Night at the Museum (Sony Version)

Night at the Museum is a 2011 American fantasy comedy film directed by Raja Gosnell and written by John Requa and Glenn Ficarra. It is based on the 1993 children's book of the same name by Croatian illustrator Milan Trenc. The film had an ensemble cast of Andy Samberg in the lead role, Selena Gomez, Bobby Cannavale, Danny Trejo, Bill Cobbs, and Liam Neeson. It tells the story of a divorced father who applies for a job as a night watchman at New York City's American Museum of Natural History and subsequently discovers that the exhibits, animated by a magical Egyptian artifact, the tablet of Akhmenrah, come to life at night. It is the first live-action Sony Pictures Animation film and the first of three live-action Night at the Museum features films.

Night at the Museum was released by Columbia Pictures through Sony Pictures Releasing on July 29, 2011. The film was received positive reviews, the film was a commercial success, grossing $564 million worldwide, making it the ninth-highest-grossing film of 2011, and was Sony Pictures Animation's highest-grossing film.

Two sequels were released: Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian in 2015, and Night at the Museum: Secret of the Tomb in 2019.

Plot
In New York City, Larry Daley is a divorced aspiring inventor bouncing between jobs and apartments. His former wife Erica is sympathetic to his situation, but considers him a bad example to their ten-year-old son Nick, an elementary schooler who considers quitting ice hockey and plans to become a bond trader like his mother's fiancé Don when he grows up; while Larry worries that Nick admires Don instead of him, especially after Nick decides to invite Don to Career Day at his school. Larry is hired as the night security guard at the Museum of Natural History, replacing retiring guard Cecil Fredericks and his colleagues Gus and Reginald. Cecil gives Larry a special instructions manual, warning him not to "let anything in... or out".

On his first night, Larry discovers that the museum's exhibits come to life after sunset, including: "Rexy", a playful Tyrannosaurus skeleton; Dexter, a mischievous stuffed capuchin monkey who destroys Larry's manual, along with other taxidermied animals, and later takes his keys; rival miniature civilisations depicting the Old West, Ancient Rome, and Ancient Maya; a chewing gum-loving Easter Island Moai; wax models of Attila the Hun, American Civil War soldiers, and pyromaniacal Neanderthals, as well as Sacagawea, who is encased in glass and cannot hear anyone or anything from outside of it. A mounted Teddy Roosevelt rescues Larry from feuding miniature leaders Jedediah and Octavius, and explains that ever since an ancient Egyptian artifact – the Golden Tablet of Pharaoh Ahkmenrah – arrived in 1952, the exhibits come to life each night, but would turn to dust if left outside the museum at sunrise. As Teddy helps restore order, Larry learns that Teddy is in love with Sacagawea but is too shy to speak to her.

Cecil, Reginald, and Gus check on Larry, who has decided to quit, but Nick and Don stop by to congratulate him on his new job. Larry decides to stay for his son's sake, and Cecil advises reading up on history. Larry is better able to control the exhibits, but is forced to extinguish a fire that the Neanderthals' had caused in their own display, while Dexter steals Larry's keys again and unlocks a window, allowing a Neanderthal to jump out the window and escape onto the street, upon seeing a group of homeless people using a fire pit. Frustrated, Larry again decides to quit, and is unable to save the escaped Neanderthal from disintegrating from the rising sun, while his remains are swept up by a street sweeper. Nick witnesses museum director Dr. McPhee fire Larry over the damaged Neanderthal exhibit, though Larry convinces him to reconsider with him clearing up the misunderstanding with Nick. Rebecca Hutman, a museum guide and historian writing her dissertation on Sacagawea, believes Larry is mocking her when he tells her the museum's nighttime secret.

Larry brings Nick to the museum but nothing comes to life, and they discover Cecil, Gus and Reginald stealing the tablet and have deactivated it to stop the exhibits from interferring. Like the exhibits, the elderly guards receive enhanced vitality from the tablet, and have plotted to steal it along with other valuable artifacts to fund their retirement and frame Larry for their thievery. Nick reactivates the tablet, bringing the museum back to life and a chase ensues throughout the museum, but the chase is halted when Cecil snatches the tablet away and locks Nick and Larry in the Egyptian room. Larry releases Ahkmenrah's mummy from his sarcophagus, and the pharaoh helps Larry and Nick escape. They find the other exhibits fighting amongst themselves, and Larry convinces them to unite to catch the guards and recover the tablet.

Gus and Reginald are captured, while Cecil escapes in a Pony Express stagecoach, and Teddy pushes Sacagawea out of Cecil's path and is sliced in half, but still alive. Larry pursues Cecil into Central Park, stopping him and regaining the tablet, and Teddy finally bonds with Sacagawea as she repairs him. Rebecca sees the exhibits returning to the museum, and she realises the truth and Larry introduces her to Sacagawea. The next day, McPhee attempts to fire Larry after news reports about the night's strange events – such as The Neanderthals leaving cave paintings in the museum's subway station, and Rexy's dinosaur tracks in Central Park – but the publicity boosts museum attendance. Larry is rehired, and celebrates that night with a party along with Nick, Rebecca and the exhibits in attendance.

During the end credits, Cecil, Gus and Reginald are forced to work as museum janitors as punishment for their crimes, and are shown cleaning up after the party.

