Night at the Museum facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Night at the Museum |
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Theatrical release poster
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| Directed by | Shawn Levy |
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| Screenplay by |
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| Starring | |
| Music by | Alan Silvestri |
| Cinematography | Guillermo Navarro |
| Editing by | Don Zimmerman |
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| Distributed by | 20th Century Fox |
| Release date(s) | December 17, 2006 (New York City) December 22, 2006 (United States) |
| Running time | 104 minutes |
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| Language | English |
| Budget | $110 million |
| Money made | $574.5 million |
Night at the Museum is a fun fantasy comedy film from 2006. Shawn Levy directed it, and Robert Ben Garant and Thomas Lennon wrote the story. The movie is based on a children's book called The Night at the Museum by Croatian artist Milan Trenc.
The film stars Ben Stiller as the main character, along with Carla Gugino, Dick Van Dyke, Mickey Rooney, Bill Cobbs, and Robin Williams. It tells the story of a dad who gets a job as a night watchman at the American Museum of Natural History in New York City. He soon finds out that the museum exhibits magically come to life every night! This happens because of a special Egyptian artifact.
20th Century Fox released the movie on December 22, 2006. It made a lot of money, earning $574.5 million around the world. This made it the 5th highest-grossing film of 2006.
Two sequels followed this movie: Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian in 2009 and Night at the Museum: Secret of the Tomb in 2014. An animated sequel, Night at the Museum: Kahmunrah Rises Again, was also released in 2022 on Disney+.
Contents
The Story of Night at the Museum
Larry Daley lives in Brooklyn and has trouble keeping a job. His ex-wife, Erica, worries about his son, Nick, because of this. Larry feels that Nick looks up to Erica's new boyfriend, Don, more than him. To earn more money, Larry applies for a job as a night security guard. He gets hired at the American Museum of Natural History.
The museum is losing visitors and money. So, they are replacing the three old guards, Cecil, Gus, and Reginald, with just one new guard. Cecil gives Larry a rule book and tells him not to let anything "in... or out."
First Night at the Museum
On his very first night, Larry discovers something amazing. After the sun sets, all the museum exhibits come to life!
- There's a playful Tyrannosaurus skeleton, nicknamed "Rexy."
- A naughty stuffed capuchin monkey named Dexter.
- Many African animals.
- Tiny miniature people from the Old West, Ancient Rome, and the Ancient Maya.
- An Easter Island Moai statue that loves chewing gum.
- Wax models of famous historical figures, like the fierce Attila the Hun.
- An army of American Civil War soldiers.
- Four Neanderthals who love fire.
There is also Sacagawea, a Native American guide, who stays in her glass display. A wax model of Teddy Roosevelt helps Larry. Teddy explains that an ancient Egyptian artifact, the Golden Tablet of Pharaoh Ahkmenrah, makes the exhibits come alive. This has happened every night since 1952. If any exhibit is outside the museum when the sun rises, they turn to dust.
Teddy helps Larry control the exhibits. Larry learns that Teddy likes Sacagawea but is too shy to talk to her through the glass.
Larry's Challenges and Discoveries
The next morning, the old guards check on Larry. Larry says he wants to quit. But when Nick and Don visit the museum to congratulate Larry, Larry decides to stay for his son. Cecil tells Larry to read history books to help him with the job.
That night, Larry tries to control the exhibits better. But the Neanderthals set their display on fire. Dexter the monkey steals Larry's keys. Larry puts out the fire, and Dexter unlocks a window. One Neanderthal sees a trash fire outside and jumps out! Larry is very frustrated and decides to quit again. As he leaves, the Christopher Columbus statue points to where the Neanderthal escaped. Larry runs outside just as the sun rises, and the Neanderthal turns to dust.
Later that morning, the museum director, Dr. McPhee, fires Larry. Larry convinces him to give him another chance. Larry then meets Rebecca Huntman, a museum guide and historian. Larry offers to introduce her to Sacagawea for her research. Rebecca thinks Larry is making fun of her.
The Tablet's Secret and the Final Chase
One night, Larry brings Nick to the museum to show him the exhibits. But nothing comes to life. They find Cecil, Gus, and Reginald stealing the tablet and other valuable items. The old guards turned off the tablet's magic so the exhibits couldn't stop them. The guards also get their energy from the tablet and plan to blame Larry for the thefts.
Larry tells Nick to reactivate the tablet, then hide. After a chase, Cecil locks Larry and Nick in the Egyptian room. He takes the tablet back. Larry releases Ahkmenrah's mummy from his sarcophagus. The pharaoh helps Larry and Nick escape. They find the exhibits fighting each other. Larry convinces them to work together to catch the guards and get the tablet back.
