- “Same shift. Different night.”
- ―Tagline
Night at the Museum: Kahmunrah Rises Again is an American-Chinese animated film. It serves as a continuation of the Night at the Museum franchise. It was released exclusively on Disney+ on December 9, 2022.
Synopsis[]
Larry Daley's son, Nick, is hesitant to follow on his father's footsteps as nightwatchman when he has to go away for the summer.
Plot[]
The exhibitions of the Museum of Natural History scare away the latest guard, much to Larry Daley's displeasure. Teddy Roosevelt and Sacagawea tell him that they would prefer that his son, Nick, take over the position and after some reluctance finally agrees. Nick himself is struggling as he has become somewhat clumsy and tries his hardest to keep himself stable. He wants to join the school's jazz recital by being their DJ and so that he can be close to his crush Mia. Despite Ms. Montefusco seeing promise in him, Nick believes he has failed. Larry explains to Nick that while he will be guarding the History Museum in Japan, he will be filling in for him at home. Nick thinks he will fail because of his quick clumsiness, but Larry manages to get his ex-wife Erica to also agree to it.
Nick is reunited with the rest of the gang including Rexy, Attila, Jebediah, Octavius, Laaa, Dexter the monkey, and Joan of Arc. His first task is to lock the storage room in the basement, but after encountering all the creepy things downstairs, uses a statue to block the door and runs away in fear. Kahmunrah, who was locked away, breaks free and steals the tablet that brings the exhibitions to life in an effort to rule the world. A chase ensues through the museum, but he manages to escape. Nick and his friends take off after him while Rexy stays behind to guard the museum. While outside, Joan has a vision showing her that Kahmunrah is headed to the Museum of Natural Art where an exhibition on the Temple of Dendur is being held.
The group catch up to Kahmunrah and chase him through the art museum. As backup, Kahmunrah brings to life the God of Chaos, Seth who uses his powers to keep the heroes at bay. They find the painting that leads to ancient Egypt and enter it. With only a couple of hours until sunrise, Nick and his friends enter the painting as well. While traversing the Nile, Nick begins to feel hopeless as Kahmunrah's escape was his fault, but the group give him encouragement. They eventually arrive at Dendur and avoid a series of traps before reaching Kahmunrah and Seth who plan to use the tablet, by playing three notes, to unleash the Egyptian army of jackals on them.
A fight in the temple ensues with Nick finally overcoming his insecurities. He plays the notes in reverse which causes the tablet to suck away the jackals, Seth and Kahmunrah into a different dimension. Nick and his friends escape, but the sun is already rising. Remembering that he has a poster of the Museum that Sacagawea gave him earlier, they use it to head back home just in time. Nick finally has the confidence in himself to try out for the jazz recital again, this time with success, starts dating Mia and accepts his position as the new night guard at the museum.
Voice Cast[]
- Joshua Bassett as Nick Daley
- Zachary Levi as Larry Daley and Laaa
- Steve Zahn as Jedediah
- Jack Whitehall as Octavius
- Thomas Lennon as Theodore "Teddy" Roosevelt
- Kieran Sequoia as Sacagawea
- Alexander Salamat as Atilla the Hun
- Alice Isaaz as Joan of Arc
- Joseph Kamal as Kahmunrah
- Akmal Saleh as Seth
- Gillian Jacobs as Erica Daley
- Jamie Demetriou as Dr. Leslie McPhee
- Shelby Simmons as Mia
- Tenzing Norgay Trainor as Bodhi
- Lidia Porto as Ms. Montefusco
- Bowen Yang as Ronnie
- Dee Bradley Baker as Dexter
- Kelemete Misipeka as Easter Island Head
- Chris Parnell as George Washington
- Christie Bahna as Queen Nefertiti
- Jonathan Roumie as Merenkhare
- Zeeko Zaki as Ra, the Sun God
Production[]
On October 7, 2020, it was reported that a new animated film on the Night at the Museum franchise was being developed by 20th Century Studios titled Night at the Museum: Kahmunrah Rises Again.[1]
On August 5, 2021, Collider reported that the film is two-thirds of the way completed, and it's scheduled to be released on Disney+ in 2022.[2]
On August 29, 2022, it was reported that John Paesano would compose the score for the film.[3]
Trivia[]
- This is the first and only film in the Night at the Museum series to use the Walt Disney Pictures logo instead of the 20th Century Studios logo.
