The Library of Congress has discovered a long-lost film from 1897 by early cinematic innovator Georges Méliès, Gugusse and the Automaton. The film depicts the first robot in movie history and is believed to have been discovered in a box of roughly 10 old film reels. Less than half of the filmmaker's films, which he produced over 500 films in his lifetime, survive to this day. Since early cinema was seen as frivolous, there was little effort made to preserve early film prints, which were notoriously fragile and often neglected. The Library ofCongress has since made efforts to preserve America’s cinematic heritage, including introducing the National Film Preservation Act and the National Fil Registry.