The term REEL THING is composed of two words: MOVIE (5 letters) and TAPE (4 letters). MOVIE refers to a motion picture, which is a series of still images that create the illusion of motion when shown in rapid succession. TAPE is a type of storage medium, typically made of plastic, used to store audio or video recordings. Together, these two words refer to a physical reel of film or TAPE, which is used to store and play back movies or audio recordings.