Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian
Encyclopedia
Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian (2009) (also known as Night at the Museum 2 in Europe, to some Night at 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
. It was released on May 22, 2009.
) is now CEO of Daley Devices, a direct response television
company that sells inventions inspired by his experiences as a night security guard
at the American Museum of Natural History
. While wealthy and successful he has not had the time to see his museum exhibit friends in several months.
When Larry returns to the museum he learns that it is closed for renovations and upgrades. Interactive holograms will replace many of the exhibits, which are moving to the Federal Archives at the Smithsonian Institution
in Washington DC. While Theodore Roosevelt
(Robin Williams
), Rexy the Tyrannosaurus
skeleton, the Easter Island moai
(voiced by Brad Garrett
), and the Mummy
of Akhmenrah (Rami Malek
) will remain at the museum, Jedediah (Owen Wilson
), Dexter the Capuchin Monkey
, Octavius (Steve Coogan
) and others will no longer come to life since the Golden Tablet of Akhmenrah that animated the exhibits each night will also remain.
After the exhibits leave, Larry receives a distress call from Jedediah. Dexter stole Akhmenrah's tablet and brought it to the Federal Archives, and the evil Pharaoh Kahmunrah (Hank Azaria
), Akhmenrah's older brother, is attacking Jedediah and the other exhibits. Larry travels to Washington and visits the National Air and Space Museum
, the National Gallery of Art
, and the Smithsonian Institution Building
, searching for the Federal Archives with long-distance help from his son Nick (Jake Cherry
).
Larry tricks an over-protective guard named "Brandon" (Jonah Hill
) into giving him his card key and after dressing up as a Smithsonian night guard, he locates the exhibits, frozen in their shipping container
in the middle of a battle with Kahmunrah and his troops. As Larry obtains the tablet the sun sets and the exhibits, and others at the Smithsonian, come alive. Kahmunrah forces Larry to give him the tablet, then tells Larry that bringing exhibits to life is just one of the tablet's powers, and that he intends to use it to conquer the world by raising an army from the underworld
.
Larry tries to dupe Kahmunrah into giving back the tablet, by telling him about the cube of rubik
although is threatened by Kahmunrah. Larry escapes from the Egyptian troops with the tablet, with the help of General George Armstrong Custer
(Bill Hader
). He meets the beautiful and adventurous Amelia Earhart
(Amy Adams
) who is attracted to Larry and accompanies him through the National Gallery. Larry and Amelia trap Kahmunrah's soldiers in a photograph of V–J day in Times Square
, but are later captured by Napoleon Bonaparte (Alain Chabat
) and his soldiers. Napoleon takes Larry to Kahmunrah who has
also allied with historical leaders Ivan the Terrible (Christopher Guest
) and Al Capone
(Jon Bernthal
). Kahmunrah has rejected fellow villains Darth Vader
(whom Kahmunrah considers his villainous roles to be comical) and Oscar the Grouch
(who Kahmunrah considers to be just a grouch). Meanwhile Custer is captured and locked in the same shipping container as the rest of the exhibits. Custer begins planning a counter-attack
, but his plans are refuted as foolish by Sacagawea
(Mizuo Peck
). Jedediah and Octavius, also unconvinced of Custer's abilities, become concerned for Larry's safety, and try to escape in a effort to help him. However, Jedediah is captured in the escape attempt and is brought before Kahmunrah in a birdcage
. Octavius, watching from a window, vows to rescue Jedediah.
Kahmunrah attempts to open the Gate of the Underworld by pressing the symbols on the tablet, which resembles numbers on a keypad
, but the combination has changed. Larry calmy states that he can simply wait until sunrise, and then reclaim the tablet while Kahmunrah and his henchmen are frozen. The pharaoh forces Larry to obtain the new combination before sunrise by trapping Jedediah in a filling hourglass
. Unless Larry figures out the new combination in less than an hour, Jedediah will be smothered by the falling sand. Larry and Amelia begin searching for someone who can tell them the new combination, but their movements lead Kahmunrah to believe that they are trying to escape with the tablet, rather than decipher the new combination. In response, Kahmunrah orders Ivan the Terrible to dispatch Russian troops to track them down. Larry and Amelia flee from the Russians and hide at the Lincoln Memorial
. The statue of Abraham Lincoln
(voiced by Hank Azaria
) then comes to life, and he has a short conversation with Larry and Amelia. At the National Air and Space Museum, they consult a group of Albert Einstein
bobbleheads (voiced by Eugene Levy
) who tell them that the new combination is the value of pi
(3.14159265). When they are found by Napoleon, Ivan, and Capone (who have now all joined the hunt for them), Larry and Amelia escape in the Wright Flyer
and return to the Smithsonian Institution Building. The two separate, with Amelia searching for help while Larry delays Kahmunrah. Octavius, still searching for a way to save Jedediah, arrives at the White House
, because he was told that "a good man lives [there]." Octavius rushes to the White House, but is attacked and dragged away by a squirrel
.
Larry then approaches Kahmunrah, telling him that if he returns Jedediah, Larry will give him the combination. Kahmunrah replies that Larry must first give him the combination; only then will he free Jedediah. The two argue back and forth until Napoleon, Ivan, and Capone arrive, having obtained the combination themselves from one of the bobbleheads. Kahmunrah opens the Gate of the Underworld and summons an army of Horus
warriors. Suddenly, Octavius reappears, riding the same squirrel that dragged him away earlier. He charges Kahmunrah, demanding surrender. Kahmunrah begins to laugh when the Lincoln statue suddenly arrives, forcing the horus warriors to retreat to the underworld, and Amelia frees the New York exhibits from their container and recruits other Smithsonian exhibits. Custer leads the exhibits against Kahmunrah, Napoleon, Ivan the Terrible and their henchmen. Amidst the chaos, Octavius rescues Jedediah from the hour-glass. Larry then tricks Napoleon, Ivan the Terrible, and Al Capone into fighting amongst themselves. As the exhibits battle, Larry banishes Kahmunrah to the underworld. After the fighting ends, Amelia flies Larry and the New York exhibits back to the Natural History Museum. Knowing that she will turn to dust at sunrise if she does not return to the Smithsonian, Amelia kisses Larry and leaves.
Larry sells his company and donates money to the museum to restore the exhibits. Roosevelt and Akhmenrah as tour guides, Attila as a storyteller, and other exhibits come to life in public as "animatronics" at the museum, which now stays open after sunset. Larry is rehired as the night guard, and meets a young woman who looks like Amelia.
