It's not hard, in hindsight, to see why Hugo failed to connect with audiences. Although it's a quirky family film, it's also a love letter to movie history packed with cinematic references, which makes it tough to find its target audience. Despite its struggles at the box office, it's a charming, unusual, and clever movie about a young inventor in the early 1900s who winds up accidentally helping to launch the film industry. It was the first live-action film shot in 3D (which contributed to its financial failure due to escalating costs), and its visual world is truly stunning, with that pure love for the world of movies shining through in every frame.