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Main Characters
Larry Daley
The museum's new night guard.
- Adaptational Badass: In the children's books, all he does is screw up in the most stupendous way possible. The films not only make him responsible enough to at least do most of the clean up, but he even learns real martial arts over the course of the trilogy.
- Adaptational Intelligence: Larry is not only very clever and capable of learning from his mistakes, but he becomes well-versed on history, archaeology, and other subjects related to the museum via his own research, he later graduates college and becomes a teacher. In the original books he keeps screwing up unbelievably and he remains a night guard.
- Amicably Divorced: He gets along really well with his ex-wife, the only real thing that causes tension between them is Larry’s habit of changing jobs in the first movie.
- Badass Fingersnap: He is really fond of snapping his fingers, up to the point that he even invented the Snapper, an electric switch which is similar to the Clapper
, but responds to the sound of finger-snapping. - Carry a Big Stick: He wields his flashlight as a mace in his final duel with Kahmunrah.
- Charles Atlas Superpower: Began as an unemployed everyman. Somehow is able to stand up to ancient deities and legendary creatures, most prominently in the second film where he's able to defeat Kahmunrah in a sword fight with his flashlight, despite seemingly having no formal training. A possible explanation is that because of his time around the exhibits, many of whom are or represent accomplished warriors, Larry might have picked up a trick or two.
- Deadpan Snarker: He makes dry quips whenever he becomes aware of his Only Sane Man status.
- Five-Man Band: The Leader in every film.
- Guile Hero: Larry is extremely clever when he wants to be, has a sharp memory and eventually develops nerves of steel, and so solves most problems he runs into with lateral thinking, improvised solutions, and his own wits. This is especially noticeable when he goes up against the series' various villains, who can always overpower him but never outwit him.
- The Heart: What ultimately sets him apart from his predecessors, is that Larry is very empathetic which allows him to unite the exhibits and make everybody get along. Among other things, he encourages Attila to connect with his feelings, gets Teddy and Sacagawea together and frees Ahkmenrah from his sarcophagus, which earns him the pharaoh' gratitude and loyalty. While Larry arguably had ulterior motives (Cecil's scheme could have landed him in jail, and Ahkmenrah was the only one the jackal-headed statues would listen to), his care for the exhibits is genuine.
- Improbable Weapon User: He uses a flashlight to defeat Kahmunrah in the second film. A case of Truth in Television; museum flashlights ARE built incredibly tough and museum guards often use them to try and subdue people.
- Named by the Adaptation: Larry was the only name revealed in the books. His full name is given as "Lawrence Daley" in the movie.
- Only Sane Man: Compared to most of the museum exhibits, definitely. Interestingly, outside of the museum rarely anyone considers him this, especially in the first movie, often seeing him as a daydreamer, a bit of a slacker or just a weirdo.
- Papa Bear: He is very protective of his son Nick. To an extent, he is also one to the museum exhibits.
- Secret-Keeper: Swears an oath to keep the living exhibits a secret between him and his family.
Nick Daley
Nick Daley
Played by: Jake Cherry (Movie 1, Battle at the Smithsonian), Skyler Gisondo (Secret of the Tomb)
Voiced by: Joshua Bassett (Kahmunrah Rises Again)
Voiced by: Joshua Bassett (Kahmunrah Rises Again)
Larry's son.
- Ascended Extra: Was an important character in the first two movies, but appeared sparingly in them. He is part of the main cast in the third movie and gets some Character Development. He then becomes the main protagonist of the animated film.
- Secret-Keeper: He knows about the museum's secret after Larry's Cassandra Truth and kept it dark even his early adult years.
Teddy Roosevelt
Theodore "Teddy" Roosevelt
Played by: Robin Williams
Voiced by: Thomas Lennon (Kahmunrah Rises Again)
Dubbed by: Michel Papineschi (European French)
Voiced by: Thomas Lennon (Kahmunrah Rises Again)
Dubbed by: Michel Papineschi (European French)
This version of America’s 26th president is a wax statue.
- Beta Couple: With Sacagawea. They are the secondary couple in most of the movies.
- Big Good: Alongside Ahkmenrah, he helps Larry with his first nights at the museum.
- Boisterous Bruiser: Teddy is very jovial as well as a man of action.
- Demoted to Extra: He sits most of the second movie out due to not being sent to the Smithsonian.
- Five-Man Band: The Lancer. He is the second in command to Larry and among the museum exhibits somewhat of an authority figure.
