merriell "Snafu" Shelton in the HBO miniseries The Pacific; and for his role as the pharaoh Ahkmenrah in the feature films...
as Ahkmenrah
- Mizuo Peck
Mizuo Peck is an American actress best known for playing Sacagawea in the film Night at the Museum and its sequel.-Life and career:Peck was born in New York City, New York of Japanese, Irish, English, and Cherokee descent...
as SacagaweaSacagawea ; was a Lemhi Shoshone woman, who accompanied the Lewis and Clark Expedition, acting as an interpreter and guide, in their exploration of the Western United States...
- Ricky Gervais
Ricky Dene Gervais is an English comedian, actor, director, radio presenter, producer, musician, and writer.Gervais achieved mainstream fame with his television series The Office and the subsequent series Extras, both of which he co-wrote and co-directed with friend and frequent collaborator...
as Dr. McPhee, Larry's boss.
- Crystal the Monkey
Crystal is a female capuchin monkey and animal actor. She portrayed the irritating monkey Dexter in the 2006 film Night at the Museum and the 2009 sequel Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian...
as Dexter
- Kim Raver
Kimberly Jayne "Kim" Raver is an American actress.She is best known for her numerous roles on TV: as Kim Zambrano on Third Watch, Audrey Raines on 24, Nico Reilly on Lipstick Jungle, and, most recently, Teddy Altman on Grey's Anatomy.-Personal life:Raver was raised in New York City by her mother,...
as Erica Daley
- Frank Welker
Franklin Wendell "Frank" Welker is an American actor who specializes in voice acting and has contributed character voices and other vocal effects to American television and motion pictures.-Acting career:...
as Rexy
- Dee Bradley Baker
Dee Bradley Baker is an American voice actor. He is noted as his long-running-role as Klaus Heissler in American Dad! and other various characters including Squilliam Fancyson in the hit TV series SpongeBob SquarePants, Nightcrawler in X-Men: Legends and Marvel: Ultimate Alliance...
as Tutankamun
- Pierfrancesco Favino
Pierfrancesco Favino is an actor from Rome, Italy. He has appeared in 35 films and television series' since the early 1990s, including: L'ultimo bacio, Le chiavi di casa , La Sconosciuta or Saturno contro . Favino received the David di Donatello award in 2006 for his role in the film Romanzo...
as Christopher ColumbusChristopher Columbus was an explorer, colonizer, and navigator, born in the Republic of Genoa, in northwestern Italy. Under the auspices of the Catholic Monarchs of Spain, he completed four voyages across the Atlantic Ocean that led to general European awareness of the American continents in the...
- Brad Garrett
Bradley "Brad" Garrett is an American actor, voice actor, stand-up comedian, and professional poker player. Throughout he has appeared in numerous television and film roles....
as The Easter Island HeadMoai , or mo‘ai, are monolithic human figures carved from rock on the Chilean Polynesian island of Easter Island between the years 1250 and 1500. Nearly half are still at Rano Raraku, the main moai quarry, but hundreds were transported from there and set on stone platforms called ahu around the...
(Voice)
- Paul Rudd
Paul Stephen Rudd is an American actor and screenwriter. He has primarily appeared in comedies, and is known for his roles in the films Clueless, Wet Hot American Summer, Anchorman, Halloween: The Curse of Michael Myers, The 40-Year-Old Virgin, Knocked Up, Dinner for Schmucks, The Object of My...
as Don
- Anne Meara-Stiller
Anne Meara is an American actress and comedian. She and Jerry Stiller were a prominent 1960s comedy team, appearing as Stiller and Meara, and are the parents of actor/comedian Ben and actress Amy Stiller.- Personal life :...
(Ben Stiller's real-life mother) as Debbie
- Martin Christopher as Meriwether Lewis
Meriwether Lewis was an American explorer, soldier, and public administrator, best known for his role as the leader of the Lewis and Clark Expedition also known as the Corps of Discovery, with William Clark...
- Martin Sims as William Clark
- Ian Campbell as Painter
Songs
- "Friday Night
"Sorry's Not Good Enough"/"Friday Night" is the third single taken from British boyband McFly's third studio album, Motion in the Ocean. The single was released on 18 December 2006, entering the UK Singles Chart at #3 on 24 December 2006. "Friday Night" is the main theme for the film Night At The...
