A theater in eastern North Carolina held a private screening of The Super Mario Bros. Movie for a nine-year-old boy with autism and his family.
Melissa Phillips says her son Brian is a Mario superfan who had never been able to see a movie in theaters before, and the experience will stay with them forever.
Phillips told WRAL News that like many kids, the Wayne County nine-year-old loves all things Super Mario – whether it’s video games, shows on TV, or even his favorite hat.
“Mario is his favorite character in the world,” Phillips said of her son. “He’s been in love with Mario, for six years, and his entire bedroom is Mario.”
When the new Mario movie came out earlier this month, Phillips knew her son would want to be first in line.
But something was standing in the way.
“He can’t go to a regular theater because obviously he gets very loud,” Phillips said.
Brian has autism. His family told WRAL News that when he gets excited about something, he has a hard time keeping it under control.
Because of that, he’d never been to the movies in his life. That changed on April 25.
“They gave us permission to have the entire theater to ourselves today, so that he could actually have the chance to come see his favorite character on the big screen,” Phillips said.
After hearing Brian’s story, a theater in Eastern North Carolina arranged a private screening of The Super Mario Bros. Movie for the family.
Brian, his mom and grandma had the theater all to themselves, letting their superfan take it all in as loudly as he wanted to.
His mother said thanks to the theater’s act of kindness, her family had a day at the movies they’ll never forget.
“I honestly can’t wait to see him myself,” Phillips said before walking into the theater. “I’m not here to watch the movie, I’m here to watch my son watch this movie because it’s going to be great.”
This content was originally published here.