- Half the Man He Used to Be: Gets bisected during the first film's climax. Thankfully, being made of wax allows this to be remedied with judicial application of candlewax.
- The Lancer: Plays this role in the first and third movie.
- Large Ham: As to be expected when played by Robin Williams.
- O.O.C. Is Serious Business: He is the first to show what the decaying tablet does to the exhibits, devolving into hyperactive rambling nonsense.
- The Treachery of Images: Discussed in the first movie. Teddy reminds Larry that although he looks and acts like Teddy Roosevelt, he is still just a wax sculpture and has not achieved any of the things that the real Teddy did.
Sacagawea
Sacagawea
Played by: Mizuo Peck
Voiced by: Kieran Sequoia (Kahmunrah Rises Again)
Voiced by: Kieran Sequoia (Kahmunrah Rises Again)
A wax figure of the Native American woman that helped Lewis and Clark explore the United States.
- Action Girl: Sacagawea, despite not having as much screentime or dialogue as some of the other exhibits, is helpful to Larry in all three movies (as a tracker in the first and third, as a fighter in the final battle in the second, and in helping Larry plan an important event at the beginning of the third).
- Beta Couple: With Teddy. They are the secondary couple in most of the movies.
- Five-Man Band: The Chick.
- Only Sane Man: One of most level headed and knowledgeable characters in the whole trilogy, Ahkmenrah is arguably the only exhibit wiser than her.
Attila the Hun
Attila
Played by: Patrick Gallagher
Voiced by: Alexander Salamat (Kahmunrah Rises Again)
Voiced by: Alexander Salamat (Kahmunrah Rises Again)
A wax version of the famed Hun warlord.
- As Long as It Sounds Foreign: The Hun language remains a mystery due to the lack of historical information and sources, so Patrick Gallagher made up and yelled out a string of unintelligible words.
- Ax-Crazy: Especially in the first movie, where Larry was under constant threat of being ripped apart by Attila's huns.
- The Big Guy: Easily the physically strongest person and always happy to rip someone apart.
- Break the Badass: Attila breaks down after Larry uses psychology on him.
- Defeat Means Friendship: It's only when Larry breaks him by talking that they make amends.
- Five-Man Band: The Big Guy.
- Hot-Blooded: His favorite way of approaching problems is to rip said problem apart, limb by limb.
- No Indoor Voice: Attila spends most of the first movie screaming (probably) death-threats at Larry.
- O.O.C. Is Serious Business: As the tablet corrodes during the third movie, Attila experiences extreme bouts of panic, to the point where Larry has to talk sense into him.
- Red Oni, Blue Oni: Attila is Red to virtually everyone's Blue.
Jedediah
Jedediah
A miniature cowboy who is part of an exhibit on Manifest Destiny.
- Ambiguously Gay: Subtly implied he has some sort of feelings towards Octavius, at the end of the third movie. He seems to get jealous when Octavius compliments Lancelot's looks, and during their almost death, he decides to take Octavius' hand.
- Ambiguous Situation: It's unknown whether or not if he's a miniature of the frontiersman Jedediah Smith, and it does not help that they look somewhat alike.
- Breakout Character: He proved so popular with test audiences that reshoots gave him a larger role.
- Fire-Forged Friends: With Octavius and Larry.
- Heterosexual Life-Partners: With Octavius, starting at the end of the first film. (Their heterosexuality is debatable.)
- Red Oni, Blue Oni: Red to Octavius' blue. Much more impulsive and violent and less tactical.
- Vitriolic Best Buds: Even after becoming friends, he and Octavius still argue Like an Old Married Couple
Octavius
Octavius
A miniature Roman soldier from an exhibit on Roman Times.
- Actor Allusion: This isn't the first time that Steve Coogan has portrayed a miniature figurine brought to life... Bonus points for the film also featuring a cowboy figurine brought to life.
- Affectionate Nickname: Jed calls him "Ockie".
- Ambiguously Gay: Octavius has never shown any interest towards women, but in the third movie he seems to be romantically interested in Jedediah. He also calls Sir Lancelot very handsome on several occasions.
- Ambiguous Situation: It's unknown whether or not if he's a miniature of the future Roman Emperor Augustus who was born as Octavius.
- Breakout Character: Much like Jed, he was given a bigger role in reshoots after being very well-received by test audiences.
- Fire-Forged Friends: With Jed and Larry.
- Heterosexual Life-Partners: With Jed, starting at the end of the first film. Though fans would find the heterosexuality part very debatable.
