Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian
Short description
Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian continues the story of Larry Daley, the former night watchman at New York's Museum of Natural History. Now running his own business, Larry learns that the museum's exhibits are being replaced by holograms and packed off to the archives of the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C. When a distress call reaches him from Jedediah, the miniature cowboy, Larry discovers that the museum complex has come to life and that his friends are in danger. Among the newly awakened figures are the Egyptian pharaoh Kahmunrah, who wants the magical tablet for himself, and Amelia Earhart, who joins Larry as an ally.
Shawn Levy returned to direct, working from a screenplay by Thomas Lennon and Robert Ben Garant, with Chris Columbus among the producers. The film is the sixth of the seventeen features Levy has directed to date, arriving between The Pink Panther and Date Night. Ben Stiller leads a cast of fifty-six credited performers, including Amy Adams as Amelia Earhart, Owen Wilson as Jedediah, Robin Williams as Theodore Roosevelt, Hank Azaria as Kahmunrah, and Christopher Guest as Ivan the Terrible.
Made for about 150 million dollars, the film took in roughly 413 million dollars worldwide. On IMDb it holds 6 out of 10 from around 228,000 votes, and on TMDB 6.2 out of 10 from more than 7,400 votes. A critics' rating of 5.2 out of 10 from 167 reviews places it below the audience scores.
What's left behind the scenes
- A giant squid is indeed present as one of the exhibits at the Smithsonian Institution, although in the film it is transformed into a huge octopus.
- Many exhibits present in the Smithsonian Institution's archives are not part of its collection and are actually located in various museums in America and Europe. For example, the Thinker statue is on display at the Rodin Museum in Paris, and Degas's ballerina is at the Royal Academy in London.
- After the toy Einsteins help Larry decipher the plate's combination, they sing "That’s The Way" by KC & The Sunshine Band. Ben Stiller's character danced to this song at a disco in the film "Starsky & Hutch" (2004).
- “Night at the Museum 2” is the second film to feature Abraham Lincoln and Napoleon Bonaparte together on screen. The first was “Bill & Ted’s Excellent Adventure” (1989), twenty years prior.
- The motorcycle Larry uses during his escape is a rare 1942 Harley Davidson XA Military Side Valve 750cc Flat Twin with a sidecar. It was an American copy of the BMW/Zundapp motorcycles used by the German army.
- Clint Howard, brother of renowned director Ron Howard, appears in a cameo as the flight control center director at the Aeronautics Center.
- A game of the same name was based on this movie.
- The first film was shot at the Smithsonian Institution.
- Director Shawn Levy also appeared in the film, playing a cameo role as the father from the commercial who is looking for a flashlight.
- Screenwriters Robert Ben Garant and Thomas Lennon appear in cameos as aviation pioneers Wilbur and Orville Wright.
- Reese Witherspoon was originally slated to play the role of Amelia Earhart.
Auditions in India
Casting calls in USA
Castingi w Polsce
Кастинги в Україні