" - performed by McFly; not featured in American version of the film, but heard in some international cuts, used during the end credits. It can be heard on the American DVD on the Spanish dub.
- "September" - performed by Earth, Wind and Fire; used before the end credits where everyone in the museum is partying.
- "Weapon of Choice
"Star 69" and "Weapon of Choice" are two songs by English big beat musician Fatboy Slim, released as a double A-side single from his third studio album, Halfway Between the Gutter and the Stars. The single peaked at No. 10 on the UK Singles Chart....
" - performed by Fatboy SlimNorman Quentin Cook better known by his former stage name Fatboy Slim, is a British DJ, electronic dance music musician, and record producer. He is a pioneer of the big beat genre that achieved mainstream popularity in the 1990s...
; used in the scene where Larry returns to the museum for his second night and is preparing for the chaos.
- "Tonight" - performed by Keke Palmer
Lauren Keyana "Keke" Palmer is an American actress and singer who rose to fame for her performance in the 2006 film Akeelah and the Bee. She also starred as the title character in the Nickelodeon sitcom True Jackson, VP...
and ChamCham is a Grammy Award-nominated Jamaican recording artist, most well known for his 2006 single "Ghetto Story" from his major label debut album of the same name, a song which led to multiple "story" songs by other artists in a similar vein. He is currently signed to Atlantic Records, and was...
; used for the end credits (U.S. theatrical version only).
- "Eye of the Tiger
"Eye of the Tiger" is a single by American rock band Survivor, from their third album Eye of the Tiger. It was released as a single on May 29, 1982, the same year as the album. It was written at the request of actor Sylvester Stallone, who was unable to get permission for Queen's "Another One Bites...
" - performed by Ben Stiller; used in the scene where Larry is bored and messes around with the telephone at the front desk beatboxing the music.
- A Muzak
Elevator music refers to instrumental arrangements of popular music designed for playing in shopping malls, grocery stores, department stores, telephone systems , cruise ships, airports, doctors' and dentists' offices, and elevators...
version of "Mandy"Mandy", originally titled "Brandy", is a song jointly written and composed by Scott English and Richard Kerr."Brandy" had been a hit in 1971 for Scott English in the UK and in 1972 for Bunny Walters in New Zealand...
" by Barry ManilowBarry Manilow is an American singer-songwriter, musician, arranger, producer, conductor, and performer, best known for such recordings as "Could It Be Magic", "Mandy", "Can't Smile Without You", and "Copacabana ."...
is used when Larry is standing in the elevator, while escaping from Attila the Hun.
- "Ezekiel Saw Them Dry Bones
Dem Bones, Dry Bones or Dem Dry Bones is a well-known traditional spiritual song, used to teach basic anatomy to children. The melody was written by African-American author and songwriter James Weldon Johnson . Two versions of this traditional song are used widely, the second an abridgment of the...
" is the tune Larry whistles as he passes the empty T. Rex exhibit on his first night.
- "Camptown Races
Gwine to Run All Night, or De Camptown Races is a minstrel song by Stephen Foster . It was probably composed in Cincinnati in 1849, according to Richard Jackson, and published by F. D. Benteen of Baltimore, Maryland, in February 1850...
" by Stephen Foster is sung by the townspeople of the American West miniature diorama. This is a period-correct song.
- Alan Silvestri
Alan Anthony Silvestri is an American film composer and conductor.-Career:Silvestri is best known for his collaborations with director Robert Zemeckis, having scored Romancing the Stone , the Back to the Future trilogy , Who Framed Roger Rabbit , Death Becomes Her , Forrest Gump , Contact ,...
replaced John OttmanJohn Ottman is an American film editor, composer and director.He is best known for his collaborations with film director Bryan Singer, acting as film editor and composing the scores for The Usual Suspects, Apt Pupil, X2: X-Men United, Superman Returns and most recently...
as score composer. Silvestri's score was used for the teaser trailer of Horton Hears A Who!Horton Hears a Who!, also known as Dr. Seuss' Horton Hears a Who!, is a 2008 American CGI-animated comedy feature film based on the Dr. Seuss book of the same name. It is the fourth feature film from Blue Sky Studios, and the third feature film based on a Dr. Seuss book, following How the Grinch...