- Large Ham: Is fond of dramatic speeches and shouting at the top of his lungs at just any situation.
- Mundane Made Awesome: When he rides on a squirrel, he calls it the most fearsome beast on Earth.
- The Queen's Latin: Possibly justified, given that he's not really an Ancient Roman.
- Red Oni, Blue Oni: Blue to Jedediah's red. Very tactical, less angry and actually had a strategy when attacking Larry in the first film.
- Vitriolic Best Buds: Even after he and Jed become friends, they still argue Like an Old Married Couple
Dexter the Monkey
Dexter
Played by: Crystal the Monkey
Voiced by: Dee Bradley Baker (Kahmunrah Rises Again)
Voiced by: Dee Bradley Baker (Kahmunrah Rises Again)
A capuchin monkey who delights in mischief.
- Misplaced Wildlife: He's part of the "African mammals" exhibit, despite being a South American monkey species. Curiously, the fourth movie correctly identifies Dexter as a South American monkey.
- Nice Job Breaking It, Hero: It's his fault that the plot of the second film starts. He brought the Tablet to the Smithsonian and Kahmunrah came to life with ambitions of world domination.
- Silly Simian: One of the franchise's main sources of laughter due to his love-hate relationship with Larry and trickster nature. Not if your name is Larry Daley, mind you, but other than that he is affable.
- Took a Level in Kindness: He treats Larry with a lot more kindness after the first movie, especially in the third movie where he is downright respectful to him.
- Ungrateful Bastard: He is this to Larry, but slowly warms up to him.
Ahkmenrah
Ahkmenrah
Played by: Rami Malek
A mummified Egyptian king from an unspecified dynasty. His tablet is what causes the exhibits to come to life.
- And I Must Scream: While most of the other exhibits were able to roam the museum as they please, he was locked in his coffin for over fifty years, screaming his head off every night. He is very relieved when he is freed near the end of the first movie.
- Ascended Extra: While he didn't physically appear until the third act of the first movie and only made brief appearances in the second, the third movie has him take a major role and he is consistently active in the plot.
- Because You Were Nice to Me: Ahkmenrah treats Larry with immense respect, usually referring to him as the Guardian of Brooklyn, saying that he will always be in his debt. Seeing as Larry was the first to free him from his sarcophagus in fifty-four years, it's not hard to see why.
- Big Good: Alongside Teddy Roosevelt, he helps Larry protecting the tablet. He is also able to command the exhibits using the tablet's power.
- Body Horror: What he is subjected to as the tablet slowly loses its power. Since he once was a live human being, he slowly decomposes to a corpse.
- Cain and Abel: The Abel to Kahmunrah's Cain. Kahmunrah despises his younger brother, feeling that he cheated him out of his throne. An early draft of the second film has him admitting to killing Ahkmenrah in his sleep.
- Chummy Mummy: Ahkmenrah is a pharaoh from over four thousand years ago and he is one of the friendliest and most reliable exhibits Larry has on his side.
- Cool Crown: He wears an elegant golden crown.
- Cunning Linguist: In addition to his native language Egyptian he is also perfectly fluent in English and somehow Hun.
- Deadpan Snarker: While being one of the nicest exhibits around, he is prone to sarcasm every now and then.
- Demoted to Extra: He only has two brief scenes in the second movie.
- Dissonant Serenity: There's a small, slightly disturbing moment in the third movie, when Jed and Octavius fall down the ventilation shaft. Everyone is understandably worried that the heat will kill them, with the exception of Ahkmenrah, who just stands there calmly, nonchalantly stating that the heat will "bake them like tiny little scarabs in the Sinai". Everyone silently stares at him incredulously. His only response is "Too dark?"
- Eternal English: Ahkmenrah speaks perfect English right out of the gate, which he explains as being from his time as an exhibit at Cambridge.
- Five-Man Band: The Smart Guy. He is the only one who knows how to use the tablet. He also speaks Hun.
- Mature Younger Sibling: Ahkmenrah is younger than his brother Kahmunrah, but far more sensible, down to earth and pleasant to be around, as opposed to his bloodthirsty, childish brother. It's easy to see why his parents passed the throne to him instead.
- Nice Guy: He is impeccably polite the moment he is freed and immediately offers Larry his help. Ahkmenrah also never questions Larry's authority, despite being a pharaoh and the owner of the tablet.
- Only Sane Man: Among the exhibits he turns out to be this, occasionally sharing the role with Teddy Roosevelt.
