Hugo (movie) facts for kids

Hugo is an exciting American adventure movie from 2011. It was filmed in 3D, making it feel very real. The movie is based on the book The Invention of Hugo Cabret by Brian Selznick.

It tells the story of a young boy who lives secretly in a Paris train station. He meets a mysterious toy shop owner there. The famous director Martin Scorsese made this movie. The story was written for the screen by John Logan. It was made by GK Films and Johnny Depp's Infinitum Nihil. The main actors include Asa Butterfield, Ben Kingsley, and Jude Law. Hugo was Martin Scorsese's first movie ever to be shot in 3D.

The Story of Hugo

In 1931, a 12-year-old boy named Hugo Cabret lives in Paris. He lives with his kind father, who is a master clockmaker. Hugo and his father love going to the movies, especially films by Georges Méliès.

Sadly, Hugo's father dies in a museum fire. Hugo is then taken in by his uncle, who is a watchmaker. His uncle is in charge of keeping all the clocks working at the Gare Montparnasse train station. Hugo's uncle teaches him how to take care of the clocks. Then, his uncle disappears.

Hugo starts living secretly within the walls of the station. He continues to maintain the clocks. He also steals food to survive. Hugo spends his time working on his father's special project. This project is a broken automaton, which is a mechanical man designed to write.

Hugo needs many parts to fix the automaton. He steals mechanical bits from around the station. One day, a toy store owner catches him. The owner takes away Hugo's blueprints for the automaton. The automaton is missing one very important part: a heart-shaped key.

Hugo believes the automaton holds a secret message from his father. He tries very hard to fix the machine. He gets help from a girl named Isabelle. She is about his age and is the goddaughter of the toy shop owner. Hugo shows Isabelle the magic of movies. Her godfather had never let her see them before.

It turns out that Isabelle has the missing key to the automaton! When they use the key, the automaton comes to life. It draws a picture of a movie scene that Hugo's father had told him about. They soon discover that the movie was made by Georges Méliès. He is Isabelle's godfather and a famous, but forgotten, movie pioneer. The automaton was a special creation of his from when he was a magician. In the end, Hugo and Isabelle help Georges reconnect with his past. They also introduce his amazing work to a new generation of movie lovers.

Meet the Characters

• Asa Butterfield as Hugo Cabret, the main character who lives in the train station.
• Ben Kingsley as Georges Méliès, the toy shop owner and a former filmmaker.
• Sacha Baron Cohen as Inspector Gustav, a station worker who tries to catch Hugo.
• Ray Winstone as Claude Cabret, Hugo's uncle who disappears.
• Jude Law as Archibald Cabret, Hugo's kind father, a clockmaker.
• Christopher Lee as Monsieur Labisse, the owner of the bookshop.
• Helen McCrory as Mama Jeanne, Georges Méliès's wife.
• Michael Stuhlbarg as René Tabard, a film historian.
• Emily Mortimer as Lisette, the flower girl.
• Frances de la Tour as Madame Emile, who owns the café.
• Richard Griffiths as Monsieur Frick, the newspaper seller.
• Marco Aponte as a train engineer assistant.
• Emil Lager as Django Reinhardt, the guitarist.

See also

In Spanish: Hugo (película) para niños