i can watch this a million + times and it still dazzles me :)
yes USABG58 i did see the movie and thought it was very neat. i saw the 3D version :) however i was ans still am confused about what hugo had to do with it. as far as i have read on several web searches including imdb, i havent found anything about a boy named hugo as being part of Georges Méliès life.

After seeing a documentary or two, (wasn't the recent movie about him great?), I guess he went out of business due to: 1) Competition was stiff 2) Got ripped off on distribution channel 3) The thrill of just watching amovie was gone and audiences demanded more sophisticated films 4) WWI made veterans in audiences jaded and not appreciate simplistic plots. 5) He put so much effort into set design, directing, acting, producing, writing and technical tricks that he just "burnt out" after 250, 300+ films...and do you blame him?!
I'd also add that, just like "CG-burn out" of today, audiences became desenitised to fantastic sights and demanded more realistic movies.