Night at the Museum

Night at the Museum
First promotional poster for the film
Directed by	Shawn Levy
Written by	Ben Garant Thomas Lennon
Produced by	Chris Columbus Stephen Sommers Bob Ducsay
Starring	Ben Stiller Robin Williams Dick Van Dyke Owen Wilson Mickey Rooney Bill Cobbs
Cinematography	Guillermo Navarro
Music by	Alan Silvestri
Distributed by	20th Century Fox
Release dates	December 22, 2006
Running time	Theatrical: 108 minutes
Country	USA
Language	English
Budget	over $110,000,000

Night at the Museum is a 2006 American adventure comedy film. It is based on The Night at the Museum, a 1993 children's book by Milan Trenc. It follows a divorced father trying to settle down, impress his son, and find his destiny. He 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.

Released on December 22, 2006, the film was written by Ben Garant and Thomas Lennon of Comedy Central's Reno 911! and MTV's The State and directed by Shawn Levy. The cast includes Ben Stiller, Robin Williams, Dick Van Dyke, Mickey Rooney, Bill Cobbs, Ricky Gervais, Carla Gugino, Steve Coogan, and Owen Wilson. A new novelization of the screenplay by Leslie Goldman was published as a movie tie-in.

Plot

Larry Daley (Ben Stiller) is a divorced father who is constantly unable to keep a stable job, the bulk of them being failed business ventures. He is desperate to win the support of his son Nick (Jake Cherry), whom he fears is beginning to look up to his more successful soon-to-be stepfather (Paul Rudd), a bond trader on Wall Street. After being fired from his last job, he applies for a job at the Museum of Natural History, and is assigned as a night guard.

The three older, and soon to be unemployed, night guards, Cecil (Dick Van Dyke), Gus (Mickey Rooney), and Reginald (Bill Cobbs), give him a quick tour, advise him to leave some of the lights on, and warn him not to let anything "in...or out" which Larry meets with humorous skepticism.

After the others leave, Larry amuses himself by playing with the museum-wide intercom for a while, and eventually falls asleep. Strange things start happening when he awakes, however. He discovers the T-Rex skeleton missing and then hears a noise from another room. He goes in, turns on his flash-light and finds the skeleton, very much alive, drinking from a water fountain. It notices Larry and chases him. The terrified Larry tries to escape the museum but can't get the revolving door to open ("Come on door, revolve! Revolve!"). He dashes back to the front desk and dives under for cover while he frantically calls Cecil. Cecil, while at a retirement party, calmly tells Larry to read the instruction manual. Larry then reads the manual and finds the first instruction to be "Throw the bone". At this point Larry sees the T-Rex drop one of its own rib bones. Larry throws the bone and tries to run away, only to get cut-off by the T-Rex who again drops the bone. He realizes the T-Rex wants to play fetch. Larry throws the bone again and runs further into the museum where he notices everything else coming to life. The Easter Island Head tells Larry to give him some "gum-gum" which results in him being chased by Attila the Hun. Checking the instructions again, Larry finds the next line says "Lock up the lions or they'll eat you". While in the Hall of American History, he evades the fight between the Civil War mannequins and goes to the African Mammals exhibit (which a woolly mammoth knocks him in there) to lock up the lions who then attack alongside an ostrich and a snake. While attempting to lock the bars he looks at the next instruction. It says "Double-check your belt. The monkey probably stole your keys." Larry then realizes his keys have been stolen by Dexter, a Capuchin monkey who is also in the African Mammals exhibit. Larry eventually regains his keys but the instruction manual is torn to shreds by Dexter. He goes to the displays where he is stunned by the miniature Mayans caught between a battle with the miniature cowboy display led by Jedediah Smith, and the miniature Roman Gladiator display led by Gaius Octavius. Fortunately, Larry is rescued from all the fighting by a wax model of Theodore Roosevelt, who explains that ever since an Egyptian tablet was brought to the museum, everything comes to life as he is taken to Akmenrah's exhibit. However, if the exhibits are outside of the museum by sunrise, they turn to dust. Roosevelt proceeds to help Larry by restoring order but insists that it will be the last time he shall ever do so.

Larry almost quits after that night. The museum's director Dr. McPhee (Ricky Gervais) asks Larry on why the miniature Octavius' figure is in the stockades of the miniature cowboy display. On Cecil's advice the next day, Larry begins to study the history of the events and people in the exhibits to prepare himself better since there's no copy of the manual. He meets Rebecca (Carla Gugino), who is writing a dissertation of Sacagawea.

