Gortimer, narrating: I've lived my whole life on Normal Street.
There's a lake at one end
and a forest of shady trees at the other.
But what lies in between
is anything but normal.
"Take away memories. Leave nothing but footprints."
That's what Chief Seattle said.
My mom always comes back from her trips
with some new philosophy that only lasts a month.
Hmm. Outdoors is for shoes. Indoors is for slippers.
I learned that on my trip to Japan last year.
Are those, uh, little mops
on the bottom of the slippers?
Yeah, yeah. Makes it easier
to clean the floors. What?
Whatever, weirdo.
[sigh]
Gortimer: Unbelievable.
We use that word every day
to describe things that are actually only surprising...
like how hard a test was
or how exciting a movie was.
But maybe once in your lifetime
something happens that your mind cannot process...
that makes no sense,
that every cell in your body rejects the truth of.
To lose someone so much a part of you.
That is truly unbelievable.
Blue raspberry.
I guess I would want blue raspberry.
What about cherry?
Doesn't that feel,
you know, happier?
Does it?
Maybe we should get cherry.
Now I don't feel right about either.
Food's not the answer.
What are we going to say?
I don't know.
What should we say?
That's why I'm asking you.
I think we should just be ourselves.
I don't want to be myself.
Myself doesn't know what to say.
It's been three days,
and we've barely gotten a chance to talk to her.
What are you going to say?
Well, I'm going to--
I have no idea.
Hey, guys. Glad you're here.
We brought some stuff for Mel.
It'll mean a lot to her just that you came.
Go on up, guys.
[mouthing countdown]
Mel?
Hi.
We brought you some stuff.
Thanks.
If you're going to stand there,
you might as well help.
Help with what?
Well, at this moment,
I could use a 16-ohm resistor.
Um, I think
there might be some batteries in this bag.
What are you making?
A tachyon condenser.
Why? And also, what?
Tachyons are particles hypothesized
to move faster than the speed of light.
A tachyonic telephone can theoretically
break the chain of causality and--
Mel, Mel, I'm sorry. I'm lost.
It's hard to explain.
Anyway, it's just a first step.
To what?
A time machine.
I'm going to fix this.
Don't look at each other like that.
I can stop all of this from happening.
I can save my mom.
But, Mel, y-you can't.
Please. You're either here to help,
or you're not, okay?
[sigh]
Thanks for the stuff,
but I'm kind of busy.
We both heard her, right?
I mean, she said what I think she said?
Time machine. It just sounds so crazy.
Should we tell someone?
Nah. She's going through so much right now,
maybe she's allowed to be a little weird.
Maybe we're all allowed to be.
I don't know.
I mean, is it possible
she might be on to something?
I mean, Mel is an actual genius.
Don't you think if time travel was possible,
someone would have figured it out by now?
But if anyone could, it would be Mel.
I'm worried about her.
Me, too.
[knocking]
Just a second.
Come in.
Hey. I brought you some snacks.
I'm not hungry.
Well, you got to eat.
Vicki sent some cherry Danishes.
I had one. They're good.
Hey, at least it's not the turkey loaf Uncle Mark brought.
I could really use your help
putting the collage together for the memorial service.
Let's go look through some photos.
I trust you.
Mel.
Please.
I've never seen this one of Mom holding me.
No, that's Grandma holding Mom.
It's amazing how similar you two look as babies.
Where's that picture of Mom and me
from that dance class when I was little?
Oh, you remember that frame broke a long time ago,
and then we couldn't find the picture to reframe it.
I really loved that one.
You know, Mom did, too.
That was her favorite picture.
She never stopped looking for it.
[sigh]
It's fine.
It's just a picture.
Yeah.
You're taking a long time.
Ranger: It's too big. It looks ridiculous.
I'm sure it doesn't look ridiculous.
People will think I got zapped by a shrink ray.
Aw.
Gortimer's old suit.
I can't go to a funeral like this.
I never thought I'd need a suit.
Even when you get married?
Wet suit, riding dolphins.
Mm. Obviously. Duh.
Uh,
well, I can alter it for you.
This is a, uh...
It's a trick I learned in college.
Pretty resourceful, Mom.
Always good to have a mom around.
I didn't mean it like that.
I just wasn't thinking.
It's really okay.
You didn't say anything wrong.
[sigh]
Okay. All done.
Why don't you leave those here?
And I'll hem them.
[sighs]
She was one of your best friends, wasn't she?
Was?
I can't believe we're using past tense.
I'm not ready.
How are you doing?
I don't know.
I mean, I-- I keep thinking
like I should have stopped to tie my shoe
or ask Laura one more question
or...anything.
Yeah.
And maybe she would have gotten in the car
five seconds later, and then--
you know, things would be different.
Well, that's natural.
You know, it's like...
if we blame ourselves, then...
at least we feel like we have...
some control over it, you know?
But it's not your fault.
It's nobody's fault.
It just--
happened.
Hello?
Is someone in here?
[clatter]
[dog barking]
[object breaks]
Wait.
Mel, let me explain.
