History Film / NightAtTheMuseum

* InSeriesNickname: Several of the characters with long names have theirs shortened (at least occasionally) by Larry. He almost always uses "Jed" for Jedediah and "Teddy" for Theodore Roosevelt, and also sometimes uses "Dex" for Dexter, "Sac" for Sacagawea and "Ahk" for Ahkmenrah.

* AmazinglyEmbarrassingParents / FantasticRacism: Ahkmenrah's parents have a moment of this when they first meet Larry and the rest of the group, as they proclaim that their Egyptian gods are the "true gods". When Larry patiently explains that several members of their group practice other religions, he concludes by saying that he is half-Jewish, at which point Ahk's parents happily proclaim, "We have thousands of Jews! Such nice people!" Poor Ahk actually ''hangs/ducks his head in embarrassment''. To be fair, his parents were simply being InnocentlyInsensitive (since those views were perfectly reasonable during their time), and didn't have any malicious intent in their comments. Larry seems to realize this, as he doesn't take offense to it and is perfectly polite throughout the conversation.

* EverythingsBetterWithMonkeys: Dexter may look like just an ordinary mischievous capuchin, but he's actually very smart.

* ShutUpKiss: Amelia says to Larry "You talk too much" and then forcefully kisses him.
* SlapSlapKiss: Spoofed.

* StockParody: Of ''[[ThreeHundred 300]]''.

* BoundAndGagged: Played humourously with Larry tied to a toy train set by Jebediah and Octavius.

* BoungAndGagged: Played humourously with Larry tied to a toy train set by Jebediah and Octavius.

* ManicPixieDreamGirl: Amelia Earhart.

** During the finale of the third film, Tilly and La recreate one of the more famous ''DirtyDancing'' scenes, specifically the lift. Rexy and Trixy, the dinosaur skeletons are also shown doing this.

The sequel, subtitled ''Battle of the Smithsonian'', was released in May 2009. Here, as the New York museum is being renovated many exhibits are stored in the Smithsonian. This brings with them a whole other genre of problems, as Ahkmenrah's brother Kahmenrah is animated at the Smithsonian and seeks to use the tablet's powers to open a portal and unleash his army. To stop him and protect the other exhibits Larry teams with Amelia Earhardt to unravel the mystery of the tablet and stop Kahmenrah.

* HistoricalInJoke: The WW2 sailor who nabs Larry's cellphone is named Joey Motorola. Wait, does this mean the TimeyWimeyBall could be in effect?

* YouSaidYouWouldLetThemGo: Played with. It's clear in the OverlyLongGag between Larry and Kahmunrah with the hourglass, tablet, and combination that Larry is trying to avoid this situation. He is GenreSavvy enough to know that Kahmunrah probably won't release his friends and return Jed even if Larry does give him what he wants (and, in fact, the back-and-forth banter between the two implies that this is indeed the case), so he demands that Kahmunrah fulfill his end of the bargain before Larry holds up his. However, once Kahmunrah's henchmen show up with the combination, Kahmunrah snatches the tablet from Larry before carelessly tossing Jed's hourglass over his shoulder (which Larry then catches). He does not, however, say anything about releasing Larry's other friends, and it's implied that Kahmunrah doesn't care if Larry gets Jed back at that point because they'll both be killed by his Underworld Army anyway.

* AxCrazy: Attila the Hun.

The first film was released on December 22, 2006, written by Robert Ben Garant and Thomas Lennon of Creator/ComedyCentral's ''Series/{{Reno 911}}'' and MTV's ''TheState'', and directed by Shawn Levy. A new novelization of the screenplay by Leslie Goldman was published as a film tie-in. Larry is a struggling inventor who is trying to bond with his son, so to make ends meet he takes a job as the night guard for the Museum of History. He learns from the retiring guards on how to deal with the various exhibits as they come to life because of a magical tablet displayed with Egyptian royalty Ahkmenrah. Recognizing the responsibility he has to keep order, he also has to fend off a nefarious plot to plunder the museum of its magic and riches.

* {{Homage}}: Larry scouting out the Smithsonian is accompanied by background music from ''NationalTreasure''. Note that both movies involve breaking into a national museum.

''Night at the Museum'' is a series of family comedy films produced by Creator/TwentiethCenturyFox and directed by Shawn Levy, starring Ben Stiller as Larry Daley, the night guard for the New York American Museum of Natural history who learns that the exhibits come to life at night. It is based on a 1993 children's book by Milan Trenc.

The second sequel, ''Secret of the Tomb'', was released December 19, 2014. The final mystery of the origin of the tablet is revealed as they have to 'revive' its power since the magic is slowly wearing out, stopping in the middle of public showings. The London Museum holds the answers and with it massive hijinks abound. It was also one of the last film roles for Robin Williams after his suicide in August 2014, and for Mickey Rooney, who passed away in April of the same year; Rooney's appearance allowed him to become the first (and possibly only) actor to appear in a motion picture in '''10''' consecutive decades.

The second sequel, ''Secret of the Tomb'', was released December 19, 2014. The final mystery of the origin of the tablet is revealed as they have to 'revive' its power since the magic is slowly wearing out, stopping in the middle of public showings. The London Museum holds the answers and with it massive hijinks abound. It was also one of the last film roles for Robin Williams after his suicide in August 2014, and for Mickey Rooney, who passed away in April of the same year.

[[quoteright:350:http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/night_at_the_museum.jpg]]

* {{Badass}}: Lancelot has incredible [[MasterSwordsman sword skills]].

* FauxActionGirl: Amelia Earhart continually insists she is able to take care of herself, but isn't seen doing anything particularly [[{{Hotshot}} awesome]] except for flying a plane for a few seconds before handing it to Larry (who has never even flown a plane before).