Critical reception
The film received mixed reviews from movie critics, receiving a 44% rating from noted critics and a 39% "Top Critics" rating, both meaning "rotten" at
Rotten TomatoesRotten Tomatoes is a website devoted to reviews, information, and news of films—widely known as a film review aggregator. Its name derives from the cliché of audiences throwing tomatoes and other vegetables at a poor stage performance...
and a 58/100 rating on
MetacriticMetacritic.com is a website that collates reviews of music albums, games, movies, TV shows and DVDs. For each product, a numerical score from each review is obtained and the total is averaged. An excerpt of each review is provided along with a hyperlink to the source. Three colour codes of Green,...
indicating mixed or average reviews. James Berardinelli of Reelviews gave it 2 stars out of 4, and commented on Stiller's performance by stating "It might be fair to give Ben Stiller an 'A' for effort, but to call what he does in this movie "acting" is a misnomer. He does a lot of running around, occasionally falling down or bumping into things." One positive review by William Arnold of the
Seattle Post-IntelligencerThe Seattle Post-Intelligencer is an online newspaper and former print newspaper covering Seattle, Washington, United States, and the surrounding metropolitan area...
, gave it a B-, and stated that the film was "Out to impress and delight a family audience with the pageantry of human and natural history, and that's a surprisingly worthy ambition for a Hollywood comedy."
However, it received a "fresh" 65% from the RT community.
In a case of
life imitating art-The Philosophical Position:Anti-mimesis is a philosophical position that holds the direct opposite of mimesis. Its most notable proponent is Oscar Wilde, who held in his 1889 essay The Decay of Lying that "Life imitates Art far more than Art imitates Life"...
, museum officials at the
American Museum of Natural HistoryThe American Museum of Natural History , located on the Upper West Side of Manhattan in New York City, United States, is one of the largest and most celebrated museums in the world...
have credited the film for increasing the number of visitors during the holiday season by almost 20%. According to a museum official, between December 22, 2006, and January 2, 2007, there were 50,000 more visitors than during the same period the prior year.
Box office
Night at the Museum was the highest grossing film in its opening weekend, grossing $30.8 million in 3,685 theaters. For the four-day Christmas holiday weekend, it took in $42.2 million. The movie was also released in
IMAXIMAX is a motion picture film format and a set of proprietary cinema projection standards created by the Canadian company IMAX Corporation. IMAX has the capacity to record and display images of far greater size and resolution than conventional film systems...
large screen format, often on site at museums of science or natural history such as the
Pacific Science CenterThe Pacific Science Center is a science museum in Seattle, Washington.-Organization:Pacific Science Center is an independent, non-profit science museum based in Seattle, Washington...
in Seattle.
In its second weekend,
Night at the Museum expanded into eighty-three more theaters and took in approximately $37.8 million at the box-office, out-grossing its opening weekend. It maintained its #1 position in its third week, with an additional $24 million. In total, as of Monday, April 30, 2007, the film had grossed $571,069,550: $250,224,440 in the U.S. and Canada, and $320,845,110 in the rest of the world.
DVD release
The film was released on a 2-Disc DVD edition in the United Kingdom on April 2, 2007. It was released on 1-Disc and 2-Disc
DVDA DVD is an optical disc storage media format, invented and developed by Philips, Sony, Toshiba, and Panasonic in 1995. DVDs offer higher storage capacity than Compact Discs while having the same dimensions....
editions and
Blu-ray DiscBlu-ray Disc is an optical disc storage medium designed to supersede the DVD format. The plastic disc is 120 mm in diameter and 1.2 mm thick, the same size as DVDs and CDs. Blu-ray Discs contain 25 GB per layer, with dual layer discs being the norm for feature-length video discs...
format on April 24, 2007 elsewhere.
The film became the first non-Disney film to be reviewed by
Ultimate DisneyThe Ultimate Guide to Disney DVD is a website dedicated to covering Walt Disney home video releases with a focus on Disney DVD and Blu-ray. The site has been online since 2001 and acquired its own domain and online forum in 2003...
, due to the website dealing with other studios besides
DisneyThe Walt Disney Company is the largest media conglomerate in the world in terms of revenue. Founded on October 16, 1923, by Walt and Roy Disney as the Disney Brothers Cartoon Studio, Walt Disney Productions established itself as a leader in the American animation industry before diversifying into...
.
External links