Jedediah (2024)

No problemo, Gigantor.
―Jedediah to Larry Daley

Jedediah is a petty cowboy in the Wild West Diorama and the rival, later bestfriend of Octavius. He appears as a supporting character in Night at the Museum, Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian, Night at the Museum: Secret of the Tomb, and Night at the Museum: Kahmunrah Rises Again and the deuteragonist of Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian: The Video Game.

Contents

  • 1 Background
  • 2 Appearances
    • 2.1 Night at the Museum
    • 2.2 Battle of the Smithsonian
    • 2.3 Secret of the Tomb
    • 2.4 Night at the Museum: Kahmunrah Rises Again
    • 2.5 Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian (Video Game)
      • 2.5.1 DS Version
      • 2.5.2 Wii/PC/Xbox 360
    • 2.6 Real-Life Basis
  • 3 Gallery
  • 4 Trivia

Background[]

Jedediah, or Jed, is a true at heart cowboy. He is cheerful, clumsy and bodacious.. He likes riding horses, expanding and protecting his territory, and blowing stuff up, even if he is only a few inches tall and made of plastic. He's sarcastic and likes to think he's bigger than he really is, mentally and physically. But he's brave and strong, always there to help or be annoying while he sits in your shirt pocket.

According to how he describes it, him and his people wage war with Octavius, the Roman general whose diorama sits next door, and his people, presumably every night, to "past the time". Jed and Octavius do not get along and are unwilling to cooperate due to their apparent differences. However, after Larry gets them to see past their differences and recognize what they have in common, they work together with him and the others, eventually creating a close friendship with each other. The two, rarely seen apart from each other, would go on to risk their lives more than once for the good of their friends.

Appearances[]

Full Name

Jedediah Smith

Born

Unknown, circa 1800s, 1800 years after Octavius (person, not physically)

Known for

Cowboy/Wild West Leader/Octavius’ boyfriend

Occupation

Cowboy
Octavius's boyfriend
Museum Exhibit

Night at the Museum[]

Jedediah has a minor role in the movie, due to being uncredited from the end credits.

He is a cowboy in The Hall of Miniatures. He and his men capture Larry after he is hit by miniature darts fired by the miniature figurines from the Mayan diorama. After the Politician there spoke of their dioramas getting locked up at night, Jedediah tries to split his head with a train, but fails as the train is only a miniature. He tries to shoot Larry in the eye, but to his embarrassment, his guns don't work. He fights with Octavius in the beginning of the film. After Larry is rescued by Theodore Roosevelt, Jedediah states that he won't protect him forever.

During Larry's second night working as a security guard, Larry grabs Jedediah and Octavius in order to keep their dioramas from feuding. Larry tells them that they better behave or else they will end up like their "friends" from the Mayan Diorama, which Larry previously locked up. This doesn't work when Dexter steals Larry's keys again and releases the Mayans, resulting in all three dioramas ending up in a feud. When it comes to reclaiming the Egyptian Tablet from Cecil Fredericks, Gus, and Reginald, Jedediah and Octavius end up becoming friends. He is thought to be dead when the car he and Octavius are driving gets thrown into a snow bank thus exploding, but is shown to be alive later on.

Battle of the Smithsonian[]

Jedediah has a bigger role in the sequel than his role in the previous movie, being credited for the first time.

Along with many of the other exhibits, he is shipped to the Smithsonian Archives to be put in storage. He somehow manages to learn how to use the phone and calls Larry, begging for help when Kahmunrah and his guards start attacking the exhibits in the Smithsonian, trying to get the Tablet.

The next night in the movie leads to both Jedediah and Octavius escaping out of shipping container that most of the exhibits from their museum are in, wanting to help Larry out with fighting Kahmunrah. This leads into Jedediah's capture as the guards outside the container hear the pair, leading Jedediah to push his good friend, Octavius, out the way to sacrifice himself for the Roman's safety. He is then trapped in an hourglass by Kahmunrah when he tried to help Larry, and Kahmunrah uses his release as part of a bargain with Larry.

