Original subtitles

All aboard!

Do I have to say goodbye?

Not if you don't want to.

I do.

Okay.

We'll be right here.

Goodbye, Paci.

Goodbye, Riley. Will you miss me?

Probably.

Well, don't you worry.

My friends and I are going to Happy Mountain.

Nice job, Pacifier.

It's bittersweet, Paci. And remember, Riley is the camera.

- Pull back. - Cue Rainbow Unicorn.

The shining star arrives to help Paci move on.

And cue glitter.

Wow!

Cue baby accessories.

Music swells.

And cue choo choo.

You love Riley, but it's time to let go.

Goodbye, Riley.

Goodbye, Paci.

There she is. My proud, strong girl. Oh, I bet she is just loving this.

And cue music crescendo.

Bye-bye.

- And cut! - All right.

Great job, people!

Ugh! Beautiful.

- That was fantastic work! - Amazing!

What a dream, huh?

Oh, this is why we do what we do, people. We make magic.

I just love making these dreams for Riley. I hope she never changes.

There could by anything in here!

- I feel a little crazy. No wa--

Okay, let me just, uh, warm up.

Unique New York. Unique New York. "Nunique New Nork."

Okay, I'm ready! I'm Joy.

Welcome to Headquarters.

This is where Riley's emotions work, including myself.

This is Disgust. Oh, Anger! Don't forget to sign that release.

I'll get to it.

We help Riley navigate her day, and she's a busy girl.

Just look at all these memories so far.

That's Fear. Boo!

Today we had back-to-back birthday parties,

- Dad made a dumb joke about our hair…

Aw, it's okay, Sadness.

Let me tell you, it was a day.

So at night, most of these will go into Long Term,

but there's a lot of memories that need some extra processing.

And we send those to Dream Productions.

Now, I know that dreams seem random,

but apparently they take a lot of work.

And it turns out there's a fascinating story

behind how dreams are made.

It's the story of a visionary.

- A visionary named Paula Persimmon. - Gigi!

Three skulls, I love it.

Now, don't scare Riley awake.

Oh, I want those roller skates for tomorrow. Make it happen, yeah?

There's the world's best stunt team.

Hey, look!

Recess Forever, that's my dream! Oh, they're covering it up. Oh, well.

Hiya! Looking good!

- Hey, crew! - Good morning.

Director on set!

Oh, love the color, Naseem. That is great.

Any chance I could have a latte? Oh, Janelle, you are always on it.

Okay, how's the set looking, huh?

All right, everyone. Riley's asleep.

Are we rolling?

Let's glitter it up a bit.

Now give me some attitude, Cupcake.

You own that classroom. You are no muffin!

- Great work, everyone! - Good job, team. See you at the next one.

Melatonin! Mel!

Leave it. Leave it. Come on. She's harmless.

You just don't wanna pet her too long because Mel has a tendency to…

- Okay. Oh! Hey, hey! - …put people to sleep.

Not me for some reason.

I've been directing dreams

in Riley's mind for, what, ten years now?

Since Riley was about two.

- Farewell My Paci was the first big hit. Oh, yeah. I got a photo of it right here.

Dream Productions got her to do something we couldn't do.

- Toss the pacifier. - Bye-bye, Paci.

I mean, that dream changed the world.

That hit put my star on the map.

Look, you only get your own sandwich in the commissary if you can do one thing.

Connect to Riley, and that's what I do.

I love making magical dreams. Ones that can let Riley escape reality.

From all the hard stuff. She needs that, you know?

Every director likes to keep their hits.

And this studio has some of the best directors.

In Marco's sports dreams,

every night is championship night.

Sheng can make anything thrilling,

- even Tater Tots. - Yeah!

Our nightmare director, Gigi,

- is terrifying.

And Zak is Riley's comedy director

but he's having trouble…

…with the comedy part.

As for me, I guess I'm Riley's fun director.

And this is the hit dream that everybody talks about.

Okay. Well, it's just a little faded.

It's just been a while since Riley's recalled this dream,

so let's find a more current one.

Let's see here.

Well, doesn't matter. We're gonna make a new one tonight.

In fact… …we'll take you through our process

of how we make a hit dream.

How about it, Janelle?

- Hold on one sec. - Janelle?

Yeah, totally!

Well, Paula has a unique style,

and as her assistant director, I'm in charge of making it happen.

This crew is great. We can do anything.

Well, except Fink…

who appears to do nothing.

Janelle is more than an assistant director.

She's my best friend on the set.

We complete each other's sentences. We are just completely on the same page.

Dream team!

Truth is, I've always wanted to direct my own dreams,

so I submitted my résumé and had a great interview

and looks like that might actually happen soon.

I just have to, you know, talk to Paula about it.

Janelle!

Oh, sorry. What was that, Paula?

Okay.

Okay.

Okay. Yeah, I'll take care of it.

- Because Pop Quiz works! It's recurring! - No. Riley needs something new.

- It needs a sequel. - Riley needs this dream in three hours!