The next day he comes with a plan, which entails a visit to the library and reading dozens of books on world history and science. He uses a remote control car to play with the T-Rex skeleton, he gives fake keys to Dexter, lots of gum to the Easter Island Head, a lighter for the Neanderthals, performs tricks for Attila the Hun, Nick's hockey glove to protect himself from the Mayan's blow darts, and tries to settle things between Jedediah and Octavius telling them he will let them roam the museum if they promise to behave themselves, or else end up having their displays locked like the Mayans. It all backfires when Dexter steals his keys which unlocks the African room and unlocks a window, Attila sees a flaw in Larry's acts, the Cowboys, Mayans, and Roman Gladiators fight, and the Neanderthals set fire to their display which Larry extinguishes with a nearby fire extinguisher. Larry corners Dexter and they end up in a slap fight which Theodore Roosevelt helps to get the keys back. A Neanderthal escapes out a window only for it to turn to dust when the sun rises, which Larry witnesses. Larry re-enters the museum, full of guilt, and sees Theodore Roosevelt, already turned to his statue form, clutching the keys in his hand.

Larry barely manages to keep his job after what happens to the Neanderthal exhibit. While locking up for the night, Larry tells Rebecca that everything in the museum comes to life at night, and to help with her dissertation he'd be willing to introduce her to Sacagewea. However, Rebecca thinks that Larry is mocking her, and leaves the museum visibly upset. To surprise his son, Larry had offered to take Nick to work that night, but nothing comes to life. Larry and Nick head towards the security office and find Cecil, Gus, and Reginald stealing the Egyptian tablet amongst other artifacts. Cecil reveals to Larry that like the museum exhibits, the tablet gives new life to himself and his cohorts at night. Now accustomed to this new-found vigor they are unwilling to give it up and were planning on stealing it and various artifacts to fund their retirement. Cecil and his companions had set Larry up by copying his apartment key and planting artifacts from the museum, thus when the tablet came up missing Larry would be blamed and no one would suspect the former night watchmen. Nick steals the tablet from Cecil and after prompting from Larry, turns an out-of-place panel that reactivates the tablet's power and bringing the exhibits to life once more. Dexter lets the woolly mammoth, rhinoceros, leopard, and an Inuit on a dogsled out of the museum. Cecil grabs the tablet back and locks Nick and Larry in the Egyptian room.

Larry calls for Theodore Roosevelt for help — but receives a demand that he let himself and Nick out. Also, Roosevelt reminds Larry that he isn't the real thing. The only thing left for Larry to do is release Akmenrah. After dodging the giant Anubis statues, Larry opens the sarcophagus releasing the mummy Ahkmenrah and asks him to stop the Anubis statues. Ahkmenrah does so then turns to Larry and begins unwrapping himself. Once freed of his wrappings Ahkmenrah's appearance is of a normal person, not mummified at all. He also surprisingly speaks English, to which he replies (when Larry inquires) that he spent many years at Cambridge University (as an exhibit). He then asks Larry for his tablet back so he can "claim his kingdom". Larry informs Ahkmenrah that the tablet has been stolen and Ahkmenrah orders the statues to break down the gate. Larry, Nick and Ahkmenrah set out to reclaim the tablet. Once in the museum lobby they find almost all of the exhibits involved in one big battle. With Ahkmenrah's help, they befriend Attila the Hun. They try unsuccessfully to get the attention of the exhibits, until the Easter Island Head roars above the crowd telling them "QUIIIIIIIIIEEEEEEEEEEEEET! My dum-dum want to speak." This has the desired effect and all of the exhibits stop fighting and turn to Larry. Larry sends the Civil War guys to the planetarium and when he sees Christopher Columbus he says to take the Neanderthals through the invertebrae-through-reptiles section, and Jedediah and Octavius to take out the air from a tire in the thief's van. The Civil War guys catch Gus, while Christopher Columbus and the Neanderthals catch Reginald, but Cecil escapes with the tablet and is sprayed by the Blue Whale in Oceanland before escaping to his van. Larry breaks Sacageawea out of her exhibit to track the van only to discover that Cecil returned and escapes on a horse-drawn carriage from the museum. Larry sets out with a posse of exhibits and pursues Cecil while Sacageawea heals Theodore Roosevelt (who was cut in half by saving Sacageawea from being trampled by the carriage). They succeed and the Huns drag Cecil back to the museum. The problem now is that a good number of the exhibits are outside (Roosevelt estimates nearly a full 50%) and the sun is close to rising. Larry turns to Ahkmenrah for help, who then performs a spell on the tablet that results in all the exhibits returning back to the museum.