20th Century Fox
announced that the sequel, Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian, would be released during Memorial Day weekend in 2009. Ben Stiller
, Owen Wilson
, Steve Coogan
, Ricky Gervais
, Patrick Gallagher
, Jake Cherry
, Rami Malek
, Mizuo Peck
, Brad Garrett
and Robin Williams
would return for the sequel, with Shawn Levy
returning as director.
The film was mostly filmed in Vancouver with some scenes filmed in the Smithsonian in Washington, D.C.
. A scene was shot at the Lincoln Memorial on the night of May 21, 2008. Scenes were also shot at the American Museum of Natural History
in New York on the 18 and 20 of August 2008.
The trailer was released with Bedtime Stories
, Yes Man
and Marley & Me
in December 2008. The trailer accompanied the film Bride Wars
in January, The Pink Panther 2 in February, and Dragonball Evolution in April 2009. The film was also promoted as an opening skit on American Idol
, where a replica of the Idol judge seats are being held at the real Smithsonian Institution.
An alternate ending included on the DVD and Blu-ray releases featured the return of the main antagonists of the first film, Dick Van Dyke
(Cecil Fredericks), Bill Cobbs
(Reginald), and Mickey Rooney
(Gus).
Filmmakers loaned the Smithsonian Institution props used in the movie which were displayed in the Smithsonian Castle including the pile of artifacts featured in the film. The Smithsonian also made a brochure available online and at museum visitor service desks outlining where to find artifacts.
As of 2009, numerous artifacts which inspired the movie were on display at Smithsonian Museums along the National Mall
. Many of the artifacts are labeled with "Night at the Museum" logos.
Gift shops at the Smithsonian also sell a replica of the Einstein Bobble-head, created specifically as a tie-in to the movie.
reported that 44% of critics gave the film positive reviews based on 154 reviews, with an average score of 5.2 out of 10. Among Rotten Tomatoes' "Cream of the Crop," which consists of popular and notable critics from the top newspapers, websites, television, and radio programs, the film holds an overall approval rating of 33% based on 27 reviews. Another review aggregator, Metacritic
, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 top reviews from mainstream critics, gave the film an average score of 42% based on 27 reviews.
Despite mixed reviews from critics, most critics praised Amy Adams' and Hank Azaria's performances. Michael Phillips
of the Chicago Tribune
awarded the film 3 stars stating that "...she's terrific -- a sparkling screen presence." Owen Gleiberman
of Entertainment Weekly
gave the film a B+ stating "Battle of the Smithsonian has plenty of life. But it's Adams who gives it zing." Perry Seibert of TV Guide
gave the film 2 stars despite honoring that "thanks to Azaria, a master of comic timing. His grandiose, yet slightly fey bad guy is equally funny when he's chewing out minions as he is when deliberating if Oscar the Grouch
and Darth Vader
are evil enough to join his team. Michael Rechtshaffen of the Hollywood Reporter and A.O. Scott of The New York Times
enjoyed both performances.
One critic panned the movie on its excessive use of special effects as noted by Scott Tobias of the A.V. Club when he described the film as "a baffling master plot and a crowded pileup of special effects in search of something to do." Roger Ebert
of the Chicago Sun Times awarded the film 1½ stars out of 4 claiming "its premise is lame, its plot relentlessly predictable, its characters with personalities that would distinguish picture books."
(which released on Thursday) in 4,096 theaters at #1, reaching up to $54.1 million over the Memorial Day weekend. By comparison, Night at the Museum
reached up to $30 million on its opening weekend in December 2006. The domestic revenue as of October 1, 2009, is $177.1 million along with $236.0 million from foreign countries with a total of $411,755,284 worldwide.
admitted that a sequel is "a possibility" and on January 22, 2010, co-writer Thomas Lennon said to Access Hollywood
, "That after the success of two Night at the Museum films, its no surprise that 20th Century Fox is looking to develop a third and that those suspicions are indeed true and how could you not? I think it's a really outstanding idea to do 'Night at the Museum 3,' in fact," he said. "I wonder if someone's not even already working on a script for that," he added with a raised eyebrow. "I cannot confirm that for a fact, but I cannot deny it for a fact either... It might be in the works."
In an interview, Stiller confirmed the sequel, however, he said that it was only in the "ideas stage".
Comedy film
Comedy 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...
directed by Shawn Levy
Shawn Levy
Shawn 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...
, and starring Ben Stiller
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....
, Hank Azaria
Hank Azaria
Henry Albert "Hank" Azaria is an American film, television and stage actor, director, voice actor, and comedian. He is noted for being one of the principal voice actors on the animated television series The Simpsons , on which he performs the voices of Moe Szyslak, Apu Nahasapeemapetilon, Chief...
, Amy Adams
Amy Adams
Amy Lou Adams is an American actress and singer. Adams began her performing career on stage in dinner theaters before making her screen debut in the 1999 black comedy film Drop Dead Gorgeous...
, Owen Wilson
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,...
, Robin Williams
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...
, and Steve Coogan
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...
. The film is a sequel to Night at the Museum
Night at the Museum
Night at the Museum is a 2006 fantasy adventure-comedy film based on the 1993 children's book The Night at the Museum by Milan Trenc. It follows a divorced father trying to settle down, impress his son, and find his destiny...
. It was released on May 22, 2009.
Plot
Two years after the events of the previous film, Larry Daley (Ben StillerBen 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....
) is now CEO of Daley Devices, a direct response television
Direct response television
Direct Response Television, or DRTV for short, includes any television advertising that asks consumers to respond directly to the company --- usually either by calling an 800 number or by visiting a web site. This is a form of direct response marketing....
company that sells inventions inspired by his experiences as a night security guard
Security guard
A security guard is a person who is paid to protect property, assets, or people. Security guards are usually privately and formally employed personnel...
at the American Museum of Natural History
American Museum of Natural History
The 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...
. While wealthy and successful he has not had the time to see his museum exhibit friends in several months.
When Larry returns to the museum he learns that it is closed for renovations and upgrades. Interactive holograms will replace many of the exhibits, which are moving to the Federal Archives at the Smithsonian Institution
Smithsonian Institution
The Smithsonian Institution is an educational and research institute and associated museum complex, administered and funded by the government of the United States and by funds from its endowment, contributions, and profits from its retail operations, concessions, licensing activities, and magazines...
in Washington DC. While Theodore Roosevelt
Theodore Roosevelt
Theodore "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 Williams
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...
), Rexy the Tyrannosaurus
Tyrannosaurus
Tyrannosaurus 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, the Easter Island moai
Moai
Moai , 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...
(voiced by Brad Garrett
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....
), and the Mummy
Mummy
A 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...
of Akhmenrah (Rami Malek
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...
) will remain at the museum, Jedediah (Owen Wilson
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,...
