Night at the Museum is a 2006 American
fantasy-
comedy film based on the 1993 children's book
of the same name by
Milan Trenc.It was written by
Robert Ben Garant and
Thomas Lennon of
Comedy Central's
Reno 911! and
MTV's
The State and produced and directed by
Shawn Levy. Also producing for 1492 Pictures were
Chris Columbus and
Michael Barnathan. The film stars
Ben Stiller,
Carla Gugino,
Dick Van Dyke,
Mickey Rooney,
Bill Cobbs,
Jake Cherry,
Ricky Gervais,
Owen Wilson,
Steve Coogan, and
Robin Williams. It follows a
divorced father trying to settle down, impress his son, and find his destiny. He 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, come to life at night.