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Night at the Museum
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Wikipedia article
{{Infobox film
| name = Night at the Museum
| image = Night at the Museum poster.jpg
| alt =
| caption = Theatrical release poster
| director = Shawn Levy
| producer =
| screenplay =
| based_on =
| starring =
| music = Alan Silvestri
| cinematography = Guillermo Navarro
| editing = Don Zimmerman
| studio =
| distributor = 20th Century Fox
| released =
| runtime = 104 minutes
| country =
| language = English
| budget = $110 million[https://www.the-numbers.com/movie/Night-at-the-Museum#tab=summary Night at the Museum (2006)]
| gross = $574.5 million
}}
'Night at the Museum' is a 2006 fantasy comedy film directed by Shawn Levy and written by Robert Ben Garant and Thomas Lennon. It is based on the 1993 children's book of the same name by Croatian illustrator Milan Trenc. The film had an ensemble cast of Ben Stiller in the lead role, Carla Gugino, Dick Van Dyke, Mickey Rooney, Bill Cobbs, and Robin Williams. It tells the story of a divorced father who applies for a job as a night watchman at New York City's American Museum of Natural History and subsequently discovers that the exhibits, animated by a magical Egyptian artifact, come to life at night. 20th Century Fox released the film on December 22, 2006, and it grossed $574.5 million worldwide, becoming the 5th highest-grossing film of 2006, but received mixed reviews from critics.
Two sequels were released: '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', is also scheduled to be released in 2022 for the streaming service Disney+.
Plot
In Brooklyn, Larry Daley's unstable work history makes his ex-wife, Erica, consider him a bad example to their ten-year-old son, Nick. Larry worries that Nick admires Erica's boyfriend Don more than him. To improve his financial stability, Larry applies for a job as night security guard at the Museum of Natural History. Retiring guard Cecil Fredericks hires Larry, despite his unpromising rsum. The museum, facing declining attendance and revenue, is replacing Cecil and his two colleagues, Gus and Reginald, with only one guard. Cecil gives Larry an instruction manual on museum security and warns him not to let anything "in... or out".
On his first night, Larry discovers that after sunset, the exhibits come to life, including a playful 'Tyrannosaurus' skeleton nicknamed "Rexy"; a mischievous stuffed capuchin monkey named Dexter; various African animals; rival miniature civilizations portraying the Old West, Ancient Rome, and Ancient Maya; an Easter Island Moai obsessed with chewing gum; wax models of various historical figures, including the violent Attila the Hun; an army of American Civil War soldiers, and four pyromaniacal Neanderthals. There is also Sacagawea, who, unlike the other exhibits, is encased in glass. A mounted Teddy Roosevelt rescues Larry from miniature leaders Jedediah and Octavius, who are attacking him. Teddy explains that ever since an ancient Egyptian artifact the Golden Tablet of Pharaoh Ahkmenrah was brought to the museum in 1952, the exhibits have come to life each night. If any exhibit figure is outside the museum at sunrise, they turn to dust. As Teddy helps Larry restore order, Larry learns that Teddy loves Sacagawea but is too shy to speak to her through the glass.
The next morning, Cecil, Reginald, and Gus return to check on Larry, but Larry says he is quitting. When Nick and Don stop by the museum to congratulate Larry on his new job, Larry decides to stay for his son's sake. To help him with the job, Cecil advises reading up on history.
That night, Larry better controls the exhibits, but the four Neanderthals set their display on fire while Dexter steals Larry's keys. As Larry extinguishes the fire, Dexter unlocks a window. One of the Neanderthals sees a trash bin fire on the street below and leaps out the window. Larry, frustrated with everything going awry, once again decides to quit. As he walks out, the Christopher Columbus statue gestures to where the Neanderthal escaped. Larry runs outside just as the rising sun disintegrates the Neanderthal into dust. Later that morning, museum director Dr. McPhee fires Larry over the damaged Neanderthal exhibit, though Larry convinces him to reconsider. Larry meets Rebecca Hutman, an attractive museum guide and historian. When he offers to introduce her to Sacagawea to help with her doctoral research, Rebecca believes Larry is mocking her.
