The Fabelmans

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Mommy and Daddy will be right next to you.

The lights will go down.

There may be some organ music as the curtain opens.

Don't be scared.

It'll be dark in there, you said.

- I don't want to go in. - But it's fun.

All week, you've been so excited.

Your first ever movie.

- And the people are gigantic. - What people?

You said the people in the movie are gigantic.

Oh, because of the big screen they're on,

but they're not real, uh, right?

- They're like dreams. - Dreams are scary.

Some dreams are, but this is gonna be a nice dream.

About a circus and clowns and acrobats and, um...

You want to know how it works?

There's a big machine called a projector.

Inside, there's a big bright light,

and it projects photographs

- of-of clowns and acrobats. - And elephants.

- Uh, "projecting" means it sends them out. -Happy things.

Happy things like light from a huge flashlight.

But these photographs move past the light really fast.

24 photos in every second.

Now, in your brain,

each photograph stays for about a 15th of a second.

That's called persistence of vision.

The photographs move past

faster than your brain can let go of them,

and that's how the movie projector tricks us

into believing that motionless pictures are moving.

A motion picture.

Movies are dreams, doll, that you never forget.

You just wait and see.

When it's over, you're gonna have

the biggest, sloppiest smile on your face.

They're letting us in.

Wait till the engines pass.

Unlock the door.

Pass it down.

- What's that? - Second section.

Angel. She's on that train.

So what? We got the dough. Let's get out of here.

Lights. I must turn the lights down the track.

You crazy lunkhead. Give me that wheel.

We are going to-- down the track!

The train! Stop the train!

Stop the train!

Stop! Can't you see the lights?!

Stop!

First section! Hold it!

Angel! Angel!

What was your favorite part?

Sammy, what do you want for Hanukkah?

I told you this wasn't a good idea,

what with all of his A-N-X-I-E-T-I-E-S.

Kids his age have big I-M-A-G-I-N-A-T-I-O-N-S.

No fair spelling out the long words.

The lights change how everything looks.

It's hard to find our house.

Ours is the dark house with no lights.

That's what I want for Hanukkah.

- What? - Christmas lights!

Sorry, dolly.

Jews don't get Christmas lights.

Eight nights of candlelight.

Can I sleep with the oscilloscope?

Get going. We got to burn rubber.

- What's that? -Second section.

Angel. She's on that train.

The lights.

I must turn the lights down the track.

Stop the train!

Stop the train!

Angel!

Mommy! Mommy!

I know what I want for Hanukkah!

I know what I want for Hanukkah!

...Hanukkah!

Thank you!

Sammy.

-Oh, my God. - Whoa.

I'm so excited.

Okay, so the outside grounds, the middle conducts the power,

and these two metal wheels under the engine

complete the circuit.

So, new, Mr. Engineer?

RCA gave you a raise?

That is one expensive trolley car.

It's not a trolley car. It's a Lionel train.

No raises for the computer guys this year.

Next year, maybe.

Your moonlighting son is paying for it

by filling up my house with broken TVs.

Repair work, that's how.

Oy, careful he doesn't electrocute himself.

- Hold on. - You're okay.

You're not taking that fancy train to Florida without me.

Hey, look.

She's down on the floor.

Who's gonna help her up?

Who says I'm getting up?

I'm going to Miami on the Sammy Limited.

Go ahead.

Ooh.

I precisely engineer toys.

You can play with them

when you've learned to treat them with respect.

I do respect them. I love them.

I know you do, but you can't just love something.

You also have to take care of it, right?

Maybe we can play together with them this weekend.

But I need to see them crash.

I don't understand.

Why does he need to see them crash?

It's late.

You don't want to shut your light?

Mm. In a minute.

I'm still wide-awake.

You see these descending notes?

That's called a lament bass.

You should play it on the radio on that arts program.

- Oh. -They keep asking you to go back.

I don't have time for that. Mm.

Well, we can hire a sitter.

Who can afford that? Forget it.

That was another life.

That was two kids ago.

You know what I miss most about the piano?

Surrendering to the score.

Knowing Bach is gonna tell you how--

First this note, then this chord,

then you open your hand, you stretch down an octave...

Making a little world you can be safe and happy in.

Thank you.

That's why he needs to watch them crash.

He's trying to get some kind of control over it.

Sammy?

We're going to use Daddy's camera to film it.

Only crash the train once, okay?

Then, after we get the film developed,

you can watch it crash over and over

till it's not so scary anymore.

And your real train won't ever get broken.

One more thing, dolly.

Let's not tell your father.

It'll be our secret movie, just yours and mine.

- Okay? - Okay.

Sorry I'm late.

I picked up Ms. Moynahan's Motorola.

There's no room left in the workshop.

- Where should I put it? - The living room, I guess?

Okay.

Hey, uh, sorry I'm late. I picked up Mrs. Fabelman.

Where should I put her?

Ow! Ow, ow, ow.

- Did the mail come? - It's on the table.

Cossack.

- This is brisket? - My movie!

Ah, ah, ah, ah, ah, ah, ah.

After supper.

The amount of magnetism is increased by

how magnetically permeable the core material is.

The tricky thing is how permeable we can make it.

Am I supposed to be following any of this?

You know what a magnetic field is, right?

Uh, yeah. Well, sure. I mean, it...

Sammy, do you know what a magnetic field is?

- Can I be excused? - Nope.

But I need to, just for a minute.

- What's so urgent? - Honey.

This tastes funny, Burt.

It tastes funny on a plastic fork.

- Ma. - Is she saving the silverware

for when the Eisenhowers drop by?

The problem is we're using vacuum tubes,

not transistors, and magnetic cores

- to try to access memory... - 35,000 magnetic cores.

Hey, Sam, you know on your father's camera

when the film runs out?

When that happens, what do you do?

- Load more film. - The same with computers.

You have to load more tape, and that slows everything down...

Mitz, the chopped liver was beyond belief.

...load it with data,

and instead of changing tapes every ten seconds,

this new machine he's engineering...

- The BIZMAC! - The BIZMAC!

It can search for information

through all these tapes at once.

You never need to change any of them.

It'll be ten times faster.

I love Burt's brain.

Especially when you're around to explain what's in it.

Mom, I have to go upstairs now.

Not until you've finished eating.

He cleaned his plate.

No, he didn't.

Sammy.