How do you know my name?
I'm calling the police.
Please.
Turn off the light. Let's--
Let's talk.
Why did you take the crystal?
What do you want?
I want you to stop building the time machine.
How do you know about that?
Who are you?
I'm you...
26 years from now.
It worked.
Yeah.
But it's not a good thing.
Turns out it is possible to jump through time,
but you can't change someone else's destiny.
It-- It simply can't be done.
That doesn't make any sense.
Listen to me, please.
Since the day Mom died,
I have spent every single moment of my life
trying to achieve something that people only dream about.
And I did it,
only to find an even harder problem
at the end of it all,
and it broke my heart.
And the only way
that I can make any of those years worth anything
is to keep you from making the same mistake.
Dad: Hey, Mel, honey?
Mel...
life is a gift,
and every moment is precious.
Don't waste it like I did.
I don't know who you are,
but if you were really me,
you'd know that even if it took the rest of my life,
saving Mom would not be a waste of time.
Ranger?
That's my name.
Uh, it's-- it's me.
It's Mel.
My time machine worked.
Yeah. Okay. Nice to see you.
Remember when we were chasing fireflies
in Mr. Rodriguez's backyard
and we all fell and scraped our knees?
How do you know about that?
That's the night we became--
Blood siblings.
Y-You came all the way from the future
just to get an Arctic Sludgie?
Oh. Well, I haven't had one in 20 years.
They were banned. It-- Long story.
I can't explain everything here,
but I really need your help.
Will you meet me in the park at noon?
Bring Gortimer.
There was that time at the lake
that you told me your most embarrassing moment
and made me promise to never tell a soul.
You know that?
[whispering]
Told you she was Mel.
It's Melody, actually.
That's what I go by now.
But nobody calls you that.
Yeah. It doesn't suit you.
You know that's my name, right?
And I liked your hair better when it was darker.
It got lighter. The sun is stronger.
Okay, a few questions.
Where in time have you gone?
Have you seen dinosaurs?
What's the future like? Are there hover cars?
Please tell me there are hover cars.
There are hover cars.
But they are expensive and annoyingly loud.
How does it work?
Time machine, I mean.
You don't need a machine, just a portable platform
and an open space away from any steel structures.
You guys have no idea
what it's like to see you again,
and I would like to tell you everything,
but I can't.
Mel won't listen to me.
Maybe she'll listen to you.
Uh, I don't know.
She hasn't really been herself lately,
as you may remember.
I do. But you have to believe me.
Even in my worst moments,
you guys always knew how to make me feel better.
I knew that you had my back.
Please, I am begging you.
You are my last chance.
You're her last chance.
[zap]
Dad: Hey, Mel, honey,
Gortimer and Ranger are here to take you out for a while.
Why don't you go?
[door creaks, closes]
She's been having a hard time.
Gortimer and Ranger would have loved
to spend time with you.
I can stay home if I want to.
No one says you can't.
That doesn't go in the dishwasher.
Don't use a scouring pad. You'll scratch it.
Right. Okay.
That's not enough soap.
And that's too much.
It's not how Mom would do it.
Mel, that's enough!
You're not the only one, okay?
This is pretty devastating for me, too.
- It doesn't seem like it. - What?
You never cry. Are you even sad?
Of course I cry.
But I'm trying to protect you.
Protect me from what?
Mom's dead. How much worse is it going to get?
Mel.
All I want to do is fall apart right now.
I think about it constantly.
I shut my bedroom door,
and I just-- I want to fall to pieces.
But I-- I don't know.
If I do, I don't know if I can put myself together again.
And--
I need to protect you.
I need to take care of you.
I can take care of myself.
I knew you'd be here.
This is where I went after my fight with Dad.
And I know how you're feeling.
You would do anything to bring Mom back.
Then why would you ever ask me to quit?
There is nothing for us--
for you in the future.
We-- We gave it all up--
everything.
Everything? Like what?
Well, education.
We don't go to college.
We never even applied anywhere.
Okay, if I invent time travel,
I think I can safely skip college.
We never see the world.
We never learn another language.
We never-- We never travel.
We never meet new people, have new experiences,
nothing that Mom wished for us.
I think Mom would want to be alive more than anything.
We never had a first kiss.
We never even fell in love.
Not even once?
Whatever. I have friends.
No. You don't.
Gortimer and Ranger tried for years,
but we kept pushing them away,
and then one day they stopped calling.
What about Dad?
He never stopped calling.
We just stopped answering.
I know that you would trade your life for Mom's.
But changing someone else's destiny
is too complicated.
It can't be solved in a lifetime.
If you want to honor Mom,
please live the life that she gave you.
You said it couldn't be solved in a lifetime.
It can't.
But we have more than one lifetime.
There's two of us now,
and if you told me everything you know,
I'd have a 26-year head start.
If we work together, think of what we could accomplish.
No. We can't.
Yes. We can.
We can save Mom.
But if there was even a chance,
we would have to use the technology from my time,
which means I would have to take you there.