- Practically Different Generations: His brother, Kahmunrah, looks old enough to be his father.
- Really 700 Years Old: About four thousand years old, though you wouldn't know this from looking at him.
- Red Oni, Blue Oni: The blue to Kahmunrah's red. Ahkmenrah is level-headed, soft-spoken and generally more composed compared to his hammy brother.
- Sealed Good in a Can: Everyone feared he would be quite the opposite, which is why he was left in the sarcophagus for over fifty years. Once freed, Ahkmenra quickly establishes himself as a Nice Guy.
- Sibling Yin-Yang: With Kahmunrah.
- We don't meet Ahkmenrah in person until the climax of the first film, but he very quickly establishes himself as one of the good guys, playing a vital role in helping Larry and Nick stop the bad guys and restoring order to the Museum. By contrast, we meet Kahmunrah pretty early on in the second movie, he quickly shows himself to be evil, and he becomes the Big Bad for the rest of the movie.
- While Ahkmenrah appears in all three movies, he only plays an important role in the first and third; in the second, he is Demoted to Extra. Kahmunrah, on the other hand, only appears in the second film, where he, as the movie's Big Bad, naturally plays a very large role. Despite both appearing in the second film, the two brothers don't even get to meet each other in the movie, since Ahkmenrah stays in New York while Larry, Kahmunrah, and most of the movie are in Washington D.C. (which is the reason for the former's above-mentioned Demoted to Extra status in that movie).
- This applies personality-wise, too: Ahkmenrah is a polite, composed, regal Pharaoh and serious-but-friendly Nice Guy who helps Larry throughout the series, while Kahmunrah is a hammy, power-hungry, cheerful-but-ruthless Pharaoh and Laughably Evil bad guy who is the source of the main conflict in the second movie.
- Sophisticated as Hell: For the most part, Ahkmenrah maintains a very formal if old-fashioned way of speaking, befitting a millenia old pharaoh. However his time around Larry did seem to rub off on him, seeing how in the third movie, after introducing him as the Guardian of Brooklyn, explains to Larry that "Guardian of Manhattan" just "doesn't sound as cool".
Joan of Arc
Joan of Arc
Voiced by: Alice Isaaz
Introduced in Kahmunrah Rises Again, she's the reincarnated form of the French martyr who can receive visions of the future.
- Church Militant: She fights evil in the name of God.
- Everything Sounds Sexier in French: She's a beautiful woman with a heavy French accent.
- Friend to All Living Things: She's beloved by animals, riding her pet ostrich as her main mode of travel.
- Good is Not Nice: Like her real-life equivalent, her religiosity doesn't stop her from being an accomplished soldier.
- Hair of Gold, Heart of Gold: She's blonde and has one of the greatest senses of personal justice of the entire cast.
- Knight in Shining Armor: She wears a full-body armor set complete with gold trimmings.
- Lady Legionnaire Wear: Her armor comes complete with a red-and-white skirt.
- Real Men Love Jesus: Woman in her case, but she's deeply pious while also being an expert on the battlefield.
- Religious Bruiser: She's decked out in a full set of plate armor that meshes well with her Christian aesthetic.
- Religion is Magic: She receives visions of the future from what she presumes to be the Christian God, but since she's given life by a magic Egyptian tablet empowered by Khonsu (the Egyptian moon god), it's unclear if she's right.
- Token Religious Teammate: She's extremely outspoken in her religious devotion, attributing her revival and visions as acts of God.
- Trauma Button: Due to her death of being burned at the stake, she has a crippling fear of fire.
Natural History Museum of New York
Dr. Leslie McPhee
Leslie McPhee
Played by: Ricky Gervais
Voiced by: Jamie Demetriou (Kahmunrah Rises Again)
Voiced by: Jamie Demetriou (Kahmunrah Rises Again)
The museum director. He is a very fun person.
- Angrish: When angry, he starts metaphors and can never finish them.
- Jerkass Has a Point: He's introduced yelling at children to stop touching the museum's T-Rex skeleton. Genuine or replica, an installation of that size represents a huge investment and he's right that no one should be touching and risking damage to it.
- Jerk with a Heart of Gold: He isn’t a fun person, but each film shows he is still a pretty good person.
- He fires Larry after one of the neanderthals disappears, but after Larry’s heartfelt request he gives him another chance.
- He acknowledges Larry as the best night guard the museum had in the second film... Though he Cannot Spit It Out.