), Dexter the Capuchin Monkey
Capuchin monkey
The 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...
, Octavius (Steve Coogan
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...
) and others will no longer come to life since the Golden Tablet of Akhmenrah that animated the exhibits each night will also remain.
After the exhibits leave, Larry receives a distress call from Jedediah. Dexter stole Akhmenrah's tablet and brought it to the Federal Archives, and the evil Pharaoh Kahmunrah (Hank Azaria
Hank Azaria
Henry Albert "Hank" Azaria is an American film, television and stage actor, director, voice actor, and comedian. He is noted for being one of the principal voice actors on the animated television series The Simpsons , on which he performs the voices of Moe Szyslak, Apu Nahasapeemapetilon, Chief...
), Akhmenrah's older brother, is attacking Jedediah and the other exhibits. Larry travels to Washington and visits the National Air and Space Museum
National Air and Space Museum
The National Air and Space Museum of the Smithsonian Institution holds the largest collection of historic aircraft and spacecraft in the world. It was established in 1976. Located in Washington, D.C., United States, it is a center for research into the history and science of aviation and...
, the National Gallery of Art
National Gallery of Art
The National Gallery of Art and its Sculpture Garden is a national art museum, located on the National Mall between 3rd and 9th Streets at Constitution Avenue NW, in Washington, DC...
, and the Smithsonian Institution Building
Smithsonian Institution Building
The Smithsonian Castle, located on the National Mall in Washington, D.C. behind the National Museum of African Art, houses the Smithsonian Institution's administrative offices and information center...
, searching for the Federal Archives with long-distance help from his son Nick (Jake Cherry
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...
).
Larry tricks an over-protective guard named "Brandon" (Jonah Hill
Jonah Hill
Jonah Hill Feldstein , known professionally as Jonah Hill, is an American actor, producer, screenwriter, and comedian. Hill is best known roles for his roles in Superbad, Knocked Up, and Get Him to the Greek. He made his theatrical debut in I Heart Huckabees, alongside Jason Schwartzman and Dustin...
) into giving him his card key and after dressing up as a Smithsonian night guard, he locates the exhibits, frozen in their shipping container
Shipping container
A shipping container is a container with strength suitable to withstand shipment, storage, and handling. Shipping containers range from large reusable steel boxes used for intermodal shipments to the ubiquitous corrugated boxes...
in the middle of a battle with Kahmunrah and his troops. As Larry obtains the tablet the sun sets and the exhibits, and others at the Smithsonian, come alive. Kahmunrah forces Larry to give him the tablet, then tells Larry that bringing exhibits to life is just one of the tablet's powers, and that he intends to use it to conquer the world by raising an army from the underworld
Duat
In Egyptian mythology, Duat is the underworld. The Duat is a vast area under the Earth, connected with Nun, the waters of the primordial abyss. The Duat is the realm of the god Osiris and the residence of other gods and supernatural beings...
.
Larry tries to dupe Kahmunrah into giving back the tablet, by telling him about the cube of rubik
Rubik's Cube
Rubik's Cube is a 3-D mechanical puzzle invented in 1974 by Hungarian sculptor and professor of architecture Ernő Rubik.Originally called the "Magic Cube", the puzzle was licensed by Rubik to be sold by Ideal Toy Corp. in 1980 and won the German Game of the Year special award for Best Puzzle that...
although is threatened by Kahmunrah. Larry escapes from the Egyptian troops with the tablet, with the help of General George Armstrong Custer
George Armstrong Custer
George Armstrong Custer was a United States Army officer and cavalry commander in the American Civil War and the Indian Wars. Raised in Michigan and Ohio, Custer was admitted to West Point in 1858, where he graduated last in his class...
(Bill Hader
Bill Hader
William "Bill" Hader is an American actor, comedian, producer and writer. He is best known for his work as a creative consultant on the hit show South Park and as a cast member on Saturday Night Live and for his supporting roles in comedy films such as Superbad, Hot Rod, Tropic Thunder,...
). He meets the beautiful and adventurous Amelia Earhart
Amelia Earhart
Amelia Mary Earhart was a noted American aviation pioneer and author. Earhart was the first woman to receive the U.S. Distinguished Flying Cross, awarded for becoming the first aviatrix to fly solo across the Atlantic Ocean...
(Amy Adams
Amy Adams
Amy Lou Adams is an American actress and singer. Adams began her performing career on stage in dinner theaters before making her screen debut in the 1999 black comedy film Drop Dead Gorgeous...
) who is attracted to Larry and accompanies him through the National Gallery. Larry and Amelia trap Kahmunrah's soldiers in a photograph of V–J day in Times Square
V–J day in Times Square
V-J Day in Times Square is a photograph by Alfred Eisenstaedt that portrays an American sailor kissing a young nurse in a white dress on V-J Day in Times Square on August 14, 1945. The photograph was published a week later in Life magazine among many photographs of celebrations around the country...
, but are later captured by Napoleon Bonaparte (Alain Chabat
Alain Chabat
Alain Chabat is a French actor and director who appeared in La Cité de la peur, French Twist, The Taste of Others and The Science of Sleep.- Life and career :Chabat was born in Oran, French Algeria. He is Jewish....
) and his soldiers. Napoleon takes Larry to Kahmunrah who has
also allied with historical leaders Ivan the Terrible (Christopher Guest
Christopher Guest
Christopher Haden-Guest, 5th Baron Haden-Guest , better known as Christopher Guest, is an American screenwriter, composer, musician, director, actor and comedian. He is most widely known in Hollywood for having written, directed and starred in several improvisational "mockumentary" films that...
) and Al Capone
Al Capone
Alphonse Gabriel "Al" Capone was an American gangster who led a Prohibition-era crime syndicate. The Chicago Outfit, which subsequently became known as the "Capones", was dedicated to smuggling and bootlegging liquor, and other illegal activities such as prostitution, in Chicago from the early...
(Jon Bernthal
Jon Bernthal
Jonathan E. "Jon" Bernthal is an American actor, best known for his role on the AMC television series The Walking Dead.-Early life:...
). Kahmunrah has rejected fellow villains Darth Vader
Darth Vader
Darth Vader is a central character in the Star Wars saga, appearing as one of the main antagonists in the original trilogy and as the main protagonist in the prequel trilogy....
(whom Kahmunrah considers his villainous roles to be comical) and Oscar the Grouch
Oscar the Grouch
Oscar the Grouch is a Muppet character on the television program Sesame Street. He has a green body , has no nose , and lives in a trash can. His favorite thing in life is trash; evidence for this is the song "I Love Trash". A running theme is his compulsive hoarding of seemingly useless items...