Rebecca sees the exhibits crossing the road in front of her taxi, and realizes that Larry was telling the truth. Rebecca returns to the museum and meets Sacagawea, who agrees to answer Rebecca's questions.

The next day, Dr. McPhee fires Larry despite his effort to clean up the museum, but he is rehired after the media coverage of the escaped exhibits the night before (believed to be a hoax or publicity stunt) increases admissions. Larry appears in Nick's classroom during Career Day. Later that night, the exhibits, Larry, and Nick are partying, and not fighting.

It is revealed during the end credits that Larry did not send the former night guards to jail and merely made them pay back for all they've done to him by working as janitors.

Production

• Primary filming was set to take place in Montreal, but Ben Stiller was reportedly unhappy about working there, and is fond of Vancouver, hence prompting a move to British Columbia.
• Originally, Stephen Sommers was the director of the project. He eventually left due to creative differences.
• Larry's inability to remember Christopher Columbus' name seems to be a wink and a nod to producer Chris Columbus. This idea is supported by Shawn Levy's DVD commentary, in which he mentions that Columbus advised him to concentrate on storyboarding any visual effects scenes prior to shooting, just like he had done on his Harry Potter film.
• The building featured in the film, which was constructed on a sound stage in Vancouver, 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."
• Shawn Levy came up with the idea of the Woolly Mammoth shoving Larry into the Hall of African Mammals on the day; he had to think of a quick answer to Ben Stiller's asking of why he had locked himself into the Hall. The computer technicians were severely annoyed at Levy's recklessness into coming up with such a ridiculous idea off the top his head.
• When Theodore Roosevelt is showing Larry around, he says to Akhmenrah, "Yell all you want, pharaoh! You've been in that thing for 54 years and you are not getting out tonight." Since Teddy mentions later that the pharaoh came to the museum in 1952, this statement reveals the year of the film's completion, which was 2006.

Cast

File:Benstillertrex.jpg

Ben Stiller claimed that he watched Tom Cruise in the three Mission Impossible films to learn how to imitate his running technique, shown here.

• Ben Stiller - Larry Daley
• Carla Gugino - Rebecca
• Dick Van Dyke - Cecil
• Mickey Rooney - Gus
• Bill Cobbs - Reginald
• Jake Cherry - Nick Daley
• Ricky Gervais - Dr. McPhee
• Robin Williams - Teddy Roosevelt
• Kim Raver - Erica Daley
• Patrick Gallagher - Attila the Hun
• Rami Malek - Ahkmenrah
• Pierfrancesco Favino - Christopher Columbus
• Charlie Murphy - Taxi Driver
• Steve Coogan - Octavius
• Owen Wilson - Jedediah
• Mizuo Peck - Sacagawea
• Kerry van der Griend, Dan Rizzuto, Matthew Harrison, Jody Racicot - Neanderthals
• Paul Rudd - Don
• Anne Meara - Debbie
• Martin Christopher - Lewis
• Martin Sims - Clark
• Randy Lee, Darryl Quon, Gerald Wong, Paul Chih-Ping Cheng - Huns
• Teagle F. Bougere - Teacher (Mike)
• Pat Kiernan - TV news anchor
• Nico McEown, Meshach Peters - Friends
• Matthew Walker - Politician
• Jason McKinnon - Irish worker
• Jono Lee - Chinese Rail worker
• Jason Vaisvila, Cade Wagar - Vikings
• Cory Martin - Chinese Terra Cotta Soldier
• Brad Garrett - Easter Island Head (voice over)
• Crystal the Monkey - Dexter

Notes about casting

• While filming, Ben Stiller and Owen Wilson only saw each other one day. Ben Stiller talked to a toothpick for the Jedediah scenes; three months later, Owen Wilson came and filmed all of his parts.
• The woman in the employment office is Ben Stiller's mother, Anne Meara.
• Owen Wilson's role as Jedediah was just supposed to be a cameo, but his character tested so well with the audience that they brought him back in, wrote him into some more scenes, and gave him a bigger part. Either way, it was never planned that Wilson would be credited on-screen.
• Larry makes a reference to a Genie's Three Wishes when speaking to Roosevelt. Robin Williams, who plays Roosevelt, played Genie in Aladdin.
• Owen Wilson and Steve Coogan both acted in the Disney film Around the World in 80 Days (although Owen Wilson had only a cameo role).
• Ben Stiller played Attila the Hun in Highway to Hell.
• Owen Wilson and Ben Stiller have starred together in the Starsky & Hutch film remake, Zoolander, The Royal Tenenbaums, Meet the Parents, and Meet the Fockers.
• Steve Coogan was in another film featuring miniatures "coming to life": Frank Oz's The Indian in the Cupboard.
• Owen Wilson's character's name is not in the end credits.