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However, Octavius, his close friend, frees him during the Battle of the Smithsonian, and the two fight Kahmunrah's armies. When they find out that they won the battle, they hug each other. Jedediah becomes embarrassed, and pulls away. At the very end of the film, he is seen piloting a miniature plane with Octavius as a passenger.

Secret of the Tomb[]

Jed is one of the exhibits who are featured in an evening event being hosted at the American Museum of Natural History by Larry. When the tablet starts to corrode, Jed goes out of control alongside the other museum exhibits.

After traveling to London, Jed and Octavius fall into a ventilation shaft at the British Museum. Before they willingly accept their fate, Octavius asks him to hold his hand. He is confused, and after they are saved, Octavius refuses to acknowledge he said anything. Jedediah knows otherwise. Dexter is sent by Larry to go and rescue the two miniature figures. He and Octavius see Dexter's shadow and jump down a grate in fear. Jed and Octavius land in a Pompeii exhibit just as the model Mount Vesuvius erupts, leading the two to become trapped within the exhibit. They are saved by Dexter.

At the end of the film, Jed returns home to the Museum of Natural History, accepting that he will stay as a plastic miniature after dawn breaks. He, however, wakes up when the tablet arrives back at the museum. He is last seen dancing on the records with Octavius.

Night at the Museum: Kahmunrah Rises Again[]

Jedediah has a more major role in this film compared to some of the others, even if the run time for this film is at least 30 minutes shorter compared to the rest of them. He is one of the main characters, always being next to his good friend, Octavius, as they help battle against Kahmunrah. Later on, they even manage to befriend an Egyptian cat in the movie, riding on it as if it were a horse throughout the rest of the movie.

In the beginning of the movie, Jedediah (along with Octavius) are one of the handful of exhibits that scare off the new night guard away, being seen with everyone else in a celebration for how they broke their record of scaring new employed night guards away.

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Jedediah (7)

Later on, when Nick is hired as the night guard for the museum, Jedediah and Octavius are heard by the Easter Island head and Nick, with Octavius yelling and Jedediah making a 'yee-haa!' like sound. The screen then goes over to them, to where the pair are seen at a vending machine with Octavius giving a small speech and Jed letting out another 'yee-haa' as he lassos his rope in the air. While the miniature pair try to get a candy bar out of the machine, they fail, which leads them into seeing Nick as he gets them a candy bar. After the pair gets it and has Nick open it, Oct cuts out 2 pieces for them which they eat. In this scene, Jedediah is heard saying- "I love me my nuggets" in his accent.

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After Nicky failed to lock the basem*nt and accidentally let Kahmunrah out, Jedediah is seen with Octavius in the Hall of Miniatures, having a catapult with a pair of scissors in the back so it can launch. In the scene we see Jedediah sitting on top of the scissors, ready to cut the rope as Octavius is inside of the catapult launcher, with Jed speaking out to get Kahmunrah's attention. After Octavius talks out to Kahmunrah, he tells Jed to fire, leading into Jedediah jumping and cutting the rope, which causes the catapult to throw Octavius into the air and attack his feet.

Due to them being able to stop Kahmunrah for a moment, the rest of the gang reaches them. Nick then offers his hand to Jedediah and Octavius, letting them ride inside the uniform's front pocket as they chase after Kahmunrah. This leads into Nick, Attila, Laaa, Dexter, Teddy, Sacagawea, Jedediah, Octavius and Joan of Arc chasing Kahmunrah to both stop him in his tracks and get the tablet back.

After Laaa accidentally has the gate close down in front of them, the group gets stuck behind it, which lets Kahmunrah escape from the museum after he gets flung out by Rexy. Since they need a way out, Jedediah says he's got it and pulls out a stick of dynamite and lights it, sticking it into the lock of the gate's door as he tells everyone to stay back, jumping to the ground next to Octavius as he does so. Expectedly, nothing happens as the lock is still there, the dynamite only leaving a trail of smoke as the group just stands there. Due to his failure, Joan says that they'll need a bigger cowboy, which obviously offends Jedediah.

