The Smithsonian (Formerly)
- “I HAVE COME BACK TO LIFE!”
- ―Kahmunrah
Kahmunrah is the main antagonist of the Night at the Museum franchise, serving as the main antagonist of Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian and its video game adaption, and the titular main antagonist of Night at the Museum: Kahmunrah Rises Again. He is portrayed by Hank Azaria.
History[]
Kahmunrah is the older brother of Ahkmenrah and the son of Merenkahre and Shepseheret. He wishes to get his younger brother's magical tablet so that he can open the door to Duat (the Egyptian underworld). He is envious and resents Ahkmenrah due to the fact he was denied the throne despite being the elder of the two.
Appearances[]
Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian[]
He rules the Earth and the Smithsonian museum with an iron fist, and then joins forces with other historical leaders such as Napoleon Bonaparte, Ivan the Terrible and Al Capone. Later, modern screen villains, which include Oscar the Grouch (from Sesame Street) and Darth Vader (from the Star Wars films), also want to be on Kahmunrah's team, but Kahmunrah does not let them claiming Oscar the Grouch is "not evil at all" and doesn't believe Darth Vader has anything to add to his side because he does not speak in this film and does not understand his attempt to use the Force (which naturally does not work as he is wax).
Kahmunrah discovers the combination on the tablet has been changed, and coerces Larry into finding out the new combination by trapping his cowboy friend Jedediah in an hourglass. He later learns the combination after Al interrogates a bobble-headed Einstein and reveals to Kahmunrah that the combination is pi and uses it to open to the gate to Duat, unleashing an army of falcon-headed warriors. These are sent back to the underworld by the Abraham Lincoln Statue. Kahmunrah is later banished to Duat by Larry and he is never seen or heard from for an unknown amount of time.
Night at the Museum: Kahmunrah Rises Again[]
Kahmunrah breaks free from the basement room at the museum when Nick is on duty. He steals the tablet that brings the exhibitions to life because he has a master plan to rule the world. He goes on the run, with Nick after him.
He goes to the Museum of Natural Art. Kahmunrah brings to life the God of Chaos, Seth, who helps him fend the others off. They find the painting that leads to Ancient Egypt and go through it.
Nick and a group of others follow Kahmunrah. At the temple, a fight breaks out. Nick plays the notes in reverse which makes the tablet suck away the jackals, Seth and Kahmunrah. He is defeated.
Night at the Museum: Battle at the Smithsonian (Video Game)[]
Wii/PC/Xbox 360[]
To be written.
DS[]
Kahmunrah is first mentioned in the game by Jedediah, being told that he is Ahkmenrah’s evil brother and wants to use the tablet for evil. He is then seen in the cutscene of Larry arriving at the Smithsonian, being frozen in place from last night. When the tablet’s magic starts to work once more, Kahmunrah takes the tablet from Larry and introduces himself before breaking the tablet, causing all the ingots on it to fly off in different directions. He announces that all the dust particles a bear the ‘magical light of Ra’, laughing at Larry as he says that the guard can’t collect enough of the dust and pieces to stop him from conquering the world. As Larry runs, Kahmunrah tells to his- ‘minions’ to go find him and skewer him.
Next time we see Kahmunrah is in the level- 'Discover the Moon', where he is a boss battle for the end of the 'Air and Space Museum' section. He will be seen in an area above where Larry is, with mini planes going by and dropping mini bombs down which set a section of the floor on fire. Larry has to hit three switches before going to another room where Kahmunrah runs to, standing on one of the three planes in the next room. Larry has to dodge planes as he uses the Moon Ingot to hit Kahmunrah. After three times of this loop, a cutscene plays. In the cutscene, Kahmunrah is shown holding his head before Larry comes over, leading the pair to talk very slightly before Amelia comes in. With Larry being distracted by Amelia, Kahmunrah takes the time to run away from the scene.
In a way later cutscene, Kahmunrah is once again seen, this time opening the gate to the underworld as Amelia and Larry show up behind him. Kahmunrah talks about how Larry has failed in his mission before diving into the portal that leads to the underworld, Larry and Amelia following behind by using the Jackal Ingot.
In the last boss battle, Kahmunrah is shown standing on a plate with chains connected to it, with a plate of spikes in the air above him. Larry will have to go over a mini course before using the Elephant Ingot to weight himself down so that Kahmunrah will rise into the spikes, but Kahmunrah uses magic to throw Larry across the room. Larry has to go through the course three times, where on the third time, Kahmunrah will hit the spikes. This cuts into a cutscene, where Kahmunrah falls into a purple portal/lake, causing the whole area to sway side to side, causing Amelia and Larry to be thrown out of it.
Trivia[]
- One interesting thing to note is that while the coffins of Ahkmenrah and his parents were found on the Nile Expedition, the coffin of Kahmunrah wasn't present. This would serve to confirm the strained relationship that Kahmunrah had with his parents, as evidenced in the second movie that his parents "may have slightly changed the combination on [it]," since he wasn't buried in the same tomb as the rest of his family. Perhaps, he was never buried at all, and his body was lost in the desert the whole time, which would explain why Ahkmenrah becomes a mummy when the Tablet's power wanes, whereas Kahmunrah becomes a mannequin; Kahmunrah's spirit is still present, but the body which houses his spirit in the 21st Century isn't his own.
- Although not mentioned in the movies, it is highly possible that Kahmunrah wasn't the son of Shepseheret like Ahkmenrah was, but instead from one of King Merenkahre's concubines which would explain why he was so jealous of his younger brother Ahkmenrah, as Ahkmenrah being the son of Shepseheret would make him the heir.
- It is also worth mentioning the fact that Kahmunrah is never even mentioned in Secret of the Tomb despite Ahkmenrah being reunited with his parents.
- There is a small gag about Kahmunrah's tunic as Ivan the Terrible, Al Capone, and Napoleon Bonaparte believed it to be some kind of dress.
- Al is confused as to why Kahmunrah would wear something like a dress, but Kahmunrah corrects him.
- Ivan is concerned about if he and his fellow henchmen would have to wear one too.
- Napoleon attempts to ask a question about the tunic, but Kahmunrah asks if there were any questions that does not concern it, which Napoleon lowers his hand.
- In polish version there is a joke when Kahmunrah sits on a chair says "I Don't know who were you Ferdynand Kiepski but you had a very comfy throne" which is a reference to the famous Polish comedy series from 1999 Świat według Kiepskich (The World According to the Kiepskis), in which one of the main characters often sat on a similar chair drinking alcohol and/or smoking cigarettes.
- In the film Kahmunrah appeared in, Battle of the Smithsonian, he has a lisp due to the actor’s voice, making it a funny part of his character. But, in the fourth film, he is not depicted with one as Disney did not choose an actor with a similar voice.
Gallery[]
