It has been eight years since the release of the last Night at the Museum film. The previous film, Night at the Museum: Secret of the Tomb was released in 2014 and is notable because it featured one of the last performances from comedian actor Robin Williams after his death that same year.



Since then the franchise has come under the ownership of Disney after the 2019 acquisition of 20th Century Fox.

This new entry, Night at the Museum: Kahmunra Rises Again, takes quite the different approach when compared to the last three films. This time the film is entirely in 2D animation as opposed to live-action.

The film follows Nick Dailey (Joshua Bassett), the son of the previous franchise protagonist Larry (Originally portrayed by Ben Stiller and is now voiced by Zachery Levi), as he takes over night watch duty at the Museum of National History while his father is gone for the summer.



Meanwhile, Khamunra, the main villain of the second film Battle for the Smithsonian (originally played by Hank Azaria and is now voiced by Joseph Kamal) has returned after Nick neglected to lock the basement to the museum. Now united with Seth, the Egyptian God of Chaos, Khamunra seeks to rule the world.



Now it is up to Nick, Theodore Roosevelt, Sacagawea, Octavius, Jedediah, Joan of Arc and Laaa the caveman to stop him and save the world from chaos.



While the film is in 2D animation it is noticeably in a more computer rendered style as opposed to the traditional hand drawn style. It resembles something you’d see as like a tie-in to some kind of toy brand.

What’s also notable is the absence of any of the original cast from the previous installments. While Robin Williams obviously cannot appear, it’s still a shame that we don’t have Ben Stiller, Owen Wilson, Rami Malek, Steve Coogan, Mizuo Peck, Hank Azeria or even Brad Garrett back in their old roles.

The film released exclusively on Disney Plus on December 9th.