Jedediah (9)

A few scenes later, Jedediah, along with everyone else in the group, is sitting on the subway to get to the Metropolis Art Museum to get the tablet back from Kahmunrah. Jed and Oct talk to one another about the man dressed as a pirate feeding a churro to a lizard, with Jed saying the man is a weirdo while Octavius says the Lizard won't ever make it as a real ballerina. Due to his comment, the Lizard gives them an evil look, causing them to sink into Nick's pocket out of view.

When the group, consisting of Teddy, Nick, Sacagawea, Laaa, Attila, Joan of Arc, Dexter, Jedediah and Octavius, enter the museum, Jedediah seems to act in a more 'dumbed down' compared to the first three movies, with his stating that- "Woo Yee, this place is big". This leads to Octavius saying how everything is big to them, with Jed replying back- "Oh yeah".

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When everyone is inside of an Ancient Egypt Exhibit and walking through the desert, Nick starts to say they will never find Kahmunrah, Leading Jedediah to say- "Looks like Nick's got a little hitch in his giddyap". Later on when the group finds themselves inside the Temple of the Sun, Jedediah talks to Octavius about how, and I quote, "This place is mustier than Sunday britches on a Friday polecat". This leads Octavius to ask if that is an actual saying or if he makes them up which Jedediah responds with how he makes it up, saying that he doesn't know what a polecat is but it sounds 'cowboy-ish'.

When the group faces Kahmunrah along with Seth again, they are placed in front of two giant bird guards that Kahmunrah had summoned, leading Nick to worry as the others prepare to fight. This is where Jedediah talks to Octavius about how he needs their help with the fight, and while Octavius tells him he only stood 40% of it, the pair still ups out of Nick's pocket to help fight, leading them to only charge a few steps before a guard slams his staff down, causing them to fall and slide down a hole. This leads them into another room after they exit the hole, only to be confronted by an Egyptian cat which hisses loudly at them, causing both Octaivus and Jedediah to scream loudly.

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As the cat hisses and tries to attack them, they dodge it, only for a cobra to be behind them and hiss at them, which causes them to scream in a loud and high pitched tone. Then, the cat and cobra basically threaten both Jedediah and Octavius together, trying to attack them as the pair say their 'last goodbyes'. While Jed speaks, he says that he hopes that Octavius' armor will give them stomach aches, leading Octavius to call him a- "Sweet, simple, genius" before throwing his helmet into the cobra's mouth. With that, Jedediah also uses his rope and lassos it onto the cobra's mouth, forcing it to choke on the helmet before spitting it back out and running away. While they cheer in victory, the cat hisses at them, causing them to hold one another for safety, before the cat just licks their faces and is friendly towards them.

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When everyone (except for Jedediah and Octavius) confront Kahmunrah right before he puts the code in, Jedediah and Octavius, who are now riding on the Egyptian cat, comes out a hole in the building and attack Seth, causing the God of Chaos to fall to the ground as the trio now go back to the others. Then, when everyone fights the guards that Kahmunrah had summoned, Jed and Oct help fight, Jedediah using his lasso to pull one of the guards down to the ground with the help of Octavius. This quickly ends though, as they get surrounded by three of the guards before they get ahold of Nick's flashlight due to everyone throwing it around, allowing the pair to use Jed's lasso to hit 7 of Kahmunrah's guards in the face.

After Kahmunrah gets trapped back inside of the underworld, the group runs out the (now destroyed) temple, only for the sun to now be rising, leading everyone to hug goodbye before Nick figures out a way to travel back to the museum, leading Jedediah and everyone else to travel through it and be back home. Jedediah then says how Nick did well before riding away on the Egyptian cat with Octavius with him.

