''Night at the Museum'' is a mixed

live action Live action (or live-action) is a form of cinematography or videography that uses photography instead of animation. Some works combine live-action with animation to create a live-action animated film. Live-action is used to define film, video ...

and

computer-animated Computer animation is the process used for digitally generating animations. The more general term computer-generated imagery (CGI) encompasses both static scenes (still images) and dynamic images (moving images), while computer animation refer ...

American

media franchise A media franchise, also known as a multimedia franchise, is a collection of related media in which several derivative works have been produced from an original creative work of fiction, such as a film, a work of literature, a television program ...

fantasy Fantasy is a genre of speculative fiction involving magical elements, typically set in a fictional universe and sometimes inspired by mythology and folklore. Its roots are in oral traditions, which then became fantasy literature and d ...

comedy films A comedy film is a category of film which emphasizes humor. These films are designed to make the audience laugh through amusement. Films in this style traditionally have a happy ending (black comedy being an exception). Comedy is one of the olde ...

based on the 1993

children's book Children's literature or juvenile literature includes stories, books, magazines, and poems that are created for children. Modern children's literature is classified in two different ways: genre or the intended age of the reader. Children's ...

The Night at the Museum ''The Night at the Museum'', published in 1993, is a children's picture book written and illustrated by Croatian illustrator Milan Trenc. This book is Trenc's best known title, and in 2006 was adapted as a feature film titled ''Night at the Museu ...

'' by Milan Trenc, are directed by

Shawn Levy Shawn Adam Levy (born July 23, 1968) is a Canadian film director, film producer, actor, and founder of 21 Laps Entertainment. He has worked across genres and is perhaps best known as the director of the '' Night at the Museum'' film franchise an ...

and written by Robert Ben Garant and Thomas Lennon. Starring Ben Stiller as a museum night security guard named Larry Daley, the first three films also star an

ensemble cast In a dramatic production, an ensemble cast is one that is composed of multiple principal actors and performers who are typically assigned roughly equal amounts of screen time.Random House: ensemble acting Linked 2013-07-17 Structure In contrast t ...

featuring

Robin Williams Robin McLaurin Williams (July 21, 1951August 11, 2014) was an American actor and comedian. Known for his improvisational skills and the wide variety of characters he created on the spur of the moment and portrayed on film, in dramas and come ...

Owen Wilson Owen Cunningham Wilson (born November 18, 1968) is an American actor. He has had a long association with filmmaker Wes Anderson with whom he shared writing and acting credits for ''Bottle Rocket'' (1996), '' Rushmore'' (1998), and '' The Royal ...

Ricky Gervais Ricky Dene Gervais ( ; born 25 June 1961) is an English comedian, actor, writer, and director. He co-created, co-wrote, and acted in the British television sitcoms ''The Office'' (2001–2003), '' Extras'' (2005–2007), and ''An Idiot Abroad'' ...

Steve Coogan Stephen John Coogan (; born 14 October 1965) is an English actor, comedian, producer and screenwriter. He is most known for creating original characters such as Alan Partridge, a socially inept and politically incorrect media personality, whi ...

, Patrick Gallagher,

Rami Malek Rami Said Malek (; , ; born May 12, 1981) is an American actor. He is known for portraying computer hacker Elliot Alderson in the USA Network television series ''Mr. Robot'' (2015–2019), for which he received the Primetime Emmy Award for Outs ...

Mizuo Peck Mizuo Peck (born August 18, 1977) is an American actress. She is best known for playing Sacagawea in the ''Night at the Museum'' film series. Life and career Peck was born and raised in New York. Her father was from Hamden, Connecticut. As a ch ...

Mickey Rooney Mickey Rooney (born Joseph Yule Jr.; other pseudonym Mickey Maguire; September 23, 1920 – April 6, 2014) was an American actor. In a career spanning nine decades, he appeared in more than 300 films and was among the last surviving stars of the ...

, Bill Cobbs, and

Dick Van Dyke Richard Wayne Van Dyke (born December 13, 1925) is an American actor, entertainer and comedian. His award-winning career has spanned seven decades in film, television, and stage. Van Dyke began his career as an entertainer on radio and telev ...

