Imagine going to a museum where everything comes to life when the sun goes down. The ancient artifacts, paintings and life-sized animals wake up from their daily slumber and roam the halls until sunrise. “Night at the Museum” portrays just this; the museum’s exhibits spring to life after the building closes and causes the night guard to experience something he has never seen.

“Night at the Museum” follows night watchman, Larry Daley (Ben Stiller), who cannot seem to hold a job down for more than a few months. While searching for his next job, he gets offered a position at the American Museum of Natural History as a security guard. He is trained by another night guard who is set to retire, Cecil Fredericks (Dick Van Dyke), who gives Larry an instruction booklet on how to run the security and to not let anything “in or out.” As time passes, Larry comes to find out about an ancient Egyptian curse that brings the museum’s animals and other exhibits to life. He ensures the help of Teddy Roosevelt, played by Robin Williams, to save the Golden Tablet and the exhibits before they turn to dust and disappear forever.

Over the course of the movie, Larry formed bonds and built friendships with various exhibits at the museum, including a capuchin monkey named Dexter, a miniature cowboy named Jedediah (Owen Wilson), a roman soldier named Octavius (Steve Coogan) and Ahkmenrah’s mummy (Rami Malek). He had to work with these new friends in order to save the tablet and other ancient artifacts that were being stolen by an unlikely person who brings a twist to the film. One of my favorite aspects of the movie was the role the special effects played. They added to the surrealism of the film, allowing for watchers to become fully immersed and go along for the ride with the characters. So take a seat, grab some popcorn and see if Larry can save those in the museum and save the magic before it is gone forever.