Inspired by Jules Verne's and Adolphe d'Ennery's 1882 play Journey Through the Impossible, and modeled in style and format on Méliès's highly successful 1902 film A Trip to the Moon, the film is a satire of scientific exploration in which a group of geographically minded tourists attempt a journey to the Sun using various methods of transportation.

At a meeting headed by President Polehunter, "assisted by Secretary Rattlebrain, by the Archivist Mole, by the Vice-president Humbug, the members of the office, Easily-fooled, Daredevil, Schemer, etc., etc.

", the sumptuously dressed ladies and gentlemen of the Institute listen to Professor Daredevil's plan for the world tour, but reject it for being out-of-date.

He explains his project for a new "impossible" voyage, using "all the known means of locomotion—railroads, automobiles, dirigible balloons, submarine boats…" The unusual plan is accepted enthusiastically, and preparations begin.

After they have finished recovering, the travelers board a train with their other vehicles attached to it, and make a second attempt at running over a summit: this time, the Jungfrau.

The original French title of the film, Le Voyage à travers l'impossible, comes from a stage spectacular of the same name, written in 1882 by Jules Verne and Adolphe d'Ennery.

[5] The film, running to 374 meters (about 20 minutes at silent-film projection speeds),[6][7] was Méliès's longest to date, and cost about ₣37,500 (US$7,500) to make.

[6] The French catalogue descriptions give French names for many of the characters: the engineer is Mabouloff, and the Institute's membership includes Professor Latrouille (its president), Madame Latrouille, Madame Mabouloff, Secretary Foulard, Archivist Lataupe, Vice-President Patoche, and Professor Ventrouillard (who proposes the unaccepted project at the beginning of the film).

The complexity of his tricks, his resourcefulness with mechanical contrivances, the imaginativeness of the settings and the sumptuous tableaux made the film a masterpiece for its day.