Story

At night in the Museum of Natural History, all the exhibits come to life because of the tablet of Ahkmenrah. But one day, the exhibits start acting strangely and Larry the night guard (Ben Stiller) realises that the tablet is disintegrating. Larry and his museum exhibit friends must travel to the British Museum in London to try and save the tablet. They must work together to battle the monsters in the museum and reach the Egypt exhibit before the tablet is destroyed and all his friends turn back to wax figures.

Themes

Family relationships – teenagers wanting independence; the supernatural

Violence

Night at the Museum: Secret of the Tomb contains some violence. For example:

  • Teddy is shown carrying a gun, and in one scene points it in Larry’s face
  • Lancelot fights a dinosaur skeleton with his sword
  • Larry fights a multiple headed snake with his flash light and then electrocutes it.
  • Lancelot holds his sword against Larry’s throat

Sexual references

There are some sexual references in this movie, including:

  • a woman remarks, ‘he is the sexiest night guard we ever had’.

Alcohol, drugs and other substances

There is some use of substances in Night at the Museum: Secret of the Tomb. For example:

  • Larry’s son throws a party and the teenagers are shown drinking out of red solo cups but no alcohol is shown.
  • Adults drink wine at the fundraiser.

Nudity and sexual activity

There is some mild sexual activity in this movie, including:

  • Laa the cave man and Tilly the guard flirt and kiss.

Product placement

The following products are displayed or used in this movie:

  • The Night at the Museum franchise
  • The British Museum
  • The Natural History Museum
  • Facebook
  • Candy Crush
  • Mobile phones.

Coarse language

There is some mild coarse language in this movie.

Ideas to discuss with your children

Night at the Museum: Secret of the tomb is the third of the Night at the Museum movies. It is an entertaining comedy which shows children the wonders and magic of museums and history. It is ideal for children over the age of 8. Because of the violent and scary elements of the film, parental guidance is guidance is recommended for younger children. Some parents may also have problems with the crude humour.

The main message from this movie is that it is okay to let go of the past because you never know what adventures will happen tomorrow.

Values in this movie that parents may wish to reinforce with their children include:

  • the importance of friends
  • loyalty
  • bravery.

This movie could also give parents the opportunity to discuss the real-life consequences of lying to your parents. Parents may also wish to discuss how much of the history and historical characters shown are accurate.

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Raising Children Network is supported by the Australian Government. Member organisations are the Parenting Research Centre and the Murdoch Childrens Research Institute with The Royal Children’s Hospital Centre for Community Child Health.

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