(who Kahmunrah considers to be just a grouch). Meanwhile Custer is captured and locked in the same shipping container as the rest of the exhibits. Custer begins planning a counter-attack
Counter-Attack
Counter-Attack is a 1945 war film starring Paul Muni and Marguerite Chapman as two Russians trapped in a collapsed building with seven enemy German soldiers during World War II...
, but his plans are refuted as foolish by Sacagawea
Sacagawea
Sacagawea ; 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 Peck
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...
). Jedediah and Octavius, also unconvinced of Custer's abilities, become concerned for Larry's safety, and try to escape in a effort to help him. However, Jedediah is captured in the escape attempt and is brought before Kahmunrah in a birdcage
Birdcage
A birdcage is a cage designed to house birds as pets.Antique birdcages are often popular as collectors' items or as household decor but most are not suitable for housing live birds, being too small, or of unsafe materials or construction...
. Octavius, watching from a window, vows to rescue Jedediah.
Keypad
A keypad is a set of buttons arranged in a block or "pad" which usually bear digits, symbols and usually a complete set of alphabetical letters. If it mostly contains numbers then it can also be called a numeric keypad...
, but the combination has changed. Larry calmy states that he can simply wait until sunrise, and then reclaim the tablet while Kahmunrah and his henchmen are frozen. The pharaoh forces Larry to obtain the new combination before sunrise by trapping Jedediah in a filling hourglass
Hourglass
An hourglass measures the passage of a few minutes or an hour of time. It has two connected vertical glass bulbs allowing a regulated trickle of material from the top to the bottom. Once the top bulb is empty, it can be inverted to begin timing again. The name hourglass comes from historically...
. Unless Larry figures out the new combination in less than an hour, Jedediah will be smothered by the falling sand. Larry and Amelia begin searching for someone who can tell them the new combination, but their movements lead Kahmunrah to believe that they are trying to escape with the tablet, rather than decipher the new combination. In response, Kahmunrah orders Ivan the Terrible to dispatch Russian troops to track them down. Larry and Amelia flee from the Russians and hide at the Lincoln Memorial
Lincoln Memorial
The Lincoln Memorial is an American memorial built to honor the 16th President of the United States, Abraham Lincoln. It is located on the National Mall in Washington, D.C. The architect was Henry Bacon, the sculptor of the main statue was Daniel Chester French, and the painter of the interior...
. The statue of Abraham Lincoln
Abraham Lincoln
Abraham Lincoln was the 16th President of the United States, serving from March 1861 until his assassination in April 1865. He successfully led his country through a great constitutional, military and moral crisis – the American Civil War – preserving the Union, while ending slavery, and...
(voiced by Hank Azaria
Hank Azaria
Henry Albert "Hank" Azaria is an American film, television and stage actor, director, voice actor, and comedian. He is noted for being one of the principal voice actors on the animated television series The Simpsons , on which he performs the voices of Moe Szyslak, Apu Nahasapeemapetilon, Chief...
) then comes to life, and he has a short conversation with Larry and Amelia. At the National Air and Space Museum, they consult a group of Albert Einstein
Albert Einstein
Albert Einstein was a German-born theoretical physicist who developed the theory of general relativity, effecting a revolution in physics. For this achievement, Einstein is often regarded as the father of modern physics and one of the most prolific intellects in human history...
bobbleheads (voiced by Eugene Levy
Eugene Levy
Eugene Levy, CM is a Canadian actor, comedian, television director, producer, musician, and writer. He is known for his work in Canadian television series, American movies, and television movies. He is the only actor to have appeared in all eight of the American Pie films, as Noah Levenstein...
) who tell them that the new combination is the value of pi
Pi
' is a mathematical constant that is the ratio of any circle's circumference to its diameter. is approximately equal to 3.14. Many formulae in mathematics, science, and engineering involve , which makes it one of the most important mathematical constants...
(3.14159265). When they are found by Napoleon, Ivan, and Capone (who have now all joined the hunt for them), Larry and Amelia escape in the Wright Flyer
Wright Flyer
The Wright Flyer was the first powered aircraft, designed and built by the Wright brothers. They flew it four times on December 17, 1903 near the Kill Devil Hills, about four miles south of Kitty Hawk, North Carolina, U.S.The U.S...
and return to the Smithsonian Institution Building. The two separate, with Amelia searching for help while Larry delays Kahmunrah. Octavius, still searching for a way to save Jedediah, arrives at the White House
White House
The White House is the official residence and principal workplace of the president of the United States. Located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW in Washington, D.C., the house was designed by Irish-born James Hoban, and built between 1792 and 1800 of white-painted Aquia sandstone in the Neoclassical...
, because he was told that "a good man lives [there]." Octavius rushes to the White House, but is attacked and dragged away by a squirrel
Squirrel
Squirrels belong to a large family of small or medium-sized rodents called the Sciuridae. The family includes tree squirrels, ground squirrels, chipmunks, marmots , flying squirrels, and prairie dogs. Squirrels are indigenous to the Americas, Eurasia, and Africa and have been introduced to Australia...
.
Larry then approaches Kahmunrah, telling him that if he returns Jedediah, Larry will give him the combination. Kahmunrah replies that Larry must first give him the combination; only then will he free Jedediah. The two argue back and forth until Napoleon, Ivan, and Capone arrive, having obtained the combination themselves from one of the bobbleheads. Kahmunrah opens the Gate of the Underworld and summons an army of Horus
Horus
Horus is one of the oldest and most significant deities in the Ancient Egyptian religion, who was worshipped from at least the late Predynastic period through to Greco-Roman times. Different forms of Horus are recorded in history and these are treated as distinct gods by Egyptologists...
warriors. Suddenly, Octavius reappears, riding the same squirrel that dragged him away earlier. He charges Kahmunrah, demanding surrender. Kahmunrah begins to laugh when the Lincoln statue suddenly arrives, forcing the horus warriors to retreat to the underworld, and Amelia frees the New York exhibits from their container and recruits other Smithsonian exhibits. Custer leads the exhibits against Kahmunrah, Napoleon, Ivan the Terrible and their henchmen. Amidst the chaos, Octavius rescues Jedediah from the hour-glass. Larry then tricks Napoleon, Ivan the Terrible, and Al Capone into fighting amongst themselves. As the exhibits battle, Larry banishes Kahmunrah to the underworld. After the fighting ends, Amelia flies Larry and the New York exhibits back to the Natural History Museum. Knowing that she will turn to dust at sunrise if she does not return to the Smithsonian, Amelia kisses Larry and leaves.
