'The Fabelmans' is the semi-biographical film of Steven Spielberg's formative years, from ~8-18, in 1950s & 1960s New Jersey, Arizona and California. Spielberg is "Sammy" in the film, played by Zoryan as a young boy, then by LaBelle in his teenage years. We follow him growing up with his 3 sisters and being raised by parents Burt (Dano) & Mitzi (Williams). We get plenty of insight into the family's life and it's good to see Burt & Mitzi as actual characters with true limitations and motivations, rather than just as cliched mum & dad.

Some good cameos from Uncle Boris (Hirsch), Uncle Bennie (Rogen) and the famous director at the end. The film has some funny moments, but is primarily a family drama, following the ups and downs of a regular family, caught up in the start of the computer era, with Burt & Bennie working for GE & IBM. The sisters maybe don't get as much time, as we follow Sammy starting to make 8mm films, but they feel real enough as characters.

The move to California as a high-schooler presents new challenges for Sammy, but the ending is satisfying and doesn't take us all the way up to 'Jaws', but does show how he gets on the Hollywood path. Good performances all round, nothing too exceptional and possibly slightly too long, but enjoyable.