- This is the seventh film to use a previous Disney logo even when a new logo was introduced, after Brother Bear 2, The Fox and the Hound 2, Ratatouille (which used the 1990 logo or the 1995 Pixar variant after the 2006 Disney logo was introduced), Treasure Buddies, the Indian film Arjun: The Warrior Prince (which both used the 2006 logo after the 2011 modified logo was introduced) and Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Rodrick Rules (which used the 2011 modified logo after the 2022 100th Anniversary logo was introduced).
- As this is the last Disney film released in 2022 and the Disney 100 Years of Wonder officially began on January 1, 2023, this is the last Disney feature film to use the 2011 logo. However, the 2011 was still used in the Launchpad season 2 shorts (due to being completed in 2022), making those the last Disney productions to use such logo.
- Thus, it is also the last Disney+ Original feature film to use the 2011 Walt Disney Pictures logo, since Lady and the Tramp and Noelle.
- As this is the last Disney film released in 2022 and the Disney 100 Years of Wonder officially began on January 1, 2023, this is the last Disney feature film to use the 2011 logo. However, the 2011 was still used in the Launchpad season 2 shorts (due to being completed in 2022), making those the last Disney productions to use such logo.
- This is the fifth 20th Century Studios film to be distributed by Walt Disney Pictures and marketed under the Disney brand after Diary of a Wimpy Kid, The Ice Age Adventures of Buck Wild, Cheaper by the Dozen, and Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Rodrick Rules.
- Thus, it is the first Night at the Museum film to be released after the Disney purchase.
- The film also marks the first traditionally-animated film to be released under the Walt Disney Pictures label since 2011's Winnie the Pooh.
- This is the first film in the Night at the Museum series to be traditionally-animated, as opposed to live-action.
- It is also the second Disney+ Original feature film to be traditionally-animated after Phineas and Ferb the Movie: Candace Against the Universe.
- Due to Alibaba Pictures co-financing this film, this is the fifth American-produced Disney-distributed film to be a co-production with a Chinese film company after Iron Man 3 (with DMG Entertainment), Born in China (with SMG Group), Ad Astra (with Bona Films Corp.), and Terminator: Dark Fate (with Tencent Pictures).
- This is the first Night at the Museum film in which Theodore "Teddy" Roosevelt was not performed/voiced by Robin Williams, due to the fact that he passed away in August 2014.
- Unlike most Disney+ Originals that were originally produced by 20th Century Studios, but moved to a Walt Disney Pictures release, this is the first one to instead just list "Disney" as the copyright holder for the film's posters, rather than Disney Enterprises, Inc. or 20th Century Studios, which had been done previously.
- Despite this, the credits for the film still list 20th Century Studios.
- Similarly to The Ice Age Adventures of Buck Wild, it is another Walt Disney Pictures film which lacks the Disney branding above its logo.
Continuity Notes[]
- While this film is technically considered a continuation of the original Night at the Museum trilogy, there are numerous plot discrepancies that rework this film into a soft reboot:
- In the first film:
- Larry's ex-wife Erica is shown living in a much smaller and average apartment compared to the larger, upscale one in the first film. Instead of blond, she now has red hair. She is somewhat less agreeable and understanding of Larry than in the first film. Her new partner, Don, is also absent in this film.
- In the second film, Battle of the Smithsonian:
- Kamunrah, despite getting sucked into a portal at the end of the second film (Battle of the Smithsonian), reappears unharmed; paradoxically, he references encountering Larry previously, leaving it unclear how he was defeated the last time in this new continuity and why he was sent to the Museum of Natural History. Ironically, he is defeated in the same manner.
- At the end of the film, the museum's visitation hours are extended into the night so that the exhibits can interact with people under the guise of "costumed actors". This was maintained by the time the third film took place. This is no longer the case, and Erica was completely unaware that the museum even had a night crew.
- In the third film, Secret of the Tomb:
- Laaa, having been introduced in the third film and installed at the museum the same night the story occurs, confirms that this film must take place in some separate continuity after the third film.
- Despite Laaa being explicitly based on Larry Daley, this film establishes that he has memories of a true life during prehistoric times, and was the caveman to discover fire.
