Mr. George Melier (sorry George and France I don't know how to do accents on here yet)
As we can see in this lovely piece of Futurama fan art Bender is plunging a bottle into a seemingly random theme park mascot. Of course all of us find this freakin hilarious but not many can put there finger on exactly why, this image has been used countless times in comedies and has been referenced over and over again, but why? I hear you cry.
Everyone is familiar with the still of the rocket lodged in the moons face but it's not until they see "Le Voyage Dans La Lune" (voyage to the moon) a short film by George Melier that they go "Ohhh i knew i recognized that shit!".
'Voyage to the moon' was filmed over 100 years ago in 1902 and was just one of many films Melier can be credited for, all of which were so important to modern film especially in current times where the vast majority of hollywood blockbuster films rely so heavily on the use of special effects. The art of tricking the audience using film was practically invented by Melier, so much so that he was usually known as a magician in his time not a film maker. Probably a good thing for him, magicians got all the babes back then.
A big part of special effects these days and a century ago is down to animation. The technique of stopping the camera, moving an object then starting the camera again was also discovered by Melier, probably why so many people in the film and animation industry enjoy parodying his work. Also it probably makes you feel pretty smug doesn't it.
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