One night, Larry brings Nick to the museum to show him the exhibits, but nothing comes to life. They discover Cecil, Gus, and Reginald stealing the tablet and other valuable artifacts. They have disabled the tablet to prevent the exhibits from interfering. Like the exhibits, the guards receive enhanced vitality from the tablet and intend to frame Larry for the thefts. Larry has Nick reactivate the tablet, then tells him to run and hide. After a chase, Cecil locks up Nick and Larry in the Egyptian room and steals back the tablet. Larry releases Ahkmenrah's mummy from his sarcophagus. The pharaoh then helps Larry and Nick escape. When the three find the other exhibits fighting each other, Larry convinces them to unite to catch the guards and recover the tablet.
The Civil War soldiers, Neanderthals, and Christopher Columbus capture Gus and Reginald. Cecil escapes in a stagecoach and is about to run over Sacagawea. Teddy pushes her aside but he is run over and sliced in half. Larry, Nick, Ahkmenrah, Jed, Octavius, Rexy, and Attila pursue Cecil to Central Park, where they stop him and regain the tablet. Sacagawea repairs Teddy with warm wax. Rebecca arrives and sees the exhibits returning to the museum before sunrise and realizes the truth. The next day, McPhee fires Larry after news reports about strange events happening around the museum such as cave paintings in the museum's subway station, dinosaur tracks in Central Park, and cavemen sightings. However, when the publicity significantly increases the museum's attendance, McPhee rehires Larry. That night, Larry, Nick, and the exhibits celebrate.
During the end credits, Cecil, Gus and Reginald are seen working as the museum janitors as punishment for their crimes.
Cast
Humans
* Ben Stiller as Lawrence "Larry" Daley, a night-shift security guard at the American Museum of Natural History in New York, Nick's father, and Erica's former husband.* Carla Gugino as Rebecca Hutman, a museum docent.
* Dick Van Dyke as Cecil Fredericks, a veteran security guard.
* Mickey Rooney as Gus, a veteran security guard, who takes an instant dislike to Larry.
* Bill Cobbs as Reginald, a veteran security guard.
* Jake Cherry as Nicholas "Nick" Daley, Larry's and Erica's son.
* Ricky Gervais as Dr. McPhee, the curator of the Museum of Natural History and Larry's boss.
* Kim Raver as Erica Daley, Larry's former wife and Nick's mother.
* Charlie Murphy as the taxi-driver.
* Paul Rudd as Don, Erica's fianc.
* Anne Meara as Debbie.
Exhibits
* Robin Williams as a wax model of Theodore Roosevelt, an exhibit who befriends Larry.* Patrick Gallagher as a wax model of Attila the Hun, an exhibit who antagonizes Larry at first.
* Rami Malek as the mummy of Ahkmenrah, a pharaoh who is the owner of the tablet.
* Pierfrancesco Favino as a bronze statue of Christopher Columbus, an Italian-speaking exhibit whose name Larry consistently forgets.
* Steve Coogan as Octavius, a miniature Roman general figure.
* Mizuo Peck as a polyurethane wax model of Sacagawea. Theodore Roosevelt develops a crush on her.
* Owen Wilson as Jedediah, a miniature cowboy figure (uncredited and only credited in the rest of the film series)
* Kerry van der Griend, Dan Rizzuto, Matthew Harrison, and Jody Racicot as the wax models of Neanderthals
* Martin Christopher as a wax model Meriwether Lewis
* Martin Sims as a wax model of William Clark
* Randy Lee, Darryl Quon, Gerald Wong, and Paul Chih-Ping Cheng as the wax models of the Huns
* Brad Garrett as the voice of the Easter Island Head
* Crystal the Monkey as Dexter, a stuffed Capuchin monkey
Production
The building featured in the film, which was constructed on a sound stage in Burnaby, British Columbia, is based on the American Museum of Natural History 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 Levy 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."
Music
Songs
in the 'Mission: Impossible' films to learn how to imitate his running technique, shown here as Stiller portraying his film character running from the 'Tyrannosaurus rex' skeleton (Rexy).* "Friday Night" - 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" - performed by Fatboy Slim; 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 featuring Cham; used for the end credits.