Larry sells his company and donates money to the museum to restore the exhibits. Roosevelt and Akhmenrah as tour guides, Attila as a storyteller, and other exhibits come to life in public as "animatronics" at the museum, which now stays open after sunset. Larry is rehired as the night guard, and meets a young woman who looks like Amelia.
Cast
- Ben StillerBen 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....
as Larry Daley - Amy AdamsAmy AdamsAmy Lou Adams is an American actress and singer. Adams began her performing career on stage in dinner theaters before making her screen debut in the 1999 black comedy film Drop Dead Gorgeous...
as Amelia EarhartAmelia EarhartAmelia Mary Earhart was a noted American aviation pioneer and author. Earhart was the first woman to receive the U.S. Distinguished Flying Cross, awarded for becoming the first aviatrix to fly solo across the Atlantic Ocean...
/Tess - Owen WilsonOwen 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,...
as Jedediah - Hank AzariaHank AzariaHenry Albert "Hank" Azaria is an American film, television and stage actor, director, voice actor, and comedian. He is noted for being one of the principal voice actors on the animated television series The Simpsons , on which he performs the voices of Moe Szyslak, Apu Nahasapeemapetilon, Chief...
as Kahmunrah - Robin WilliamsRobin 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...
as Theodore RooseveltTheodore 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... - Christopher GuestChristopher GuestChristopher Haden-Guest, 5th Baron Haden-Guest , better known as Christopher Guest, is an American screenwriter, composer, musician, director, actor and comedian. He is most widely known in Hollywood for having written, directed and starred in several improvisational "mockumentary" films that...
as Ivan the Terrible - Alain ChabatAlain ChabatAlain Chabat is a French actor and director who appeared in La Cité de la peur, French Twist, The Taste of Others and The Science of Sleep.- Life and career :Chabat was born in Oran, French Algeria. He is Jewish....
as Napoleon Bonaparte - Steve CooganSteve 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...
as Octavius - Mizuo PeckMizuo 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...
as SacagaweaSacagaweaSacagawea ; 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 GervaisRicky 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...
as Dr. McPhee - Bill HaderBill HaderWilliam "Bill" Hader is an American actor, comedian, producer and writer. He is best known for his work as a creative consultant on the hit show South Park and as a cast member on Saturday Night Live and for his supporting roles in comedy films such as Superbad, Hot Rod, Tropic Thunder,...
as George Armstrong CusterGeorge Armstrong CusterGeorge Armstrong Custer was a United States Army officer and cavalry commander in the American Civil War and the Indian Wars. Raised in Michigan and Ohio, Custer was admitted to West Point in 1858, where he graduated last in his class... - Jon BernthalJon BernthalJonathan E. "Jon" Bernthal is an American actor, best known for his role on the AMC television series The Walking Dead.-Early life:...
as Al CaponeAl CaponeAlphonse Gabriel "Al" Capone was an American gangster who led a Prohibition-era crime syndicate. The Chicago Outfit, which subsequently became known as the "Capones", was dedicated to smuggling and bootlegging liquor, and other illegal activities such as prostitution, in Chicago from the early... - Patrick GallagherPatrick Gallagher (actor)-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 Hun - Jake CherryJake 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...
as Nicky Daley - Rami MalekRami 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...
as Ahkmenrah - Caroll SpinneyCaroll SpinneyCaroll Edwin Spinney, sometimes credited as Carroll Spinney or Ed Spinney , is an American puppeteer most famous for playing Big Bird and Oscar the Grouch on the children's television show Sesame Street.-Life and career:...
as Oscar the GrouchOscar the GrouchOscar the Grouch is a Muppet character on the television program Sesame Street. He has a green body , has no nose , and lives in a trash can. His favorite thing in life is trash; evidence for this is the song "I Love Trash". A running theme is his compulsive hoarding of seemingly useless items... - George ForemanGeorge ForemanGeorge Edward Foreman is an American two-time former World Heavyweight Boxing Champion, Olympic gold medalist, ordained Baptist minister, author and successful entrepreneur...
as himself * - Shawn LevyShawn 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...
as father - Keith PowellKeith PowellKeith Powell is an American television actor who is best known for his role as James "Toofer" Spurlock on the NBC sitcom 30 Rock.-Career:Powell was the Producing Artistic Director of Contemporary Stage Company, a summer theater in Wilmington, Delaware...
as Tuskegee AirmanTuskegee AirmenThe Tuskegee Airmen is the popular name of a group of African American pilots who fought in World War II. Formally, they were the 332nd Fighter Group and the 477th Bombardment Group of the U.S. Army Air Corps....
#1 - Craig Robinson as Tuskegee Airman #2
- Kennith Overbey as Tuskegee Airman #3 (uncredited)
- Ed HelmsEd HelmsEdward Paul "Ed" Helms is an American actor and comedian known for his work as a correspondent on The Daily Show with Jon Stewart, as Andy Bernard on the US version of the sitcom/mockumentary The Office and for his role as Dr. Stu Price in The Hangover films.- Early life :Helms was born and raised...
as Daley Devices worker (uncredited) - Thomas Lennon as Wilbur Wright (uncredited)
- Robert Ben Garant as Orville Wright (uncredited)
- Jonah HillJonah HillJonah Hill Feldstein , known professionally as Jonah Hill, is an American actor, producer, screenwriter, and comedian. Hill is best known roles for his roles in Superbad, Knocked Up, and Get Him to the Greek. He made his theatrical debut in I Heart Huckabees, alongside Jason Schwartzman and Dustin...
as Brandon (uncredited) - Frankie JonasFrankie JonasFranklin Nathaniel "Frankie" Jonas is an American actor, who had a recurring role on the Disney Channel sitcom, Jonas L.A.. His older brothers - Joe, Nick, and Kevin - are in the pop group the Jonas Brothers...
as little boy in museum (uncredited) - Megan Angela SmithMegan Angela SmithMegan Angela Smith Born on March 27, 1987, Bridgewater, Nova Scotia) is a Canadian actress, most famous for her portrayal of Kayla Price in the Roger Conway film Broken....
as Cowgirl (uncredited)
Voices
- Hank AzariaHank AzariaHenry Albert "Hank" Azaria is an American film, television and stage actor, director, voice actor, and comedian. He is noted for being one of the principal voice actors on the animated television series The Simpsons , on which he performs the voices of Moe Szyslak, Apu Nahasapeemapetilon, Chief...
as The ThinkerThe ThinkerThe Thinker is a bronze and marble sculpture by Auguste Rodin, whose first cast, of 1902, is now in the Musée Rodin in Paris; there are some twenty other original castings as well as various other versions, studies, and posthumous castings. It depicts a man in sober meditation battling with a...
