In Hugo, Isabelle, played by Chloë Grace Moretz, helps Hugo recover his notebook.
Martin Scorsese's 2011 film Hugo follows an orphan who secretly maintains the clocks at Paris's Gare Montparnasse. Hugo's notebook contains drawings and instructions made while he and his father repaired an automaton, so it is both a practical record and an emotional link to his late father.
After toy-shop owner Georges Méliès catches Hugo stealing mechanical parts, he confiscates the notebook and threatens to destroy it. Hugo follows Georges home, where he meets Isabelle, Georges' goddaughter. She promises to help Hugo and later tells him that the notebook has not actually been burned, despite Georges claiming otherwise.
Isabelle's role extends beyond retrieving the notebook. She becomes Hugo's closest companion, joins him in investigating the automaton, and helps uncover Georges Méliès's hidden past as a pioneering filmmaker. The film draws heavily on the real Méliès, whose work includes the 1902 silent classic A Trip to the Moon.
A common mix-up is identifying Georges as the character who returns the notebook. He ultimately allows Hugo to earn it back by working in the toy shop, but Isabelle is the character who first helps Hugo pursue its recovery.