- The Tablet of Ahkmenrah and Ahkmenrah himself were moved to the British Museum to be reunited with his parents, putting an end to the Museum of Natural History's exhibits coming to life until it returned to the latter museum as part of a temporary exhibit. In Kahmunrah Rises Again, the tablet and Ahkmenrah's sarcophagus are still present. However, Ahkmenrah himself appears to not be at the museum anymore (implied by his absence compared to everyone else), though he is indirectly referenced.
- Nick was nearing the end of his high school education and wished to take a gap year between graduating and applying to college. In this film, he has been reset to still be somewhere in high school.
- Nick's main love interest was changed from a girl named Andrea to a different girl named Mia.
- At the end of the film, Larry retired from his night guard position and became a teacher. In this film, he is still a night guard for the museum, until his promotion to director of the Tokyo Museum for an indeterminate length of time.
- At the end of the film, British Museum night guard Tilly (with Larry's permission) was finally shown the magic of the tablet and the exhibits coming to life. By that point he had also become friends with Larry. In this film, Dr. McPhee is once again unaware of the tablet's magic and is more dismissive of Larry and his job.
- In the first film:
- This film introduces Joan of Arc as a new character. A different iteration of her, as a young child rather than her oldest teenage self, was introduced earlier in the two Nick's Tales tie-in novels written between the second and third films. It is possible that her inclusion is a reference to the knight Lancelot from the third film.
- Despite Jedediah being blond in the live-action films, he is portrayed as red-headed in this one.
- Octavius is designed to explicitly resemble classic Roman busts and statues of its emperors
- This film explicitly confirms that, at least in this continuity, the exhibits retain memories (and in Joan's case, even supernatural abilities) of their real selves.
- This is most exemplified by Laaa's memory of being the cavemen to discover fire, which also establishes that he is (coincidentally or not) based on a real caveman rather than a wholly original and generic example of one. This is odd, however, considering that Laaa was explicitly based on Larry Daley.
- A truck displaying an advertisement for the Metropolitan Art Museum bears the Roman numerals MMXXI (2021), establishing that the movie takes place the year prior to its release.
Real-World References[]
- Opening sequence:
- During the overhead panning shot of Times Square in the opening, a billboard can be seen advertising a spicy soda named "Chili-Cola", referencing the real soda Coca-Cola.
- In the same scene, a voice in the crowd shouts "and I'm literally walking here!", referencing the famous "I'm walkin' here!" line from the 1969 film Midnight Cowboy.
- Dr. McPhee's phone's ringtone is the song "Venus" by the Dutch rock band Shocking Blue.
- A poster in the hallway of Nick's high school reads "Apples of Rage", a parody of the 1939 novel The Grapes of Wrath.
- At the Asian restaurant:
- In response to Nick's basektball analogy, Larry tells him "you miss 100% of the shots you don't take". The origin of this popular quote is unknown, but it was popularized by former ice hockey player Wayne Gretzky.
- When Nick and Larry are discussing Nick's summer job, Nick says he hopes that his job is at "a beach resort in St. Barts", referring to Saint Barthélemy, an overseas collective of France located in the Caribbean.
- Nick inserts a Sacagawea dollar coin bearing her face into a vending machine.
- Nick's smart phone has a half-eaten banana for its logo, a parody of Apple Inc. Similarly, Larry's phone seems to have a lit flashlight, as a reference to his own flashlight as part of his night guard equipment.
- The museum exhibits make references to the historical figures they are based on:
- Octavius:
- Octavius references the Siege of Carthage, first when attempting to obtain a candy bar from a vending machine and later when trying to reassure Nick in Ancient Egypt.
- In the latter, Octavius states he was only 13 when he helped conquer Carthage. This is inaccurate, as the real Gaius Octavius and Augustus (both of whom are considered the potential basis for Octavius's exhibit) were born 83 and 46 years after the siege of Carthage respectively.
- Octavius references the Siege of Carthage, first when attempting to obtain a candy bar from a vending machine and later when trying to reassure Nick in Ancient Egypt.
- Theodore Roosevelt:
- He was protected from a bullet by his glasses case during an attempted assassination in 1912.
- In real life, his eyeglass case is kept at the Theodore Roosevelt Birthplace National Historic Site elsewhere in New York City.
- He recounts the incident where three thieves stole his boat on the Little Missouri River in 1886.[4]
- He was protected from a bullet by his glasses case during an attempted assassination in 1912.
- Joan of Arc:
- At the age of 18, she led the French army in a victory over the English in the siege of Orléans.