, Abraham LincolnAbraham LincolnAbraham Lincoln was the 16th President of the United States, serving from March 1861 until his assassination in April 1865. He successfully led his country through a great constitutional, military and moral crisis – the American Civil War – preserving the Union, while ending slavery, and... - Brad GarrettBrad 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....
as Easter Island HeadMoaiMoai , 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... - Jonas BrothersJonas BrothersThe Jonas Brothers are an American boy band. The band gained its popularity from the Disney Channel children's television network. From the shore region of New Jersey, the band consists of three brothers: Paul Kevin Jonas II , Joseph Adam Jonas , and Nicholas Jerry Jonas...
as Cherubs - Eugene LevyEugene LevyEugene Levy, CM is a Canadian actor, comedian, television director, producer, musician, and writer. He is known for his work in Canadian television series, American movies, and television movies. He is the only actor to have appeared in all eight of the American Pie films, as Noah Levenstein...
as Albert EinsteinAlbert EinsteinAlbert Einstein was a German-born theoretical physicist who developed the theory of general relativity, effecting a revolution in physics. For this achievement, Einstein is often regarded as the father of modern physics and one of the most prolific intellects in human history...
Bobbleheads
Production
Writers Robert Ben Garant and Thomas Lennon confirmed to Dark Horizons that they were writing a sequel to Night at the Museum, originally with the tentative title Another Night at the Museum. The writers said that "there'll be existing characters and plenty of new ones."20th Century Fox
20th Century Fox
Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation — also known as 20th Century Fox, or simply 20th or Fox — is one of the six major American film studios...
announced that the sequel, Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian, would be released during Memorial Day weekend in 2009. Ben Stiller
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....
, Owen Wilson
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,...
, Steve Coogan
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...
, Ricky Gervais
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...
, Patrick Gallagher
Patrick Gallagher (actor)
-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...
, Jake Cherry
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...
, Rami Malek
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...
, Mizuo Peck
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...
, Brad Garrett
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....
and Robin Williams
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...
would return for the sequel, with Shawn Levy
Shawn Levy
Shawn 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...
returning as director.
The film was mostly filmed in Vancouver with some scenes filmed in the Smithsonian in Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
. A scene was shot at the Lincoln Memorial on the night of May 21, 2008. Scenes were also shot at the American Museum of Natural History
American Museum of Natural History
The 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 on the 18 and 20 of August 2008.
The trailer was released with Bedtime Stories
Bedtime Stories (film)
Bedtime Stories is a 2008 American family-fantasy-comedy film directed by Adam Shankman that stars Adam Sandler in his first appearance in a family-oriented film...
, Yes Man
Yes Man (film)
Yes Man is a 2008 comedy film directed by Peyton Reed, written by Nicholas Stoller, Jarrad Paul and Andrew Mogel and starring Jim Carrey, Zooey Deschanel, Bradley Cooper, John Michael Higgins, Rhys Darby, Maile Flanagan, Danny Masterson, and Terence Stamp...
and Marley & Me
Marley & Me (film)
Marley & Me is a 2008 American comedy-drama film directed by David Frankel. The screenplay by Scott Frank and Don Roos is based on the memoir of the same name by John Grogan...
in December 2008. The trailer accompanied the film Bride Wars
Bride Wars
Bride Wars is a 2009 American romantic comedy film directed by Gary Winick and written by Greg DePaul, June Diane Raphael and Casey Wilson....
in January, The Pink Panther 2 in February, and Dragonball Evolution in April 2009. The film was also promoted as an opening skit on American Idol
American Idol
American Idol, titled American Idol: The Search for a Superstar for the first season, is a reality television singing competition created by Simon Fuller and produced by FremantleMedia North America and 19 Entertainment...
, where a replica of the Idol judge seats are being held at the real Smithsonian Institution.
An alternate ending included on the DVD and Blu-ray releases featured the return of the main antagonists of the first film, Dick Van Dyke
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...
(Cecil Fredericks), Bill Cobbs
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:...
(Reginald), and Mickey Rooney
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...
(Gus).
Filmmakers loaned the Smithsonian Institution props used in the movie which were displayed in the Smithsonian Castle including the pile of artifacts featured in the film. The Smithsonian also made a brochure available online and at museum visitor service desks outlining where to find artifacts.
As of 2009, numerous artifacts which inspired the movie were on display at Smithsonian Museums along the National Mall
National Mall
The National Mall is an open-area national park in downtown Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States. The National Mall is a unit of the National Park Service , and is administered by the National Mall and Memorial Parks unit...
. Many of the artifacts are labeled with "Night at the Museum" logos.
- National Air and Space MuseumNational Air and Space MuseumThe National Air and Space Museum of the Smithsonian Institution holds the largest collection of historic aircraft and spacecraft in the world. It was established in 1976. Located in Washington, D.C., United States, it is a center for research into the history and science of aviation and...
- Able the space monkey
- Lunar roverLunar roverThe Lunar Roving Vehicle or lunar rover was a battery-powered four-wheeled rover used on the Moon in the last three missions of the American Apollo program during 1971 and 1972...
- Lunar Module
- 1903 Wright FlyerWright FlyerThe Wright Flyer was the first powered aircraft, designed and built by the Wright brothers. They flew it four times on December 17, 1903 near the Kill Devil Hills, about four miles south of Kitty Hawk, North Carolina, U.S.The U.S...
- Amelia EarhartAmelia EarhartAmelia Mary Earhart was a noted American aviation pioneer and author. Earhart was the first woman to receive the U.S. Distinguished Flying Cross, awarded for becoming the first aviatrix to fly solo across the Atlantic Ocean...
's Lockheed VegaLockheed Vega|-See also:-References:NotesCitationsBibliography* Allen, Richard Sanders. Revolution in the Sky: Those Fabulous Lockheeds, The Pilots Who Flew Them. Brattleboro, Vermont: The Stephen Greene Press, 1964.... - Medal belonging to Tuskegee AirmenTuskegee AirmenThe Tuskegee Airmen is the popular name of a group of African American pilots who fought in World War II. Formally, they were the 332nd Fighter Group and the 477th Bombardment Group of the U.S. Army Air Corps....
- Supermarine SpitfireSupermarine SpitfireThe Supermarine Spitfire is a British single-seat fighter aircraft that was used by the Royal Air Force and many other Allied countries throughout the Second World War. The Spitfire continued to be used as a front line fighter and in secondary roles into the 1950s...
- F-104 StarfighterF-104 StarfighterThe Lockheed F-104 Starfighter is a single-engine, high-performance, supersonic interceptor aircraft originally developed for the United States Air Force by Lockheed. One of the Century Series of aircraft, it served with the USAF from 1958 until 1969, and continued with Air National Guard units...