The studio assigns scripts, but my track record

allows me some creative freedom.

- Let's see here… - Hey, Paula,

I need to talk to you about something.

Yes, of course. Just hang on one sec, Janelle.

It looks like there aren't many joyful ones here.

- They're hidin' from me. - Paula, check this out.

- Huh? - Riley, look. There's gonna be a dance!

- Do you think we should go? - Uh, maybe?

She clearly has mixed feelings about this.

Hang on, Janelle. Look! Riley found Mermaid Unicorn.

- Oh, wow. - ♪ It's Mermaid Unicorn ♪

I can't believe it's back! Ha! Oh, we have to use this.

You know, Paula, the Mermaid Unicorn prop is probably lost in Archives,

so maybe we should just not--

Go get it, yes. See? Ha!

We literally complete each other's sentences.

Riley, what is that?

Oh, this? It's kinda like a good luck charm.

Oh, man.

- ♪ …Mermaid Unicorn ♪ - Oh, look! It lights up.

Is that a mermaid and a unicorn?

- Oh. It's good luck, okay? - So embarrassing.

- Riley, no toys in class. - Wow.

- All right, everyone. Calm down. - Oh.

Aw, you know I'm just kidding.

Wow. Look at all these great sets, Janelle.

This is like a walking tour of our partnership, huh?

You know, we should use these. They made Riley happy.

Oh, see there? The Shining Star Express. Oh!

Huh. That does bring back memories.

Oh, look. It's Snowman Butler. You remember this?

Where's his tray?

- Where's your tray, Snowman Butler? - Okay. Paula, look.

There's something I've really gotta tell you.

Ooh, there it is!

Hot dog!

Oh, yeah! Shake it!

Wait, wait.

- Oh, yeah! Oh, yeah! It's a mer-miracle! - ♪ Mermaid Unicorn ♪

Riley's gonna love this.

I am the wind. You are the same tree connected by the same fungal network.

Excuse me. We need to get through.

Um, this is a live shoot.

- They're shooting a daydream. - Ugh.

The wind is your music.

- Sorry. We have an actual dream to make. - Hey, what are you doing? Stop.

What the-- You just woke Riley up.

How could I when she wasn't even asleep?

You night-dream makers will never understand art.

Well, daydreams aren't even real dreams. Riley's eyes are open!

That's right. We are opening Riley's eyes.

- Oh, boy. - Is this Mermaid Unicorn?

Are you that out of touch?

- What do you know? - I know you don't know what you're doing.

I've been making dreams since she was two!

Yes, my name is Xeni. Spelled as you'd imagine. X-E-N-I.

I'm a professional daydream maker.

I directed Does That Cloud Look Like a Hockey Puck?

Everyone's a Robot But Me. That's one of mine.

Um, My Secret Sister Lives Across the Street.

Oh, is he bothering you? I'm so sorry. Come with me.

Let me introduce you

- to the real dream makers. - They asked to interview me.

I got a bit of bad news and a lot of good news.

Bad news is we got another pop quiz script from the writers.

- Boo! - Good news is we aren't doing it.

- How 'bout that? - Yes!

So, we are doing a school dance dream starring Mermaid Unicorn!

In class, I couldn't get that tune out of my head.

♪ Who's that… ♪

- So embarrassing. - My little sister doesn't play with hers--

I love it!

Uh, isn't this a little much?

This is gonna be a lot amazing.

Uh, Paula, Janelle? Jean is calling an emergency directors' meeting. Right now.

Hook it up. We'll be back.

Great work. She's going to remember this one forever!

Hey!

Hey, hey, hey, team. Hi, girlfriend.

Oh! Did you cut your hair?

- Yeah. - Cute!

- Are we talking later? Yeah. Great. - Yeah.

Folks! Sweet, sweet Riley is not remembering our dreams.

All the hard work we do, it doesn't exist in the morning, okay?

Sheng, Riley's already forgotten your hit dream. Am I right?

No! It's right here.

- That was too quick! - That's not even the worst of it.

Recently, we've even had a few wake-ups.

In the middle of the night, people!

We need more hits! Tweens want drama. They wanna be taken seriously. Okay?

They're practically grown-ups!

So, we are gonna up our game

by tapping into what preteens are all about.

Number one, we'll be optimizing the directing department

by making some exciting personnel moves. Some of which are happening as we speak.

- Number two. That means Paula-- - Uh, yes.

Your dream will open tonight.

We get the opener?

- You ready? - Yes! And Janelle and I have so--

- Great. And three. - Oh. Okay.

We will be putting a new director into rotation immediately.

One that will add vitality and fresh ideas.

- Our very own Janelle Johnson! - What?

What? This is happening now? Oh, my gosh, so fast!

- Wait. My Janelle? - Oh, yeah, Janelle.

- Way to go! - I knew you could do it.

Sorry, I was trying to tell you.

Whoo! You show 'em!

Oh, that seat was made for you!

Oh, wow. Thanks.