You'd have to leave Dad, Gortimer, Ranger,
everyone and everything.
But that doesn't matter.
If we succeed, we'll rewrite the timeline.
None of this will have ever happened.
And if we fail?
Two Mels don't fail.
I didn't think you'd come.
We can be very persuasive when we want to be.
You ready?
It's the temporal dislocator.
You stand on it to make the jump.
What does it feel like?
It's hard to describe.
It's kind of like every molecule in your body
is being converted to pure energy,
which it is.
That doesn't really help.
Hmm.
Let me put it this way.
I hope you haven't eaten.
[knocking]
Mel?
Honey--
Mel?
Hey, Mel?
[muttering]
[knocking]
Claire, is Mel here?
What? No. What do you mean?
She's gone. She left me a note.
"I'm sorry for what I did.
"Please don't be mad at me.
I'm going somewhere to fix it."
Do you know anything about this?
No.
You don't have any idea where she is?
- No, I swear. - This can't be happening.
Hey.
It's okay. We'll find her.
Ranger: Did she say anything else?
Any other clues?
No, I only know what the note said.
"I'm going somewhere to fix it."
My mom told me to stay here in case she comes here.
No. We got to find her.
How far could she go?
Well, if we knew she was walking
and what time she left,
we could draw some sort of probability diagram
that, uh-- I have no idea.
Mel would know how to find herself.
Think, Ranger.
Where would you go if you were Mel?
Where would you go to fix it?
Wait, Ranger?
- I think I got it. - What?
Where? Where did she go?
Not where. When.
She's going back to "fix it."
She must have gotten Melody's time machine.
- How? - I don't know.
The question is where would she go to set it up.
- It could be anywhere. - No it couldn't.
Remember what Melody said?
The time machine thingy needed to be in an open area
away from steel structures.
What, like the park or something?
No, the park has playgrounds and fences.
It would have to be somewhere bigger,
like the lake.
It has to be. Ranger,
tell your parents to find Mel's dad
- and meet me there. - You got it.
[whirring, bleeping]
We'll go one by one. I'll go through first
to secure the entry point at our destination.
After I'm gone, the system will reset in two minutes.
Stand on the dislocator and keep still.
The system will travel with you
on the second jump.
You only have one chance.
I got it.
Gortimer: Mel! Everyone's looking for you.
Your dad's freaking out.
What are you doing here?
What's she doing here?
She's coming with me
to the future.
I don't understand.
I thought you came here to talk Mel out of this.
What about all that stuff you said
about how empty your life was
and how you never lived the life your mom wanted for you?
If we have a chance together...
we have to take it.
Stand back, please.
Melody, wait.
Maybe one day you'll understand.
I'll be waiting for you.
Please don't go.
I have to.
Mel, I know how hard this must be for you.
I mean, I don't know.
And I'm really not sure when it's going to get better,
but I know it will...
one day.
And me and Gortimer will stand by you
until it does.
Please stay, Mel.
You're our best friend.
We love you.
I love you guys, too...
so much...
[sniffle]
And I'll see you another time.
Hopefully a better time.
Mel? Whoa. Wait--
Don't.
You'll get hurt.
Mel.
Dad?
I thought I lost you.
Don't come any closer.
Can we go home, please?
You don't understand.
I have to fix what I did.
What do you think you did?
Mom's accident, it was all my fault.
Ohh.
The day she died, the last thing I said to her--
it was mean.
I upset her, and she was distracted.
That's why she crashed.
What are you talking about?
She didn't know that I loved her.
I should have told her I loved her.
I should have told her so much more than I did.
Honey, Mom knew how much you loved her.
You didn't need to tell her.
And you can't live your life
like someone's going to disappear the next moment.
[sniffle]
I'm so sorry, Dad.
Well, I don't accept your apology.
You did not cause this to happen.
You hear me?
It's not your fault.
Please, Mel, can we go back?
I need you. You're my reason to go on.
Please, Mel.
She can't be gone!
I know.
[sobbing] She can't be gone.
[muttering]
I've heard many people talk today
about what a devoted and wonderful mother she was,
what a loving and generous wife she was,
what a respected and honorable judge she was.
But I-- I can't shake this feeling
that we're not honoring Laura properly today.
That's why we're moving today's reception
to the north face of Mount Everest.
[laughter]
Climbing ropes and ice picks
will be available in the parking lot.
[laughter]
Gortimer: They say that in life
there are some things
that need to be seen to be believed:
things that surprise us,
delight us,
take our breath away.
But then there are other things,
like the connection of two souls
that need to be believed to be seen.
They're stronger than a thoughtless word,
stronger than an argument,
stronger than even death.
Flaming Lips: ♪ Do you realize ♪
They're unbreakable,
and they're forever.
♪ That you have the most ♪
♪ Beautiful face? ♪
♪ Do you realize ♪
♪We're floating in space? ♪
♪ Do you realize ♪
♪That happiness ♪
♪Makes you cry? ♪
♪ Do you realize ♪
♪ That everyone you know ♪
♪ Someday will die? ♪ ♪