A magical adventure begins Once upon a time, within a vast and wild forest there was a fantastic Kingdom called Rodencia, a place where wonderful creatures and powerful wizards lived. It's the story of adventures and love of a small mouse called Edam, a clumsy magician's apprentice and the beautiful and confident mouse Brie, who will have to face many dangerous obstacles in order to obtain the power of the princess's tooth and defeat the troop of rats commanded by the evil Rotex who invades Rodencia (the peaceful kingdom of mice), in order to dominate them and take their treasure. In the middle of the forest; the magic of the light and the darkness, the love and resentment will face together. Edam and Rotex will fight and only one will leave victorious.
Two travellers are tormented by Satan from inn to inn and eventually experience a buggy ride through the heavens courtesy of the Devil before he takes one of them down to Hell and roasts him on a spit.
The setting of this fantastic scene represents the hall of an old chateau in which a miser has locked up seven large bags containing his wealth. Satan, who has made his way into the chateau, puts the seven bags in a strong box, and makes with his hands some cabalistic motions. The miser comes into the hall and is greatly astonished to find his fortune missing. He opens the coffer and immediately the bags leap out. He gathers them up and puts them back into the coffer. When he opens it again he finds that they have been transformed into seven young girls, who rush out and chase after him, beating him unmercifully. They shut him up in the coffer from which his gold has vanished. The miser pushes open the lid of the coffer, and to his profound despair finds that both young girls and money have disappeared. (This view is most sensational in its mysterious scenes.) (Star Film Catalog)
Pluto, having seen the earth, comes back home amazed at the success of that well-known dance, the "cake-walk." He has brought back with him two noted well-known dancers, who start their favorite dance amidst the flames.
This film begins with the invocation of 'almighty god' at a river where several people are gathered. The child god Krishna rises out of the water astride the demon snake Kaliya. Then we see Yashoda as she rocks the sleeping Krishna's crib and imagines the god as Gopala. The next scene shows Kamsa fantasizing about Krishna threateningly duplicated many times around him. Kamsa then imagines himself dead as his severed head rises up and descends again. People of all castes pay obeisance to the deity with the title-card: 'may this humble offering be accepted by the Lord'.
A young woman becomes the eighth wife of the wealthy Bluebeard, whose first seven wives have died under mysterious circumstances.
A magician and some assistants put up a series of posters of music hall acts in a frame. Then the magician brings each poster to life.
The first scene presents before the astonished eyes of the spectators a solid piece of marble, which the minute it is placed on a table seems to take life, and one can follow a snake-like line branding on the polished face of the stone the name of the house of Pathé Frères. As soon as this stone has been engraved, as by magic, a handsome young lady appears with a huge lump of clay covered with a cloth. As soon as the cloth is removed from the soft mass it starts whirling and turning as if stricken mad, and one is asking one's self what all the contentions are going to lead to, when the vague shape of an animal not yet discernible seems to appear, and before one has time to make one's mind as to the category of brutes to which it belongs one sees the form of a remarkably well made orang-utan modelled out of the clay, who calmly smokes his pipe. Then the statue is removed by the same winning young lady and another covered block of the same substance is carried forward.
Pickpock is behind bars. But more elusive than Arsène Lupin, no chain resists him and he plays with policemen like a cat with mice. After having masterfully taken them for a ride, having brought them down to an effigy, he rolls them up and throws them out the window. But the policemen come back to life and the chase goes on. Pickpock, caught a second time, locked up behind heavy bars, finds a new way of escaping and imprisoning in turn the policemen.
A demonic magician attempts to perform his act in a strange grotto, but is confronted by a Good Spirit who opposes him.
A sorcerer draws signs on the sand making charming young women.
Four prisoners, in convicts' stripes, march backwards down stairs and, under the watchful eyes of guards, hop backwards into their cells. Later, one overpowers a guard and springs his three pals. But, will they be able to pull off an escape? Other guards come to the aid of their fallen comrade before all four felons can flee. Guards and convicts spring forward and backward out of cells, up and down stairs, and into and out of freedom.
A magician transforms a woman into a portrait of herself, then restores her to life.
Innovative early 'trick' film showing the popular 'flying the foam' stunt performed on - or rather off - Brighton's West Pier.
Two impish clowns construct a magic lantern. They prop it up at an angle, and use it to project pictures onto a wall. When the picture show ends, they open up the lantern to reveal a group of dancing girls inside - and this is only the first of the indications that this lantern really is magical.
A talented youth has compounded a wonderful fluid, a little of which he applies to the mirror in his room, and when he looks into it his image comes to life and comes out of the frame and imitates his every action. As soon as he rubs the fluid off the mirror his double disappears. When the servant come in, a little of the fluid is again rubbed on the mirror, and he has the same experience, his reflection stepping out and doing stunts, thereby scaring the poor fellow almost to death. The inventor of the fluid then takes the mirror with him and goes out on the street.
A romantic couple are transformed into skeletons via X-Rays. The film combines two very recent innovations: Wilhelm Roentgen's discovery of X-rays in 1895, and Georges Méliès' accidental realisation of the special-effects potential of the jump-cut in 1896.
The scene opens in an artist's studio where the unfinished statue of William Tell stands upon a pedestal. A clown appears and sticks a clay arm and clay head on the statue, thus completing it. He places a large brick on top of the head to make it stick. When he turns his back the statue turns into a living representation of William Tell. (Edison Catalog)
As the above title indicates, the scene does not take place in an ordinary restaurant, but one in which all natural rules of order and gravitation are reversed. The couple above mentioned have a most trying experience while endeavoring to partake of a square meal. They find themselves flying about the room from chairs to table, and vice versa, until they are both completely bewildered, ending in a general mix-up, which is sure to provoke much merriment.
A juggler enters upon the scene, picks up a skull, throws it into the air, catches it in his hands, where it is transformed into a handkerchief. The handkerchief, after being twirled about a wand, is changed to a napkin, and afterward to a tablecloth. Out of the table cloth comes a servant.