You know what your first dream's gonna be?

- I've been thinking about it for weeks-- - Yes!

I'm so proud of you! You all might be surprised,

but guess who's not surprised.

Me! I am not surprised!

Jean, this is a surprise.

We asked Janelle to keep it under her hat for a minute,

though I thought for sure she'd leak it to you.

She didn't say anything?

Oh, well, you know, we've been so busy.

Thank you. I've always loved your dreams.

Look, I get it.

You both had an incredible partnership. I mean, if-if you wanna regroup,

take your time. Meditate on it.

I can just snatch that away and give the opening night dream to somebody else.

No, no! No! I'm ready for the opener.

I don't need Janelle to make this dream a huge hit.

Oh! I like hearing that. Can't wait to see it.

Your brand of kiddie pictures are-- Sorry, were… …big hits.

But Riley is almost 13 years old now,

so I'm also very excited to see how this hit dream of yours

is something completely different than anything else you've done.

And by different, I mean better. I mean way better. Okay?

Paula? Well, I just…

I think Riley deserves better dreams.

Ones that really speak to where she's at now.

And I don't think glitter cupcakes and snowmen are going to cut it.

It's okay. I-I don't need Janelle. All I need is me.

I've been in worse scrapes before, and I've always pulled through.

I sorta feel sorry for Janelle. She's not so experienced.

What if she gets a wake-up on her first dream?

Then she'd come crawling back to be my assistant director again.

Gosh, I hope that doesn't happen.

I heard she lost her assistant director. Let's see how that clam bakes.

- Did you hear Janelle was promoted? - Yeah, I don't know how we'll do this.

This is gonna be rough.

We can't pull off the opening dream without a--

Okay, people, huddle up. It's okay, everyone.

We'll get through this. We have plenty of time.

What did Janelle do that we can't handle as a team, right?

Paula, maybe we should give the opening night dream to someone else.

- Without Janelle-- - No, no. We need this hit, Noriko.

It'll be easier than we think.

For example, one thing Janelle did was keep an eye on the sleep monitor.

It's right there, and we can all see it, so… Wait.

Why is it going to sleep?

Riley's falling asleep!

Riley is not falling asleep.

It's Friday night and it's only seven o'clock.

I know that tune!

It's Little Cabin in the Valley!

She'll be asleep in seconds!

It's going to be okay, everyone. Do not panic. Status report.

Riley is on the couch with Nana's quilt!

Panic! I mean, places! Now!

Save yourselves!

Mel, fetch Rainbow!

Hey!

Smiles, everyone, for the opening night dream.

Riley is sipping chamomile. Repeat, we have "code sleepy time tea"!

Curse you, chamomile!

- Uh-oh! - Pilar, Camila!

Is the clam ready to shoot?

Oh, no. We actually have a safety question for you.

Good, good. Cue music!

- Okay, Janelle. - Uh, we don't have Janelle, remember?

Well, we gotta go!

All right, Paula. Dazzle me.

Ugh.

- Ugh, this dance is so bad. - Yeah. This is the worst.

Man, this is so boring.

Camera tilt. Let Riley see the magic.

Cue magic light.

- Oh, oh, look! - Who's that?

- Is it Riley Andersen? - Oh, my gosh, Ri.

- She's so cool! - You look amazing.

All right, here we go.

- Whoa! - Cue music!

Cue stars!

- Whoa! - Yeah!

Am I gonna start dancing?

- Whoa! - Go, Riley!

Now the party's getting started.

Yep! We're dancing.

- Go, Riley! - Forward.

She's flying!

Hey, you guys. You gotta check this out.

- Nope. - Okay! Shaky, shaky!

- Wow! Dance party! - I'm trying to hate it, but I just can't.

Yeah!

- Cake for everyone! - Yeah! Cake!

Cake dress? This is the best dream ever!

Cake dress.

Riley, this is the most amazing dance ever because of you.

I wasn't even going to come, but I'm so glad I did.

Congratulations, boss.

- I think we pulled it off. - Let's bring it home. Cue the clamshell.

Yeah, are you sure? We already have a hit.

Sheng had a hit this morning that Riley forgot by lunchtime.

Let's make one she never forgets!

And now, Riley's special surprise for everyone!

What? Really?

♪ Mermaid Unicorn Mermaid Unicorn ♪

♪ It's Mermaid Unicorn… ♪

Wait, what?

- That is terrifying. - Why is this happening?

♪ Mermaid Unicorn, Mermaid Unicorn ♪

- Whoa! Look! It lights up. - No, no.

- Wow, Riley. - No, no, no, no.

You really know what's cool!

No, no.

- It's a little low. Why isn't it stopping? - Oh, no.

- They're waiting for a cue from Janelle. - Is it supposed to do that?

Stop. Stop!

Watch out!

♪ It's Mermaid… ♪

Oh, no! Don't worry, Riley. I got it.

Everyone, keep dancing! Stay happy for Riley! Smiles for Riley!

I won't leave you, Riley!