Movies & TV Facts for Kids
Behind-the-scenes facts from film and TV
Stunt performers stand in for actors during dangerous scenes such as car chases, explosions, and high falls. Despite careful planning, it remains one of the most hazardous professions in the entertainment industry.
The song 'Let It Go' from Frozen (2013) won the Academy Award for Best Original Song and has been translated into over 40 languages. Frozen was the highest-grossing animated film of all time upon release.
Silent films used intertitle cards — screens of printed text — to show dialogue and describe the action. Actors had to convey emotion entirely through facial expressions and exaggerated gestures.
Filmmakers use different camera angles to tell stories: a close-up focuses on a face to show emotion, a wide shot establishes a location, and a bird's-eye view looks down from above. Each choice affects how the audience feels.
Weta Workshop in New Zealand created thousands of costumes, weapons, and creatures for The Lord of the Rings. The team made 48,000 individual pieces of chain mail armour by hand.
A clapperboard (also called a slate) is snapped shut at the beginning of each film take to help editors synchronise the sound and picture in post-production. The sharp clap creates a visible spike in the audio waveform.
Director Christopher Nolan filmed Dunkirk (2017) using real vintage aircraft, ships, and IMAX cameras to make the World War II drama feel as authentic as possible. Very little CGI was used.
The first major 3D film shown to a paying audience was Bwana Devil in 1952, which required audiences to wear special red and green glasses. The technology has been refined many times since then.
The iconic Disney castle in the studio's logo was inspired by Neuschwanstein Castle in Bavaria, Germany. The same castle also inspired the Sleeping Beauty castle in Disneyland.
In the film Gravity (2013), actress Sandra Bullock spent most of her time suspended in specially designed rigs that could be moved in any direction to simulate weightlessness. The film won seven Academy Awards.