In Hugo, Georges Méliès, who does not want to remember the part of his life where he created fantastic and magical worlds through films, states, “My life has taught me one lesson, Hugo Cabret, and not the one I thought it would. Happy endings only happen in the movies.”
Why does Méliès say this? Melies says this because he realizes that the control one may have over a film is not the same as the control that he has over his own life. I think he realizes that all that he wants to be and all that he tries to hide or bring back from his past is a struggle in comparison to what his life has destined for him. For as much as you plan your life out, most times the "happy endings" that we envision do not come out the way we want them too.
Why does he want to forget about the films he made? Melies wants to forget about the films he made because it frustrates him that it is not how his life is now, that he doesn't create films anymore. It's a part of him that he wishes he still would pursue but cannot bring himself to because he believes he knows the real truth about life, which is much different than the films he made and wanted to make.
Do you think the film Hugo has a happy ending? Why or why not? I think Hugo has a happy ending because he achieved what he set out to do since his dad was still alive: reconstruct the automaton. In a life that he may experience struggles, he had one thing that made it all worth it and provided him a source of happiness. Regardless of his circumstances at the end of the movie, I think Hugo learned the opposite of Melies and happy endings do exist if you are grateful for what you already have.
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