Hugo | Raising Children Network

Story

Hugo Cabret (Asa Butterfield) is a lonely, young, orphaned boy who lives a secret life in the hidden passageways and giant clocks of a Paris train station in the 1930s. Hugo spends his time maintaining the station clocks, scavenging food from shop vendors, avoiding the mean-spirited station inspector (Sacha Baron Cohen) and stealing mechanical toys from shopkeeper Georges Melies (Ben Kingsley). Hugo has been using the clockwork parts from stolen toys to fix a mechanical man that his late father rescued from a museum. Hugo believes that if he can repair the automaton, it’ll reveal a message from his father.

When Hugo tries to steal a clockwork mouse from Georges’ toyshop, Georges catches him and forces him to hand over a notebook containing detailed sketches of clockwork mechanisms. Very upset by the loss of his notebook, Hugo follows Georges home. He makes friends with Georges’ young goddaughter, Isabelle (Chloe Grace Moretz). She promises that she won’t let ‘Papa’ Georges burn the notebook.

The mystery thickens when a heart-shaped key given to Isabelle by her godmother activates the automaton. It begins to draw images that lead Hugo and Isabelle on a series of adventures.

Themes

Death of a parent; orphans and orphanages; magic

Violence

This movie contains some slapstick violence, shown in images from silent movies. It also shows dangerous situations involving adults and children, some low-level violence, verbal threats and children being intimidated by adults. For example:

The station inspector and his Doberman guard dog chase Hugo through the train station. Hugo leaps and tips over a dinner table, scaring people sitting at the table, while the inspector runs into a group of musicians and destroys a double bass. The inspector roughly pushes people out of the way as he tries to catch Hugo. Towards the end of the chase, the inspector’s leg brace gets tangled in the door of a departing train and he’s dragged along.
There’s a quick image of Hugo’s father opening a door and a firestorm rushing up a hall to engulf him (we don’t see him actually burned).
The inspector catches a crying and distressed young boy and shoves him into a small wire cage in his office. The inspector phones the police, telling them to pick up the boy and take him to an orphanage.
While trying to escape the pursuit of the station inspector, Hugo climbs out of a tall clock tower to dangle from the clock’s massive hands, almost falling as the hand moves.

Sexual references

This movie has a couple of low-level sexual references. For example, the station inspector talks to a policeman on the phone about his wife leaving him. He wonders whether he’s the father of her unborn child.

Alcohol, drugs and other substances

This movie shows some use of substances. For example:

Hugo’s uncle repeatedly drinks from a hip flask and acts in a drunk way, staggering and bumping into things. On several occasions, characters talk about him as a ‘drunk’.
Hugo’s uncle holds a cigarette between his lips and sits in a chair with an ashtray full of cigarette butts.
In a couple of scenes, cigarette smoke billows from a restaurant.

Nudity and sexual activity

This movie doesn’t have any nudity, but it does show some low-level flirting. For example:

In several scenes, an older man flirts with an older woman, but the flirtation always turns comical when the woman’s dog tries to bite the man. To solve his problem, the man buys a dog of his own and the two dogs show interest in each other.
Isabelle kisses Hugo on the cheek, and they hold hands in several scenes.

Product placement

None of concern

Coarse language

This movie doesn’t have any coarse language, but does have several examples of name-calling.

Ideas to discuss with your children

Hugo is a fantasy action adventure with a great cast. It’s suited to an audience ranging from younger teenagers to adults. The movie includes mature themes and a sophisticated storyline (the second half of the movie relates to the silent movie industry) that are unsuited to children under 10 years. The movie’s running time of 126 minutes is also too long for younger viewers.

The main message from this movie is that we all have a part to play in life, like cogs in a clockwork mechanism. This gives our life meaning. Hugo believes that people who don’t have a purpose in life are like broken cogs. You could talk with your children about how important it is to find a purpose in life.

Values in this movie that you could reinforce with your children include perseverance and selflessness. For example, Hugo refuses to give up regardless of the dangers he faces. Through his perseverance, he can discover truth and help other people.