- The third film has him at his most noble. After the failure of the museum party and getting fired, he is understandably furious at Larry. Yet he still hears him out and then risks being sent to jail to help Larry get to the British Museum to fix things.
- Mean Boss: Short tempered, condescending and very nervous, at the verge of firing Larry even for the teeniest thing. He gets better in subsequent movies, but he is still a bit of a jerk.
- Secret-Keeper: In the third movie, he finds out about the museum's secret.
- Troll: He had a caveman created to look just like Larry in the third film (Laa) as a joke.
Rexy
Rexy
The skeleton of an enormous Tyrannosaurus rex at the entrance of the museum.
- All Animals Are Dogs: At first he acts like a normal meat-eating theropod but when he is thrown a bone, particularly one of his own ribs, he loves to chase it and bring it back.
- Dem Bones: Duh, it's a skeleton.
- Domesticated Dinosaurs: Very tame and loves to chase and bring things to Larry like a dog would do.
- O.O.C. Is Serious Business: The decaying tablet causes him to stop acting like a friendly dog and instead the ferocious tyrannosaurus rex he is.
The Moai
The Moai
Voiced by: Brad Garrett (first three films), Kelemete Misipeka (Kahmunrah Rises Again)
A moai, with a love for "gum-gum."
- You No Take Candle: He talks in broken English, referring to anyone as "dum-dum" and always asking for "gum-gum" as food.
Cecil
Cecil "C.J." Fredericks
The night guard that Larry replaces.
- Adaptational Badass: The original books don't show him doing anything impressive. Here he's shown as proficient in combat and having lived through a dangerous storm in Egypt.
- Adaptational Villainy: The original night guard never intended to steal from the museum and is content with his life. Cecil is aware he is about to be laid off so he orchestrates the film's plot to lay the blame on Larry while he and his partners attempt to steal the tablet (to gain eternal life and rejuvenation) and sell off all the museum's other golden artifacts to be set for life.
- Affably Evil: Cecil is actually rather friendly. He and the other night-guards being fired is what leads them to the idea of stealing the tablet. And while they *do* plan to use Larry as their scapegoat, they never consider harming his son. At one point, he even yells at Sacagawea to get out of his way, when he escapes with the stage-coach. The third movie shows that afterwards, he remains on good terms with Larry.
- Big Bad: The main antagonist of the first movie.
- Heel–Face Turn: He and the other two guards return in the third movie completely reformed. Both Cecil and Reginald don't even hold any ill will towards Larry… Now Gus on the other hand.
- Hoist by His Own Petard: Cecil does this unintentionally when he advises Larry to do research on the museum exhibits so he can better manage them — and Larry uses this newfound knowledge to stop Cecil's escape by shouting a secret code word ("Dakota") to the mail horses he's driving away with... who were trained to stop only if the word was said.
- My God, What Have I Done?: After Larry reveals the tablet's decaying, Cecil remembers a warning he had heard when his father first took the tablet. He thought it spoke of the end of the world, but now he realizes it is talking about the deaths of the museum exhibits and is horrified to learn he has a hand in their destruction.
- Named by the Adaptation: Simply referred to as the boss in the books, but named Cecil in the films.
Reginald
Reginald
Played by: Bill Cobbs
One of the retiring guards along with Gus and Cecil.
- Affably Evil: Like Cecil, he's a pretty friendly guy.
- The Easy Way or the Hard Way: He tries to pull this trope on Columbus alongside some Neanderthals. Columbus simply draws his sword to which Reginald can simply reply "Hard way it is then".
- Nerves of Steel: Reginald doesn't flinch a bit when Columbus has him at sword-point.
- Token Minority: He is the only African American night guard of the group.
Gus
Gus
Played by: Mickey Rooney
One of the retiring guards along with Reginald and Cecil.
- Ambiguously Gay: Has a habit of addressing to other men such as Cecil and Larry as terms like "Snack shack", "Hot dog" and "Lunch box".
- Calling Your Attacks: He is fond of doing this.
- Grumpy Old Man: He is the grumpiest of the three, always looking for a fight and throwing insults. He is also the only guard to still be mad at Larry over the events of the first movie, even after his Heel–Face Turn.
- Hot-Blooded: "I'll beat him with my fists."
- Retired Badass: He used to do boxing in his youth but he still can kick ass thanks to the Tablet of Ahkmenrah.
Rebecca
Rebecca
Played by: Carla Gugino
The museum's receptionist and a lover of history.