The Civil War soldiers, Neanderthals, and Christopher Columbus capture Gus and Reginald. Cecil escapes in a stagecoach and almost runs over Sacagawea. Teddy pushes her away but gets run over and cut in half. Larry, Nick, Ahkmenrah, Jedediah, Octavius, Rexy, and Attila chase Cecil to Central Park. They stop him and get the tablet back. Sacagawea fixes Teddy with warm wax.
Rebecca arrives and sees the exhibits rushing back into the museum before sunrise. She finally understands the truth. The next day, Dr. McPhee fires Larry again. News reports are talking about strange things happening: cave paintings in the subway station, dinosaur tracks in Central Park, and cavemen sightings. However, these strange events make many more people visit the museum. So, McPhee hires Larry back! That night, Larry, Nick, and all the exhibits celebrate.
During the end credits, Cecil, Gus, and Reginald are seen working as museum janitors. This is their punishment for trying to steal the tablet.
Meet the Characters
Human Characters
- Ben Stiller as Lawrence "Larry" Daley: He is the new night security guard at the American Museum of Natural History. He is Nick's father.
- Carla Gugino as Rebecca Hutman: A museum docent (guide) and historian.
- Dick Van Dyke as Cecil Fredericks: An experienced security guard who is retiring.
- Mickey Rooney as Gus: Another veteran security guard who doesn't like Larry at first.
- Bill Cobbs as Reginald: The third veteran security guard.
- Jake Cherry as Nicholas "Nick" Daley: Larry's son.
- Ricky Gervais as Dr. McPhee: The museum's director and Larry's boss.
- Kim Raver as Erica Daley: Larry's ex-wife and Nick's mother.
- Paul Rudd as Don: Erica's fiancé.
Museum Exhibits That Come to Life
- Robin Williams as Theodore Roosevelt: A wax model of the former U.S. President. He becomes Larry's friend and helps him.
- Patrick Gallagher as Attila the Hun: A wax model who is scary at first but later helps Larry.
- Rami Malek as Ahkmenrah: The mummy of an ancient pharaoh. He owns the magical tablet.
- Pierfrancesco Favino as Christopher Columbus: A bronze statue of the explorer. Larry often forgets his name.
- Steve Coogan as Octavius: A miniature Roman general figure.
- Mizuo Peck as Sacagawea: A wax model of the famous Native American guide. Teddy Roosevelt has a crush on her.
- Owen Wilson as Jedediah: A miniature cowboy figure.
- Kerry van der Griend, Dan Rizzuto, Matthew Harrison, and Jody Racicot as the Neanderthals: Wax models of cavemen.
- Brad Garrett as the voice of the Easter Island Head: A giant stone head that loves chewing gum.
- Crystal the Monkey as Dexter: A stuffed Capuchin monkey who is very mischievous.
Making the Movie
The museum building in the film was built on a special set in Burnaby, British Columbia. It looks just like the real American Museum of Natural History in New York City. The outside shots of the museum in the movie are of the actual building.
Trainers worked for many weeks with Crystal, the monkey who plays Dexter. They taught her to slap and bite Ben Stiller for the movie scenes.
Director Shawn Levy said that having Ben Stiller in the movie helped them get so many great actors. He explained that actors want to work with Ben Stiller because he is so talented.
Awards and Recognition
Night at the Museum received several nominations and awards:
- It was nominated for a Saturn Award for Best Fantasy Film.
- Alan Silvestri won an ASCAP Award for his music in the film.
- The casting directors, Ilene Starger, Coreen Mayrs, and Heike Brandstatter, won an Artios award for Best Feature Film Casting - Comedy.
- The movie was nominated for Favorite Movie at the Kids' Choice Awards.
- Ben Stiller was nominated for Best Comedic Performance at the MTV Movie Awards.
- It was also nominated for a National Movie Award for Best Comedy.
- Ben Stiller was nominated for Choice Movie Actor: Comedy at the Teen Choice Awards.
- Jake Cherry, who played Nick, was nominated for a Young Artist Award for Best Performance by a Young Actor.
More Museum Adventures
The success of Night at the Museum led to more movies in the series.
- A sequel called Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian came out on May 22, 2009.
- A third film, Night at the Museum: Secret of the Tomb, was released on December 19, 2014.
In 2019, Disney announced that a new animated sequel was being made. This movie would be released only on Disney+. In October 2020, the animated movie was officially named Night at the Museum: Kahmunrah Rises Again. Shawn Levy returned as an executive producer for this animated film.
Images for kids
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Ben Stiller said he watched Tom Cruise in the Mission: Impossible movies to learn how to run like him. Here, Stiller runs from the Tyrannosaurus rex skeleton (Rexy).
See also
In Spanish: Night at the Museum para niños