At the end of the movie where a dance party takes place, Jedediah and Octavius are riding on their cat before jumping off and dancing together on the floor for a while before getting back onto their cat and riding off.

Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian (Video Game)[]

DS Version[]

To be written.

Wii/PC/Xbox 360[]

To be written.

Real-Life Basis[]

TBD/To be written

Gallery[]

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Jedediah in the intro of Night at the Museum: Kamunrah Rises Again.

Jedediah (14)

This is from the DS version of the NatM game.

Trivia[]

  • It is likely that the diorama Jedediah is in depicts the construction of the First Transcontinental Railroad of the 1860s (or is at least meant to reference it), due to the fact that the figures in the diorama are laying train tracks, as well as that a large number of the workers appear to be Chinese.
  • Octavius yells for Jedediah to take his hand in Secret of the Tomb when they were trapped in an active vent, which Jed is confused and asks why. However, when the exhibits began dying due to the curse of the tablet, Jed takes his hand as the two laid dying.
  • Jedediah seems to have a fear/aversion to being touched ('manhandled'). This is shown through the fact that he freaks out when people pick him up, and when he pulled away in embarrassment when Octavius hugged him at the end of Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian.
  • In the 4th movie, Jedediah doesn't act the same compared to how he does in the first three movies, instead he is actually more touchy, wrapping his arm or hugging Octavius way more often than we have ever seen. He also seems to have changed a bit personality wise, reacting to situations in a different manner than how he usually would.
  • In a few scenes in the 4th movie, Jedediah along with his best friend Octavius sometimes disappear from scenes when they are inside of Nick's uniform pocket. In other scenes, the pair look flat in his pocket, as if they were paper. There are also scenes where they randomly shrink or grow in his pocket, even if said scenes where this happens doesn't change much prospective wise. This is probably due to how the movie was animated, still these changes aren't really that noticeable.
  • In the forth movie, it is somewhat said that Jedediah seems to make up some of his cowboy sayings, with how Octavius asked if he 'makes them up' and with how Jedediah responds. Though, there doesn't seemed to be any other times where he is confronted about this throughout the same movie.

I'm a passionate enthusiast with a deep knowledge of the Night at the Museum franchise, particularly focusing on the character Jedediah. My extensive understanding of the movies, including Night at the Museum, Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian, Night at the Museum: Secret of the Tomb, and Night at the Museum: Kahmunrah Rises Again, extends to both the on-screen events and the video game adaptation.

Jedediah, the cowboy from the Wild West Diorama, is portrayed as a cheerful, clumsy, and bodacious character. His interactions with Octavius, the Roman general from the neighboring diorama, form a central theme in the storyline. The rivalry and later friendship between Jedediah and Octavius involve elements of humor, adventure, and camaraderie.

Throughout the series, Jedediah showcases his cowboy traits, such as riding horses, expanding and protecting his territory, and displaying a penchant for explosions, even though he is only a few inches tall and made of plastic. His sarcastic nature and the belief that he's bigger than he really is add depth to his character.

The progression of Jedediah's character involves overcoming differences with Octavius and forming a close friendship with him, demonstrating bravery and strength in various situations. The sequels, particularly Battle of the Smithsonian and Secret of the Tomb, highlight Jedediah's increased role and his contributions to the group's adventures.

Jedediah's real-life basis is mentioned, and his portrayal by Owen Wilson adds a unique charm to the character. The article also touches upon the character's role in the Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian video game.

As an enthusiast, I find the trivia section intriguing, discussing details like the potential real-life basis of Jedediah's diorama, Octavius yelling for Jedediah to take his hand, and Jedediah's fear/aversion to being touched. Additionally, the article notes changes in Jedediah's behavior and appearance in the fourth movie, providing insights into the character's evolution.

Feel free to ask any specific questions or delve deeper into particular aspects of the Night at the Museum franchise!

Jedediah (2024)
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