, while the

video game Video games, also known as computer games, are electronic games that involves interaction with a user interface or input device such as a joystick, controller, keyboard, or motion sensing device to generate visual feedback. This feedba ...

and fourth film feature a recast ensemble of voice actors.

Films

''Night at the Museum'' (2006)

When Larry Daley ( Ben Stiller), a divorced father who was having trouble finding a job, applies for a job at the

American Museum of Natural History The American Museum of Natural History (abbreviated as AMNH) is a natural history museum on the Upper West Side of Manhattan in New York City. In Theodore Roosevelt Park, across the street from Central Park, the museum complex comprises 26 int ...

, he is assigned as a night guard. However, a seemingly easy job turns out to be a wild ride when he finds that an ancient spell has caused the exhibits of the museum to come to life.

''Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian'' (2009)

Three years after the previous film, several of the exhibits are transferred to the Smithsonian in Washington, D.C., and Dexter the monkey steals the tablet of Ahkmenrah. Larry must break in and team up with his old friends, and new ally

Amelia Earhart Amelia Mary Earhart ( , born July 24, 1897; disappeared July 2, 1937; declared dead January 5, 1939) was an American aviation pioneer and writer. Earhart was the first female aviator to fly solo across the Atlantic Ocean. She set many oth ...

, to get it back from Ahkmenrah's resurrected evil older brother Kahmunrah before morning.

''Night at the Museum: Secret of the Tomb'' (2014)

Five years after the previous film, Larry discovers that the tablet of Ahkmenrah's magic is failing. He and his now-teenage son Nick, along with

Teddy Roosevelt Theodore Roosevelt Jr. ( ; October 27, 1858 – January 6, 1919), often referred to as Teddy or by his initials, T. R., was an American politician, statesman, soldier, conservationist, naturalist, historian, and writer who served as the 26t ...

Sacagawea Sacagawea ( or ; also spelled Sakakawea or Sacajawea; May – December 20, 1812 or April 9, 1884).e., present-day Gibbons Pass A week later, on July 13, Sacagawea advised Clark to cross into the Yellowstone River basin at what is now known a ...

, Jedediah, Octavius, Dexter,

Attila the Hun Attila (, ; ), frequently called Attila the Hun, was the ruler of the Huns from 434 until his death in March 453. He was also the leader of a tribal empire consisting of Huns, Ostrogoths, Alans, and Bulgars, among others, in Central and E ...

, and a new caveman figure named Laaa (who looks like Larry) travel to the

British Museum The British Museum is a public museum dedicated to human history, art and culture located in the Bloomsbury area of London. Its permanent collection of eight million works is among the largest and most comprehensive in existence. It docum ...

in London to undo the curse, with the help of Ahkmenrah's parents and the narcissistic Sir Lancelot of Camelot, before the tablet's magic disappears forever.

''Night at the Museum: Kahmunrah Rises Again'' (2022)

In August 2019, following the purchase of 21st Century Fox and its assets by The Walt Disney Company, Disney CEO

Bob Iger Robert Allen Iger (; born February 10, 1951) is an American businessman who is the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of The Walt Disney Company. He previously served as the President of ABC Television between 1994 and 1995 and the President and C ...

announced that a fully animated sequel of ''Night at the Museum'' is in development. The project will be released as a

Disney+ Disney+ is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service owned and operated by the Media and Entertainment Distribution division of The Walt Disney Company. The service primarily distributes films and television se ...

exclusive film, as a production by

Walt Disney Pictures Walt Disney Pictures is an American film production company and subsidiary of Walt Disney Studios, which is owned by The Walt Disney Company. The studio is the flagship producer of live-action feature films within the Walt Disney Studios unit ...

. In October 2020, the movie was officially titled ''Night at the Museum: Kahmunrah Rises Again''. The project is traditionally animated and was scheduled to be released in 2021. The plot centers around Larry's son, Nick, who is hesitant to follow in his father's footsteps as nightwatchman. In addition to Nick and the titular villain, the movie will also feature returning characters: Jedediah, Octavius, Teddy Roosevelt and Sacagawea with the addition of

Joan of Arc Joan of Arc (french: link=yes, Jeanne d'Arc, translit= �an daʁk} ; 1412 – 30 May 1431) is a patron saint of France, honored as a defender of the French nation for her role in the siege of Orléans and her insistence on the coronat ...