- Steven F. Udvar-Hazy CenterSteven F. Udvar-Hazy CenterThe Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center is the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum 's annex at Washington Dulles International Airport in the Chantilly area of Fairfax County, Virginia, United States....
- Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center
- Messerschmitt 262
- National Museum of Natural HistoryNational Museum of Natural HistoryThe National Museum of Natural History is a natural history museum administered by the Smithsonian Institution, located on the National Mall in Washington, D.C., United States. Admission is free and the museum is open 364 days a year....
- National Museum of Natural History
- Gigantic octopusGigantic octopusAn unknown species of gigantic octopus has been hypothesised as a source of reports of sea monsters such as the lusca and the kraken as well as the source of some of the carcasses of unidentified origin known as globsters like the St. Augustine Monster. The species that the St...
- MoaiMoaiMoai , 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...
- TyrannosaurusTyrannosaurusTyrannosaurus 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...
- National Museum of American HistoryNational Museum of American HistoryThe National Museum of American History: Kenneth E. Behring Center collects, preserves and displays the heritage of the United States in the areas of social, political, cultural, scientific and military history. Among the items on display are the original Star-Spangled Banner and Archie Bunker's...
- National Museum of American History
- Oscar the GrouchOscar the GrouchOscar the Grouch is a Muppet character on the television program Sesame Street. He has a green body , has no nose , and lives in a trash can. His favorite thing in life is trash; evidence for this is the song "I Love Trash". A running theme is his compulsive hoarding of seemingly useless items...
puppet - George Armstrong CusterGeorge Armstrong CusterGeorge Armstrong Custer was a United States Army officer and cavalry commander in the American Civil War and the Indian Wars. Raised in Michigan and Ohio, Custer was admitted to West Point in 1858, where he graduated last in his class...
's fringed jacket - Muhammad AliMuhammad AliMuhammad Ali is an American former professional boxer, philanthropist and social activist...
's boxing gloves - Theodore RooseveltTheodore 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...
's chaps - Archie Bunker's chair from the television sitcom All in the FamilyAll in the FamilyAll in the Family is an American sitcom that was originally broadcast on the CBS television network from January 12, 1971, to April 8, 1979. In September 1979, a new show, Archie Bunker's Place, picked up where All in the Family had ended...
- Theodore RooseveltTheodore 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...
's teddy bearTeddy bearThe teddy bear is a stuffed toy bear. They are usually stuffed with soft, white cotton and have smooth and soft fur. It is an enduring form of a stuffed animal in many countries, often serving the purpose of entertaining children. In recent times, some teddy bears have become collector's items... - Ruby SlippersRuby slippersThe ruby slippers are the shoes worn by Dorothy in the 1939 MGM movie The Wizard of Oz. Because of their iconic stature, they are now among the most treasured and valuable of film memorabilia. As was customary for important props, a number of pairs were made for the film, though no one knows...
from The Wizard of OzThe Wizard of Oz (1939 film)The Wizard of Oz is a 1939 American musical fantasy film produced by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. It was directed primarily by Victor Fleming. Noel Langley, Florence Ryerson and Edgar Allan Woolf received credit for the screenplay, but there were uncredited contributions by others. The lyrics for the songs...
Gift shops at the Smithsonian also sell a replica of the Einstein Bobble-head, created specifically as a tie-in to the movie.
Critical reaction
Like its predecessor, the sequel has received mixed reviews from critics. Rotten TomatoesRotten Tomatoes
Rotten 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...
reported that 44% of critics gave the film positive reviews based on 154 reviews, with an average score of 5.2 out of 10. Among Rotten Tomatoes' "Cream of the Crop," which consists of popular and notable critics from the top newspapers, websites, television, and radio programs, the film holds an overall approval rating of 33% based on 27 reviews. Another review aggregator, Metacritic
Metacritic
Metacritic.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,...
, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 top reviews from mainstream critics, gave the film an average score of 42% based on 27 reviews.
Despite mixed reviews from critics, most critics praised Amy Adams' and Hank Azaria's performances. Michael Phillips
Michael Phillips (critic)
Michael Phillips is a film critic for the Chicago Tribune newspaper. Previously he was the drama critic of the Tribune; the Los Angeles Times; the St. Paul Pioneer Press; the San Diego Union-Tribune; and the Dallas Times Herald....
of the Chicago Tribune
Chicago Tribune
The Chicago Tribune is a major daily newspaper based in Chicago, Illinois, and the flagship publication of the Tribune Company. Formerly self-styled as the "World's Greatest Newspaper" , it remains the most read daily newspaper of the Chicago metropolitan area and the Great Lakes region and is...
awarded the film 3 stars stating that "...she's terrific -- a sparkling screen presence." Owen Gleiberman
Owen Gleiberman
Owen Gleiberman is an American film critic for Entertainment Weekly, a position he has held since the magazine's launch in 1990. From 1981–89, he worked at the Boston Phoenix....
of Entertainment Weekly
Entertainment Weekly
Entertainment Weekly is an American magazine, published by the Time division of Time Warner, that covers film, television, music, broadway theatre, books and popular culture...
gave the film a B+ stating "Battle of the Smithsonian has plenty of life. But it's Adams who gives it zing." Perry Seibert of TV Guide
TV Guide
TV Guide is a weekly American magazine with listings of TV shows.In addition to TV listings, the publication features television-related news, celebrity interviews, gossip and film reviews and crossword puzzles...
gave the film 2 stars despite honoring that "thanks to Azaria, a master of comic timing. His grandiose, yet slightly fey bad guy is equally funny when he's chewing out minions as he is when deliberating if Oscar the Grouch
Oscar the Grouch
Oscar the Grouch is a Muppet character on the television program Sesame Street. He has a green body , has no nose , and lives in a trash can. His favorite thing in life is trash; evidence for this is the song "I Love Trash". A running theme is his compulsive hoarding of seemingly useless items...
and Darth Vader
Darth Vader
Darth Vader is a central character in the Star Wars saga, appearing as one of the main antagonists in the original trilogy and as the main protagonist in the prequel trilogy....
are evil enough to join his team. Michael Rechtshaffen of the Hollywood Reporter and A.O. Scott of The New York Times
The New York Times
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
enjoyed both performances.
One critic panned the movie on its excessive use of special effects as noted by Scott Tobias of the A.V. Club when he described the film as "a baffling master plot and a crowded pileup of special effects in search of something to do." Roger Ebert
Roger Ebert
Roger Joseph Ebert is an American film critic and screenwriter. He is the first film critic to win a Pulitzer Prize for Criticism.Ebert is known for his film review column and for the television programs Sneak Previews, At the Movies with Gene Siskel and Roger Ebert, and Siskel and Ebert and The...
of the Chicago Sun Times awarded the film 1½ stars out of 4 claiming "its premise is lame, its plot relentlessly predictable, its characters with personalities that would distinguish picture books."