* An instrumental version of "Mandy" by Barry Manilow is used when Larry is standing in the elevator, while escaping from Attila the Hun.
* "Ezekiel Saw Them Dry Bones" is the tune Larry whistles as he passes the empty 'T. rex' exhibit on his first night.
* "Camptown Races" by Stephen Foster is sung by the townspeople of the American West miniature diorama. This is a period-correct song.
Score
Alan Silvestri replaced John Ottman as score composer. Silvestri's score was used for the teaser trailer of 'Horton Hears a Who!'Track list
Varse Sarabande released a soundtrack album of the score on December 19, 2006.
Release
'Night at the Museum' had its premiere in New York City on December 17, 2006. It was later released on December 22, 2006 in the United States, December 26, 2006 in UK, January 12, 2007 in Brazil, on February 14, 2007 in China and on March 17, 2007 in Japan.
Reception
Box office
At the end of its box office run, 'Night at the Museum' earned a gross of $250.9 million in the US and Canada and $323.6 million in other territories, for a worldwide total of $574.5 million. It was the fifth highest-grossing film of 2006 and also the highest-grossing film worldwide of the trilogy.It was the highest-grossing film in its opening weekend, grossing $30.8 million and playing in 3,685 theaters, with a $8,258 per-theater average. For the four-day Christmas holiday weekend, it took in $42.2 million. The movie was also released in IMAX large screen format, often on site at museums of science or natural history such as the Pacific Science Center in Seattle.
In its second weekend, 'Night at the Museum' expanded into 83 more theaters for a total of 3,768, and took in approximately $36.7 million, out-grossing its opening weekend. It maintained the top position in its third week, with an additional $23.7 million.
During its international opening weekend of December 22, 2006, the film grossed a figure of estimated $5 million, with the highest debut coming from South Korea ($5.04 million). The biggest market in the other territories were the UK, Japan, South Korea, and Germany, where it grossed $40.8 million, $30 million, $25.7 million, $22.9 million.
Critical response
On the review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, 'Night at the Museum' has an approval rating of 44% based on 140 reviews and an average rating of 5.30/10. The site's critical consensus read, "Parents might call this either a spectacle-filled adventure or a shallow and vapid CG-fest, depending on whether they choose to embrace this on the same level as their kids." , on Metacritic, the film had a score of 48 out of 100 based on 28 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews". CinemaScore polls conducted during the opening weekend, cinema audiences gave the film an average grade of "A" on an A+ to F scale.Justin Chang of Variety magazine wrote: "This rambunctious, "Jumanji"-style extravaganza is a gallery of special effects in search of a story; rarely has so much production value yielded so little in terms of audience engagement." 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-Intelligencer', 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."
Museum officials at the American Museum of Natural History 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.
Home media
The film was released on a 2-Disc DVD edition in the United Kingdom on April 23, 2007. It was released on 1-Disc and 2-Disc DVD editions and Blu-ray Disc format on April 24, 2007 elsewhere.The film became the first non-Disney film to be reviewed by Ultimate Disney (now known as DVDizzy.com), due to the website dealing with other studios besides Disney.
, the film has sold 9,191,694 DVDs and grossed $153,566,058 in DVD sales.
Awards
Sequels
'Night at the Museum' was followed by a sequel titled 'Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian', which was released on May 22, 2009 in North America. A third film, 'Night at the Museum: Secret of the Tomb', was released on December 19, 2014 in North America.
In 2016, 'The Hollywood Reporter' stated that the Alibaba Pictures Group intended to remake the film. On August 6, 2019, following the purchase of 21st Century Fox and its assets by The Walt Disney Company, Disney CEO Bob Iger announced that a fully animated sequel of 'Night at the Museum' is in development. The project will be released as a Disney+ exclusive film, as a co-production between Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures and 20th Century Studios.[https://www.thehindu.com/entertainment/movies/disney-looking-to-reboot-home-alone-night-at-the-museum-films-for-disney/article28853464.ece Disney is rebooting Movies from the past.]
In October 2020, the movie was officially titled 'Night at the Museum: Kahmunrah Rises Again', with production beginning on November 2, 2020, and Shawn Levy serving as executive producer. While the majority of the original cast were initially not expected to return.
References
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