Former night guard Larry Daley (Ben Stiller) is drawn back to his old haunt, the Museum of Natural History, where he once had the magical night of a lifetime. There, he discovers that his favorite exhibits, indeed some of his truest friends, have been deemed out-of-date. Packed into crates, they await shipment to the vast archives of the Smithsonian.
Their fate is unknown—until Larry receives a distress call from the miniature cowboy Jedediah (Owen Wilson), who informs him of an impending disaster. It seems the newcomers have awoken in their new digs, including the Egyptian ruler, Kahmunrah, who's in a nasty mood after 3,000 years of slumber. Now, he and a trio of history's most heinous henchmen—namely Ivan the Terrible, Napoleon Bonaparte and Al Capone—are plotting to take over the museum (and then the globe), as they unleash the Army of the Underworld.
Larry is clearly in over his head, but he's got some impressive new friends—Albert Einstein, honest Abe Lincoln, and the irrepressible Amelia Earhart—to help. Along with his old buddies, including Teddy Roosevelt, Octavius, Sacajawea, Attila The Hun and the Neanderthals—Larry will stop at nothing to regain his friends and restore order to the National Mall, from the Lincoln Memorial to the Air and Space Museum, before the stroke of dawn.
cast: Ben Stiller, Owen Wilson, Amy Adams, Steve Coogan, Ricky Gervais
