Excursion to the Moon

Segundo de Chomón reimagines Georges Méliès' famous short with a playful, stagey voyage to the Moon. A group of eccentric scientists conceive an audacious plan to reach the lunar surface, build a giant projectile, and send a band of explorers aloft. The film strings together theatrical sets, painted backdrops, and stop motion tricks to stage encounters with lunar creatures and improbable sights. Scenes emphasize visual surprise and comedy rather than realistic science, and the action unfolds like a music-hall sketch captured on film. The result feels like a vaudeville fantasy, an early special effects showcase that treats the Moon as a place for spectacle and whimsy. It honors Méliès' theatrical spirit while adding Chomón's precise camera techniques and playful invention.

Directed in 1908 by Segundo de Chomón, the film adapts material linked to Georges Méliès and the imaginative ideas of Jules Verne. It was produced for early nickelodeon screens and reflects the turn of the century fascination with scientific spectacle.

Commercial records from 1908 are scarce, so reliable box office totals are unavailable. The short circulated widely in fairgrounds and picture houses of the era, often screened alongside other novelty films, helping it reach audiences beyond France despite limited documentation.

Though not as famous as Méliès' original, Chomón's version contributed to early cinema's vocabulary of tricks, cutaways, and miniature work. Filmmakers and exhibitors copied its staging and visual jokes, and its imagery appears in histories of film as an example of how fantasy and technology mixed on the silent screen.

Modern viewers rate it modestly, with a small number of votes reflecting its status as historical curiosity rather than mainstream favorite, averaging roughly 5.25 out of 10. The film favors spectacle and satire of scientific pretension, balancing childish wonder with stage-style comedy and early cinematic experimentation and inventive camera play.