. Production began on November 2, 2020. Shawn Levy will serve as executive producer, but the majority of the original cast were initially not expected to return. In August 2021, the film was delayed to a 2022 release date. In September 2022,

Matt Danner Matthew Thomas Danner (born June 30, 1981) is an American animator, screenwriter, storyboard artist, director, producer and voice actor. His credits include work on '' The Ripping Friends'', '' ¡Mucha Lucha!'', '' The Looney Tunes Show'', '' X ...

revealed he was directing the film; he previously was the creator and showrunner of the Disney animated show ''

Legend of the Three Caballeros ''Legend of the Three Caballeros'' is an animated television series based on the 1944 animated Disney film ''The Three Caballeros'' and features the characters Donald Duck, José Carioca and Panchito Pistoles. It was first released in 2018 in th ...

'' (2018). The film was released on December 9, 2022.

Main cast and characters

Additional crew and production details

Reception

Box office

Critical and public response

The franchise has received mixed reviews from critics.

Video game

In April and May 2009, '' Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian – The Video Game'', an action-adventure

adaptation of the feature film of the same name, developed by

Amaze Entertainment Foundation 9 Entertainment, Inc. was an American video game company based in Irvine, California. The company was formed in March 2005 through the merger of video game developers Backbone Entertainment and The Collective. History Foundatio ...

and

Pipeworks Software Pipeworks Studios is an American video game developer based in Eugene, Oregon. The company was founded in November 1999 by Dan White and Dan Duncalf and works to provide full development, co-development, and live operations to video game publis ...

, was published by

Majesco Entertainment Majesco Entertainment Company (formerly Majesco Sales Inc.) is an American video game publisher and distributor based in Hazlet, New Jersey. The company was founded as Majesco Sales in Edison, New Jersey in 1986, and was a privately held com ...

BlackBerry The blackberry is an edible fruit produced by many species in the genus ''Rubus'' in the family Rosaceae, hybrids among these species within the subgenus ''Rubus'', and hybrids between the subgenera ''Rubus'' and ''Idaeobatus''. The taxonomy ...

Wii The Wii ( ) is a home video game console developed and marketed by Nintendo. It was released on November 19, 2006, in North America and in December 2006 for most other regions of the world. It is Nintendo's fifth major home game console, ...

Microsoft Windows Windows is a group of several proprietary graphical operating system families developed and marketed by Microsoft. Each family caters to a certain sector of the computing industry. For example, Windows NT for consumers, Windows Server for ...

Nintendo DS The is a handheld game console produced by Nintendo, released globally across 2004 and 2005. The DS, an initialism for "Developers' System" or "Dual Screen", introduced distinctive new features to handheld games: two LCD screens working in t ...

, and

Xbox 360 The Xbox 360 is a home video game console developed by Microsoft. As the successor to the original Xbox, it is the second console in the Xbox series. It competed with Sony's PlayStation 3 and Nintendo's Wii as part of the seventh generati ...

. Ben Stiller reprises his role in the film as the voice of Larry Daley.

Stage

In April 2020,

Alan Menken Alan Irwin Menken (born July 22, 1949) is an American composer, best known for his scores and songs for films produced by Walt Disney Animation Studios. His scores and songs for '' The Little Mermaid'' (1989), '' Beauty and the Beast'' (1991), ' ...

revealed that he is working as lyricist and composer for a stage musical adaptation of ''Night at the Museum''. On September 11, 2020, ''Night at the Museum'' director

revealed that he is also working on the musical, which has been in development for "a year and a half" by that point. Work on the musical had to be done remotely through Zoom due to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identi ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Night At The Museum Film series introduced in 2006 20th Century Studios franchises Comedy film series American fantasy adventure films Cultural depictions of Theodore Roosevelt Films about Theodore Roosevelt Cultural depictions of Attila the Hun Fiction about neanderthals Trilogies Night at the Museum American Museum of Natural History