- Break the Cutie: She thinks Larry is mocking her love for History when he tells her that the museum comes to life at night although he is trying to help her with her Sacagawea thesis.
- Cute Bookworm: She is nice and kind. She is beautiful too and loves history, especially if it's anything related to Sacagawea.
- Secret-Keeper: She ends up believing Larry's story when she sees the museum coming to life at the film's climax.
- What Happened to the Mouse?: Vanishes without a word between the first and second film.
Laa
Laa
A Neanderthal wax statue that replaced the missing one from the first film. McPhee ordered to be made to resemble Larry and considers the night guard as his father.
- Mayfly–December Romance: With Tilly.
- "Well Done, Son" Guy: A goofy non-serious example, Laa really wants Larry's approval.
The Smithsonian Institution
Amelia Earhart
Amelia Earhart
Played by: Amy Adams
A wax statue of the famous female aviator that vanished in 1937.
- Genki Girl: A very energetic and passionate woman. She is not as annoying as Dexter but when Larry is chased by Kahmunrah and his allies, she brings up too much attention.
- Jive Turkey: A Running Gag. She constantly speaks with a largely incomprehensible slew of 20's slang that Larry can barely understand. At one point Larry gets her to admit that she could speak more clearly without it, but that she chooses not to because it's more fun her way.
- The Lancer: Serves as this in the second film.
- Historical Beauty Update: Amy Adams plays Amelia Earhart. Umm... She Cleans Up Nicely, but in those pics she could stand to gain a few pounds.
- Tomboy and Girly Girl: With the woman that Larry meets at the end of the second film that looks suspiciously similar to her (both characters are portrayed by Adams). Amelia is energetic, tomboyish and wears aviator clothes; whereas the museum visitor is much more calm and wears more feminine clothes.
Kahmunrah
Kahmunrah
Played by: Hank Azaria
Voiced by: Joseph Kumal (Kahmunrah Rises Again)
Voiced by: Joseph Kumal (Kahmunrah Rises Again)
The elder brother of Ahkmenrah. He is the main antagonist of the second film and the animated film Kahmunrah Rises Again.
- Berserk Button: Kahmunrah absolutely despises his younger brother, so mentioning him, or even worse comparing him to Ahkmenrah is an excellent way to have a spear pointed at your throat.
- Beware the Silly Ones: Kahmunrah can seem downright ridiculous and childish, but he is every bit as ruthless as his title "Kahmunrah The Bloodthirsty" seems to suggest.
- Big Bad: Bloodthirsty and rather hammy, he is the main villain of the second movie and the animated film.
- Cain and Abel: The Cain to Ahkmenrah's Abel. Kahmunrah despises his younger brother, feeling that he cheated him out of his throne. An early draft of the second film has him admitting to killing Ahkmenrah in his sleep.
- Childish Older Sibling: While being a few years older than Ahkmenrah he acts way more immature, being a bloodthirsty Psychopathic Manchild.
- Contrasting Sequel Antagonist: To Cecil from the first movie. Cecil is a mere security guard, genuinely friendly, and motivated partly by wanting to continue mitigating the effects of his old age. Kahmunrah is literal royalty, a complete asshole, and has immaturity as one of his defining characteristics.
- Faux Affably Evil: He comes off as cheerful a good chunk of the time, but it completely fails to mitigate his cruelty.
- Large Ham: Prone to yelling his lines for emphasis.
- Laughably Evil: At times it can be a bit difficult to take him seriously, especially in his childish argument with Larry. He has zero problems with killing people though.
- Nepharious Pharaoh: Cruel, vicious and megalomaniacal.
- No Indoor Voice: In heavy contrast with his brother's more soft-spoken nature, Kahmunrah loves yelling to let people know he's in charge.
- Psychopathic Manchild: Watch him arguing with Larry for the childish part. Apparently his people used to call him "Kahmunrah The Bloodthirsty Who Kills Whoever Doesn't Give Kahmunrah Exactly What He Wants In The Moment That He Wants It", which makes him sound like a bratty ten-year-old in the body of a grown man.
- Red Oni, Blue Oni: The red to Ahkmenrah's blue. Kahmunrah is very loud, power-hungry and a lot less peaceful than his younger brother.
- Royal Brat: One self-centered and childish bastard.
- Sibling Yin-Yang: With Ahkmenrah.
- We don't meet Ahkmenrah in person until the climax of the first film, but he very quickly establishes himself as one of the good guys, playing a vital role in helping Larry and Nick stop the bad guys and restoring order to the Museum. By contrast, we meet Kahmunrah pretty early on in the second movie, he quickly shows himself to be evil, and he becomes the Big Bad for the rest of the movie.