Music

Songs

• "Friday Night" - performed by McFly, not featured in American version of the film, but heard in some international cuts, used during the end credits.
• "September" - performed by Earth, Wind & 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, used for the end credits.
• "Eye of the Tiger" - performed by Ben Stiller, used in the scene where Larry is bored and messes around with the microphone at the front desk
• "Mandy" by Barry Manilow was used when Larry was standing in the elevator, while running 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!

Goofs

• In the beginning of the movie, Teddy Roosevelt has a small "2" on his collar above his Cavalry crossed sabers; however, his Rough Riders were in the 1st Cavalry Regiment. Later on, it is replaced with the correct number "1".
• Attila the Hun is incorrectly shown as having an East Asian appearance. The Huns, under Attila, originated in Central East Asia.
• In the theatrical version, a boom mic can be seen above the heads of Larry and Rebecca in the park when she is discussing Sacagewea. It was noticed by many moviegoers, and seems to have been edited out of the DVD version.
• When we first see the museum, one of the Neanderthals moves a little bit.
• Even though the monkey is located in the Hall of African Mammals, along with the lions, elephants, and ostriches, the Capuchin monkey is actually a native of the Americas. Furthermore, although a python and an ostrich are seen in the exhibit, neither of these are mammals.
• In the scene where Larry asks his ex-wife if his son would like Queens, she has a glass of water raised to her mouth as seen from behind; however, in the shot of her face to show her reaction, her glass of water is nowhere to be seen. When she was shown drinking it, she didn't finish and put the glass down before the scene ended. Likewise, Larry had a glass he was probably going to fill with water, but his stayed in his hand in both scenes. Before Nick walks in, Larry takes a drink from the glass.
• When Jed says, "It's time to let Smith & Wesson do the talking", he has two Colt Peacemakers in his holsters.
• The Neanderthals are portrayed as being unable to speak or make fire, when in fact, the species was likely able to do both quite capably.
• In the scene where Larry makes peace with Attila the Hun, he speaks in English to describe why Attila had the urge to be a merciless person. Yet every other time he speaks to him, Attila apparently does not understand a word of English.
• The Teddy Roosevelt character admits that because he is only a mannequin, he actually knows little about the real Teddy Roosevelt; however, the Sacagewea character acts as if she is the real Sacagewea and is knowledgeable of all of her background.
• When Larry handles Octavius and Jedediah, he sets them down on the bench pretty far apart. When the camera switches all of a sudden, Octavius and Jedediah are right next to each other.

Reception

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 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 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 30th, 2007, the film has grossed $571,069,550, recently breaking the $250,000,000 million mark with $250,224,440 in U.S. ticket sales, and $320,845,110 in foreign box offices.[1]

Although strongly supported by family audiences and their children, the film was reviewed poorly by critics, receiving only a 43% at Rotten Tomatoes. James Berardinelli of Reelviews 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 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."

File:Night at the Museum 2-Disc DVD.jpg

DVD cover for the film

In a case of life imitating art, museum officials at the New York 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.

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 DVD editions and Blu-ray Disc format on April 24, 2007 elsewhere.

The film was the first non-Disney film to have a DVD review at the Ultimate Disney website.

Sequel

Balls of Fury writers Robert Ben Grant and Thomas Lennon have confirmed to Dark Horizons that they are writing a sequel to their hit Fox film. The writers, who created Reno 911! ,said that "there'll be existing characters and plenty of new ones." According to their site, Ben Stiller and Robin Williams are signed for the sequel.

External links

• Official Site
• Official trailer
• Night at the Museum at IMDb
• Night at the Museum Reviews at Metacritic
• Direct link to the International Trailer
• independentfilm.com video interview with Mizuo Peck who played Sacagawea
• Night at the Museum at Rotten Tomatoes
• Night at the Museum Reviews on Revyu.com
• Night At The Museum Review on Variety.com