Humans

 * Andy Samberg as Larry Daley, a night-shift security guard at the American Museum of Natural History in New York, Nick's father, and Erica's former husband.
 * Selena Gomez as Linda Harris, Larry's love interest.
 * Jennifer Aniston as Rebecca Hutman, a museum docent.
 * Bobby Cannavale as Cecil Fredericks, a veteran security guard.
 * Danny Trejo as Gus, a veteran security guard, who takes an instant dislike to Larry.
 * Bill Cobbs as Reginald, a veteran security guard.
 * Ed Oxenbould as Nicholas "Nick" Daley, Larry's and Erica's son.
 * Rob Delaney as Dr. McPhee, the curator of the Museum of Natural History and Larry's boss.
 * Kim Raver as Erica Daley, Larry's former wife and Nick's mother.
 * Charlie Murphy as the taxi-driver.
 * Tony Hale as Don, Erica's fiancé.
 * Anne Meara as Debbie.

Exhibits

 * Liam Neeson as Theodore Roosevelt, the wax sculpture of the 26th President of the United States, who befriends Larry.
 * Patrick Gallagher as a wax model of Attila The Hun, the statue of the leader of the Huns, who antagonizes Larry at first.
 * Nick Jonas as the mummy of Ahkmenrah, an Egyptian pharaoh who is the owner of the tablet.
 * Pierfrancesco Favino as a bronze statue of Christopher Columbus, whose name Larry consistently forgets.
 * T. J. Miller (voice) as Jedediah, a miniature cowboy figure.
 * Seth Rogen (voice) as Octavius, a miniature Roman general figure.
 * Mizuo Peck as Sacagawea, the polyurethane model of the Lemhi Shoshone woman who is Theodore Roosevelt's girlfriend.
 * Kerry van der Griend, Dan Rizzuto, Matthew Harrison, and Jody Racicot as wax models of Neanderthals.
 * Martin Christopher as a wax model of Meriwether Lewis.
 * Martin Sims as a wax model of William Clark.
 * Randy Lee, Darryl Quon, Gerald Wong, and Paul Chih-Ping Cheng as wax models of Huns.
 * Brad Garrett as the voice of the Easter Island Head.
 * Crystal the Monkey as Dexter, a stuffed Capuchin monkey.
 * Roger Lewis (voice) as Cowboy
 * Jonathan Lee (voice) as Chinese Rail Worker
 * Jason Mckinnon as Irish Worker
 * Jason Vaisvila, and Cade Wagar as wax models of Vikings.
 * Cory Martin as Chinese Terra Cota Soldier
 * Gary Sievers as Viking Warrior
 * Trevor Addie (voice) as Roman
 * Dave Hospes (voice) as Cowboy
 * Lloyd Adams as Soldier
 * Matthew Walker as Politician

Development
In June 2008, it was announced that Columbia Pictures and Sony Pictures Animation will make adaptation on the book The Night of the Museum by Milan Trenc. Jordan Kerner said the current project started with Sony during a conversation with the chairman-CEO Michael Lynton. Kerner explained, "He relished them as I do and suggested that it should be a live-action/CG film. Amy Pascal felt equally that there was potentially a series of films in the making". Cats & Dogs writer John Requa and Glenn Ficcara wrote the writers. Raja Gosnell, who previously directed Scooby-Doo and its sequel Monsters Unleashed, directed the film.

Casting
In November 2009, Andy Samberg was added the cast of the film. Later that day, Anna Faris was in talks to be in the cast, however, she did not pan out. It was later announced that Selena Gomez would replace Faris.

Filming
On a budget of $110 million, principal photography began in New York City on March 26, 2010. The building featured in the film, which was constructed on a sound stage in Burnaby, British Columbia, is based on the American Museum of Natural History in New York City, external shots of which were used in the movie. Trainers spent several weeks training Crystal, who plays the troublemaking monkey Dexter, to slap and bite Samberg in the film. Gosnell credited Samberg for the ensemble cast: "When actors hear that Andy Samberg 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."

Visual Effects and Animation
In order to help the animators during post-production, cinematographer Phil Meheux and his team would light up a scene where the Smurfs would be digitally added using 7 and one half-inch tall models to stand in during set-up and rehearsals. The characters created during post-production by 268 Sony Pictures Imageworks employees who spent around 358,000 hours animating. Character designer Allen Battino, a long time Kerner collaborator, was brought in to redesign the characters for CGI.

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. It can be heard on the American DVD on the Spanish dub.
 * "September" - performed by Earth, Wind and Fire; used before the end credits where everyone in the museum is partying.
 * "Weapon of Choice" - performed by Fatboy Slim; used in the scene where Larry returns to the museum for his second night and is preparing for the chaos.
 * "Tonight" - performed by Keke Palmer featuring Cham; used for the end credits.
 * An instrumental version of "Mandy" by Barry Manilow is used when Larry is standing in the elevator, while escaping from Attila the Hun.
 * "Ezekiel Saw Them Dry Bones" is the tune Larry whistles as he passes the empty T. rex exhibit on his first night.
 * "Camptown Races" by Stephen Foster is sung by the townspeople of the American West miniature diorama. This is a period-correct song.

Score
Heitor Pereira was replaced John Powell, who previously composed the score for Gosnell' Beverly Hills Chihuahua (2008). Madison Gate Records released a soundtrack album of the score on July 23, 2011.