- While Ahkmenrah appears in all three movies, he only plays an important role in the first and third; in the second, he is Demoted to Extra. Kahmunrah, on the other hand, only appears in the second film, where he, as the movie's Big Bad, naturally plays a very large role. Despite both appearing in the second film, the two brothers don't even get to meet each other in the movie, since Ahkmenrah stays in New York while Larry, Kahmunrah, and most of the movie are in Washington D.C. (which is the reason for the former's above-mentioned Demoted to Extra status in that movie).
- This applies personality-wise, too: Ahkmenrah is a polite, composed, regal Pharaoh and serious-but-friendly Nice Guy who helps Larry throughout the series, while Kahmunrah is a hammy, power-hungry, cheerful-but-ruthless Pharaoh and Laughably Evil bad guy who is the source the main conflict in the second movie.
- Speech Impediment: Talks with a very noticeable lisp, which makes it quite hard for everyone to take seriously.
- Take Over the World: His goal is to use the tablet's powers for world domination.
- The Unfavorite: According to himself, his parents preferred Ahkmenrah over him, even giving his younger brother the throne. The third movie seems to confirm this, as their father never even mentions Kahmunrah and specifically had the tablet made after Ahkmenrah's birth, because Merenkahre couldn't bear to lose him. Further corroborated in Kahmunrah Rises Again, with Merenkahre's images rolling his eyes at Kahmunrah's antics and bemoaning his behavior. On top of that, Kahmunrah appears because of an exhibit which revolved around his messed-up relationship with his family.
General Custer
George Armstrong Custer
Played by: Bill Hader
A wax statue of the famous 7th Cavalry general.
- Accidental Misnaming: Can't remember Sacagewea's name.
- I Just Want to Be Badass: Behind his ridiculousness is an insecure man known for his historical failure rather than a good leader. Larry cheers him up in the final battle against Kahmunrah.
- Large Ham: Bombtastic as he is, his hamminess means he doesn't get taken seriously.
- Leeroy Jenkins: "We're Americans. We don't plan; we do."
- My Greatest Failure: He confesses to Larry during the final battle that he didn't like how his real-life counterpart died — rightly so, too, seeing as he led an army into a Native American massacre and died with his men.
Al Capone
Al Capone
Played by: Jon Bernthal
The Italian-American Chicago gangster from the 1930s.
- Adaptational Attractiveness: The real Capone was chubby but charismatic. Here he has the athletic build of Jon Bernthal. Justified in that he is a younger version of the gangster everyone knows.
- Cold-Blooded Torture: Downplayed since he was threatening a living bobblehead, but it's heavily implied that he used force to get the Einstein figurines to tell him the tablet's combination.
- Deliberately Monochrome: He and his men, as they are from black-and-white cardboard cutouts.
- Dragon with an Agenda: He cooperates with Kahmunrah for his own purposes. The idea that he is merely The Dragon for Kahmunrah bothers him.
- Dramatic Drop: When Kahmunrah is opening the portal to the Underworld, Capone drops the Einstein bobblehead he was threatening.
- Hot-Blooded: Always raring for a fight and it's not hard to set him off.
- I Hate Past Me: A subversion — a deleted scene shows that he hates his future self. Mainly because he thinks he's above getting arrested for something like tax evasion, and he resents the weight he gains after aging. Then it's played straight when the mugshots of future Al Capone say that young Al Capone is a "funny looking kid" and calls him a punk.
- Only Sane Man: Not as quirky as Kahmunrah, Ivan, or Napoleon. Not to say that the others don't fulfill their roles, but Capone is the most serious of them. However, this is thoroughly averted in a deleted scene where he (and his men) apparently think that his fake tommy gun fires real bullets, despite the fact that obviously nothing happens when he 'fires' it.
Ivan the Terrible
Ivan the Terrible
Played by: Christopher Guest
A wax figure of the terrible Russian leader.
- Dragon with an Agenda: He cooperates with Kahmunrah for his own purposes. The idea that he, along with Capone and Napoleon, is merely The Dragon for Kahmunrah bothers him.
- Lzherusskie: Played by Brit Christopher Guest who gives Ivan a highly exaggerated accent.
- Villainous Friendship: He gets along pretty well with Napoleon and takes offense to Capone bullying him.