- She was ultimately executed by being burned at the stake.
- She experiences heavenly visions of the future.
- Sacagawea claims she was 14 years old when she acted as the navigator and guide for the Lewis and Clark Expedition.
- In real life, she was around 16-17 years old when she joined the expedition in 1804.[5]
- Laaa "discovered" fire when he was 11. In real life, the control of fire by early humans is believed to have been achieved around 1 million years ago by Homo erectus,
- Like in the live-action films, the language Attila speaks appears to be largely gibberish with some words or phonemes appearing to be borrowed from Chinese or Mongolian. This reflected the real-world lack of understanding of the Hunnic language, which is theorized by some to be similar to Mongolian.
- Octavius:
- When Kahmunrah emerges from his crate, he references the Egyptian god of the dead Anubis and the Book of the Dead funerary text. The book is later referenced by the statue of Queen Nefertiti from the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
- After Kamhunrah introduces himself, he makes a mic drop gesture.
- During the scene where Nick and the gang chase Kahmunrah across the Hall of African Mammals, Kahmunrah slides under a male lion and says "Not today, Mufasa", in reference to athe character from The Lion King franchise and to the Night at the Museum franchise's acquisition by Disney.
- The Metropolitan Art Museum contains real-life works of art, or reproductions thereof:
- A full-body statue of Queen Nefertiti holding a crook and flail in the style of other pharaoh statues, based on the Nefertiti Bust (in real life, it is displayed in the Egyptian Museum of Berlin).
- The Venus de Milo statue (in real life, it is displayed at the Louvre in Paris).
- The Whistler's Mother painting (in real life, it is displayed in the Musée d'Orsay, also in Paris).
- A "dancing dog" painting in the style of Keith Haring.
- Various imitations or recolors of the works of Jackson Pollock and Piet Mondrian.
- A four-panel multicolored painting of oil drums, acting as a dual reference to/parody of both Campbell's Soup Cans and Shot Marilyns by Andy Warhol.
- The Washington Crossing the Delaware paintings by Emanuel Leutze.
- The Temple of Dendur.
- Coincidentally, the construction of the temple was commissioned by Augustus, on whom Octavius is likely based.
- George Washington sings a parody of the children's nursery rhyme "Row, Row, Row Your Boat", replacing "down the stream" with "down the Delaware".
- The Ancient Egyptian musical notation seen in the temple is based on an illustration featured in the book Musicologie Pharaonique (Music under the Pharaohs) by musicologist Hans Hickmann, who specialized in the study of Egyptian music.[6] An image of a parchment Hickmann described,[7] which the film used as reference, can be found in the book Notations 21 by Theresa Sauer.[8]
Gallery[]
First screenshot of the movie
Teaser poster
Videos[]
Night At The Museum- Kahmunrah Rises Again - Official Trailer - Disney+
Night At The Museum- Kahmunrah Rises Again - “You’re A Weird Boy” Clip - Disney+
Night At The Museum- Kahmunrah Rises Again - “Back With A Vengeance” Clip - Disney+
Night At The Museum- Kahmunrah Rises Again - “Literally Can’t Do Anything” Clip - Disney+
References[]
- ↑ Shuler, Skyler (October 7, 2020). "Exclusive: Details on The Disney+ Animated Movie ‘Night At The Museum: Kahmunrah Rises Again’". The DisInsider.
- ↑ Weintraub, Steve (August 5, 2021). "Shawn Levy on the ‘Night at the Museum’ Animated Movie, 'Shadow and Bone' Season 2, and the Future of ‘I Am Not Okay With This’". Collider.
- ↑ "John Paesano Scoring Disney+’s ‘Night at the Museum’ Animated Movie". Film Music Reporter (August 29, 2022).
- ↑ https://www.nps.gov/thro/learn/historyculture/roosevelt-pursues-boat-thieves.htm
- ↑ https://www.nps.gov/lecl/learn/historyculture/sacagawea.htm
- ↑ https://medium.com/@b.e.n./deciphering-ancient-egyptian-musical-notation-d0278a66bc38
- ↑ https://blogthoven.tumblr.com/image/35097790785
- ↑ https://markharrisstudio.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/11/Sauer%E2%80%93Notations%E2%80%93selections-part-1.pdf(Note: Though this PDF preview does not contain the image itself, it confirms the existence of the image (on the not-included page 290) on page 65)
External links[]
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