A night at a historical museum where all things come to life at Night may sound scary, considering both the elements: a museum and resurrection. However, this Disney production is a fantasy comedy series based on a children’s book by Milan Trenc. The creators have beautifully picturized live-action and computer-animated features, bringing an exciting appeal to the historical facts and figures.
The story of Night at the Museum has a mysterious frame and an epic cast. Starring Ben Stiller, the movie is about a divorced father who desperately needs a job. So, he applied to the American Museum of Natural History and was assigned the duty of a night guard. Thinking it to be quite an easy job since there are no visitors at Night, he is surprised to see the reality of spending the Night at this museum.
As simple as the story sounds, it is quite an exciting concept. Even though a book inspires it, the visuals in the movie make it an impactful and worthwhile experience. The series consists of three movies, each revolving around a mysterious story. It creates the same excitement among viewers as the previous one.
With an ensemble cast consisting of Owen Wilson, Ricky Gervais, Robin Williams, Patrick Gallagher, etc., it becomes even all the more exciting.
Night At The Museum – 2006
Credit: Night At The Museum
The first film of the franchise attracted many viewers. Although the trailer revealed most of the information, the movie was still entertaining in its form. When Larry, played by Ben Stiller, felt his 10-year-old boy admires his ex-wife’s fiancé more, he got worried and desperate to win his son back. A job offer at the museum was a massive opportunity for him to gain his lost respect. So, he immediately accepted it, unknown of the strange yet unique things that came along.
On his first Night, Larry was terrified to see the T-Rex skeleton drinking water from the fountain. Then he saw several different exhibits roaming around the museum. Finally, there was a mischievous capuchin monkey named Dexter, who eventually became Larry’s companion. As all the creatures were busy fighting each other, a mounted Teddy Roosevelt came to rescue Larry. Then, he explained the secret of this mystical museum.
The movie gradually shows how Larry deals with the truth about the tablet of Ahkmenrah. Also, how he convinces the exhibits to stop fighting to deal with a more significant problem together. Larry is also credited with bringing visitors back to the withering museum.
Night At The Museum 2 (Battle of the Smithsonian) – 2009
Credit: Night At The Museum 2
The sequel came out three years later, consisting of all the same characters with some additional new ones. This time, Larry Daley is a successful businessman who invents home security appliances and infomercials. However, when he learns about the museum exhibits being transferred to Smithsonian in Washington DC without the Ahkmenrah tablet, he returns to spend some time with them.
To everyone’s surprise, Dexter steals the tablet and takes it to Smithsonian, and the exhibit there also comes to life. Some new characters are introduced here, including Amelia Earhart, who helps Larry save the others from the evil plans of Ahkmenrah’s brother Kahmunrah.
Night At The Museum 3 (Secret of the Tomb) – 2014
Credit: Night At The Museum 2
The third installment in the series takes the cast to London. The story reveals the secret about the powers of the Ahkmenrah tablet. When the museum artifacts start misbehaving, Larry discovers that the tablet is malfunctioning and losing its magic. So, he teams up with his son Nick, a teenager, to figure out the reason behind the depleting magic.
They both, along with Dexter, and Teddy, travel to London to find out the history of the Ahkmenrah and revive the tablet’s power. The time chase in the story makes it more exciting, as the tablet must be saved before it loses all its power. Moreover, the constant hassle among the characters delays the chase even more, bringing additional fun to the entire film.
Will There Be a Fourth Part?
The Night at the Museum trilogy is an entertaining fantasy action-comedy film that kids love. The light comedy action scenes and positive effects given to ancient artifacts create a fun angle for the viewers.
Even though the first sequel was not appreciated as much, the second received good reviews making the trilogy worth watching. In addition, the fourth installment in the series will be released in December 2022 (as announced), titled Night at the Museum 4 (or Kahmunrah Rises Again).
Being a light-hearted film, there is not much to the story. However, the events, gigs, live-action, and several characters make it a package deal. Considering the fourth one in line, now might be the best time to run through the first three and get a grip on the context to fully enjoy the to-be-released part of the seriesentire.