Napoleon
Napoléon Bonaparte
Played by: Alain Chabat
A wax figure of the diminutive Emperor of France.
- Affectionate Nickname: Ivan calls him "Little Nippy" while defending him from Al Capone.
- Dragon with an Agenda: He cooperates with Kahmunrah for his own purposes. The idea that he, along with Ivan and Capone, is merely The Dragon for Kahmunrah bothers him.
- French Jerk: He works with the film's villain and has a gossipy personality, especially if it is anything romantic. After all he is French.
- The Napoleon: Short in stature, power hungry and wears his trademark bicorne hat.
Abraham Lincoln Statue
Abraham Lincoln Memorial Statue
Voiced by: Hank Azaria
The statue of the 16th President of the United States that sits in the Lincoln Memorial in Washington D.C.
- Deus ex Machina: He arrives at the same moment as Kahmunrah's bird soldiers from the underworld and he shoos them off easily.
- Gentle Giant: He is the living image of the beloved president who abolished slavery but 60 feet tall.
Einstein Bobbleheads
Albert Einstein Bobblehead Figures
Voiced by: Eugene Levy
A group of small bobblehead figures of the revered German genius. They help Larry resolving the combination of the Tablet.
- Funny Foreigner: They speak with Einstein's natural German accent, which is Played for Laughs.
- The Dividual: All five figures talk and think at the same time like a hivemind. Justified, as they are all representations of the same person and all came to life at the same time.
- Single-Minded Twins: All five figures talk and think at the same time like a hivemind. Justified, as they are all representations of the same person and all came to life at the same time.
Able
Able the Space Monkey
Played by: Crystal the Monkey
An astronaut capuchin monkey.
- Adaptation Species Change: The Real Life Able was a rhesus macaque, but here he is a capuchin to serve as a counterpart to Dexter.
- Nice Guy: A lot friendlier to Larry when they meet than Dexter ever was, immediately cooperating with him when things go south in Air and Space. He still likes a good slap fight though.
- Silly Simian: Able doubles the fun as he also has the mischievous nature of Dexter. Both he and Dexter have a slap fight with Larry during the ensuing climatic battle.
Brandon
Brandon
Played by: Jonah Hill
A Smithsonian security guard that briefly challenges Larry.
- Pronouncing My Name for You: He insists to Larry that his name is not pronounced like the usual Brandon but "BRUN-don".
- Jerkass: An overall arrogant and aggressive guy who probably shouldn't be a security guard to begin with. Larry makes sure to give him an attitude adjustment.
- Jerkass Has a Point: Larry was getting strangely close to an exhibit, though Brandon could have been a lot less obnoxious about confronting him.
The British Museum
Lancelot
Lancelot
Played by: Dan Stevens
A wax figure of the legendary Arthurian knight.
- Anti-Villain: He does not act by pure evil but by his code of honor and he is also dealing with an identity crisis.
- Big Bad: Ends up as this for the film in the third act. He believes the tablet is the Holy Grail and runs off with it to take it to Camelot.
- Heel Realization: Seeing the exhibits begin to die in front of him as well as Larry's friendship with them makes Lancelot realize how selfish he has been, making him pull a Heel–Face Turn and finally relinquishing the tablet.
- Hot-Blooded: His reaction when the group stumbles upon a bronze statue of a nine-headed snake demon? "Let's kill it."
- Jerk with a Heart of Gold: He is vain, glory hungry, ruthless and a bit of a Stalker with a Crush concerning Guinivere; nonetheless, he has a sense of honour, and appreciates friendship.
- Large Ham: Being a hot-blooded knight, Lancelot sure knows how to make a scene especially when he interrupts a theatrical production of Camelot and thinks that what he is seeing is actually real.
- Woobie, Destroyer of Worlds: He's not just dealing with the revelation he's not really Lancelot, but that Lancelot is just part of a legend. At least Teddy and the other exhibits are based on real people. The revelation that his entire existence is fake hits him hard, and he decides he'd rather let the tablet lose its power and let him die than live a lie.
Tilly
Tilly
Played by: Rebel Wilson
A night guard of the British Museum.
- Big Beautiful Woman: Rotund but quite pretty. Laa is completely astonished when he is watching her.
- Mayfly–December Romance: With Laa, who will live forever unless he goes out in the day.
- Nice Girl: A tad awkward, but overall really friendly and kind hearted.
- Secret-Keeper: She knows the secret of the museum by the end of the third movie and is still in charge of the museum's coming to life routine three years after Larry comes to the British Museum.
