Movies & TV Facts for Kids
Behind-the-scenes facts from film and TV
The famous 'bullet time' effect in 'The Matrix' (1999), where time appears to freeze, was created using 120 cameras arranged in a ring. All the cameras fired at slightly different times to create the illusion of a camera orbiting a frozen moment.
Indiana Jones's iconic fedora hat was actually supposed to blow off at the start of 'Raiders of the Lost Ark' (1981), but Harrison Ford's head was just the right size to keep it on in every take. The crew eventually decided it looked better staying on.
'Beauty and the Beast' (1991) was the first animated film ever nominated for the Academy Award for Best Picture. It holds this record to this day and is considered one of Disney's greatest achievements.
In the early days of cinema, films had no sound at all. Movie theaters hired live musicians, sometimes entire orchestras, to play music alongside the film to add emotion and cover up the noise of the projector.
The Spider-Man suit worn by Tobey Maguire in the 2002 film was so tight that it took 25 minutes to put on and had to be cut off him at the end of every day. He also could not go to the bathroom while wearing it.
'Gravity' (2013) is set in space but was filmed almost entirely in a studio in London. The visual effects team spent four and a half years developing the technology to make space look completely real.
Charlie Chaplin's famous 'Tramp' character — with the small mustache, bowler hat, and cane — became one of the most recognized images in the world by the 1920s. Chaplin wrote, directed, starred in, and even composed the music for many of his films.
Animating Shrek's skin in 'Shrek' (2001) required DreamWorks to invent entirely new software. The team had to program each individual pore and how it would react to light, which took years of work.
In an early version of 'Back to the Future' (1985), the time machine was a refrigerator instead of a DeLorean car. Director Robert Zemeckis changed it because he was worried kids would try climbing into fridges and getting stuck.
'The Jungle Book' (1967) was the last animated film personally supervised by Walt Disney before he passed away. Disney died during its production, and the film was dedicated to him upon its release.