Box office
On Friday, May 22, 2009, its opening day, the film's estimated gross was $15,568,708, coming in ahead of Terminator SalvationTerminator Salvation
Terminator Salvation is a 2009 American science fiction action film directed by McG and starring Christian Bale and Sam Worthington. The fourth installment in the Terminator series, the film is set in 2018 and focuses on the war between Skynet and humanity, with the human Resistance fighting...
(which released on Thursday) in 4,096 theaters at #1, reaching up to $54.1 million over the Memorial Day weekend. By comparison, Night at the Museum
Night at the Museum
Night at the Museum is a 2006 fantasy adventure-comedy film based on the 1993 children's book The Night at the Museum by Milan Trenc. It follows a divorced father trying to settle down, impress his son, and find his destiny...
reached up to $30 million on its opening weekend in December 2006. The domestic revenue as of October 1, 2009, is $177.1 million along with $236.0 million from foreign countries with a total of $411,755,284 worldwide.
Awards
| Year | Award | Category | Recipient | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2009 | Teen Choice Award | Choice Movie Comedy | Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian | |
| 2010 | MTV Movie Award | Best Comedic Performance | Ben Stiller 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.... |
Home media
Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian was made available December 1, 2009 on DVD and Blu-ray as a two-disc Special Edition and a three-disc Digital Copy Edition.Video game
The video game based on the film was released on May 5, 2009. It was fairly well-received in comparison to the majority of film-based video-games, netting a 7.5 out of 10 from IGN.com.Artworks featured
- American GothicAmerican GothicAmerican Gothic is a painting by Grant Wood, in the collection of the Art Institute of Chicago. Wood's inspiration came from a cottage designed in the Gothic Revival style with a distinctive upper window and a decision to paint the house along with "the kind of people I fancied should live in that...
, painting by Grant WoodGrant WoodGrant DeVolson Wood was an American painter, born four miles east of Anamosa, Iowa. He is best known for his paintings depicting the rural American Midwest, particularly the painting American Gothic, an iconic image of the 20th century.- Life and career :His family moved to Cedar Rapids after his... - Balloon Dog, sculpture by Jeff KoonsJeff KoonsJeffrey "Jeff" Koons is an American artist known for his reproductions of banal objects—such as balloon animals produced in stainless steel with mirror finish surfaces....
- Crying Girl, painting by Roy LichtensteinRoy LichtensteinRoy Lichtenstein was a prominent American pop artist. During the 1960s his paintings were exhibited at the Leo Castelli Gallery in New York City and along with Andy Warhol, Jasper Johns, James Rosenquist and others he became a leading figure in the new art movement...
- La Petite Danseuse de Quatorze AnsLa Petite Danseuse de Quatorze Ans"Little Dancer of Fourteen Years" is a c. 1881 sculpture by Edgar Degas of a young dance student named Marie van Goethem. The sculpture was originally made in wax before it was cast in 1922 in bronze...
(Little Dancer of Fourteen Years), sculpture by Edgar DegasEdgar DegasEdgar Degas[p] , born Hilaire-Germain-Edgar De Gas, was a French artist famous for his work in painting, sculpture, printmaking and drawing. He is regarded as one of the founders of Impressionism although he rejected the term, and preferred to be called a realist... - Le Penseur (The Thinker), sculpture by Auguste RodinAuguste RodinFrançois-Auguste-René Rodin , known as Auguste Rodin , was a French sculptor. Although Rodin is generally considered the progenitor of modern sculpture, he did not set out to rebel against the past...
- Venus Italica, sculpture by Antonio CanovaAntonio CanovaAntonio Canova was an Italian sculptor from the Republic of Venice who became famous for his marble sculptures that delicately rendered nude flesh...
- NighthawksNighthawksNighthawks is a 1942 painting by Edward Hopper that portrays people sitting in a downtown diner late at night. It is considered Hopper's most famous painting, as well as one of the most recognizable in American art...
, painted by Edward HopperEdward HopperEdward Hopper was a prominent American realist painter and printmaker. While most popularly known for his oil paintings, he was equally proficient as a watercolorist and printmaker in etching... - V-J day in Times Square, picture taken by Alfred EisenstaedtAlfred EisenstaedtAlfred Eisenstaedt was a German-American photographer and photojournalist. He is renowned for his candid photographs, frequently made using various models of a 35mm Leica rangefinder camera...
- Sierra Nevada, painting by Albert BierstadtAlbert BierstadtAlbert Bierstadt was a German-American painter best known for his lavish, sweeping landscapes of the American West. In obtaining the subject matter for these works, Bierstadt joined several journeys of the Westward Expansion...
- Shad Fishing at Gloucester, Delaware River, painting by Thomas EakinsThomas EakinsThomas Cowperthwait Eakins was an American realist painter, photographer, sculptor, and fine arts educator...
- Works by Alexander CalderAlexander CalderAlexander Calder was an American sculptor and artist most famous for inventing mobile sculptures. In addition to mobile and stable sculpture, Alexander Calder also created paintings, lithographs, toys, tapestry, jewelry and household objects.-Childhood:Alexander "Sandy" Calder was born in Lawnton,...
and Jackson PollockJackson PollockPaul Jackson Pollock , known as Jackson Pollock, was an influential American painter and a major figure in the abstract expressionist movement. During his lifetime, Pollock enjoyed considerable fame and notoriety. He was regarded as a mostly reclusive artist. He had a volatile personality, and... - "LOVE", sculpture by Robert Indiana
Sequel
Ben StillerBen 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....
admitted that a sequel is "a possibility" and on January 22, 2010, co-writer Thomas Lennon said to Access Hollywood
Access Hollywood
Access Hollywood is a weekday television entertainment news program covering events and celebrities in the entertainment industry. It was created by former Entertainment Tonight executive producer Jim Van Messel, and is currently directed by Robert Silverstein. In previous years, Doug Dougherty and...
, "That after the success of two Night at the Museum films, its no surprise that 20th Century Fox is looking to develop a third and that those suspicions are indeed true and how could you not? I think it's a really outstanding idea to do 'Night at the Museum 3,' in fact," he said. "I wonder if someone's not even already working on a script for that," he added with a raised eyebrow. "I cannot confirm that for a fact, but I cannot deny it for a fact either... It might be in the works."
In an interview, Stiller confirmed the sequel, however, he said that it was only in the "ideas stage".