Children’s blockbusters Cinderella, The SpongeBob Movie: A Sponge out of Water and Big Hero 6 will be April’s Autism Friendly Films, service provider Dimensions has announced.
Cineworld cinemas will show Cinderella on Sunday, April 5 at 11am. Showcase will show the same film the following Sunday, starting at 10am.
Meanwhile, ODEON will show The SpongeBob Movie: A Sponge out of Water on April 19 at 11:30am. The following day, 10 selected ODEON cinemas will show Fast and Furious 7 at 6pm. This is part of ODEON’s Autism Friendly Screening trial for older audiences. The age rating for this film has yet to be confirmed.
Finally, Vue cinemas will show Big Hero 6 on April 26 at 10am from just £1.75.
There will also be an additional 900 autism friendly film screenings on April 2 to mark World Autism Awareness Day. For more details on this, click here
In The SpongeBob Movie: A Sponge out of Water, cartoon favourite SpongeBob Squarepants makes the leap into CGI and live action. In the film, SpongeBob, along with friends Patrick, Squidward, Mr Krabs and Sandy – as well as old adversary Plankton – are forced to come ashore when a pirate named Burger Beard steals the top-secret recipe for Krabby Patties. Can the friends get the recipe back before Burger Beard gets to enact his plans?
Cinderella is Disney’s live-action retelling of the classic story. After Ella’s father dies suddenly, she is left at the mercy of her cruel stepmother and stepsisters, who reduce her to a maid. But Ella’s life takes a turn when she meets her fairy godmother, who enables her to go to the ball and meet the Prince – although she has to leave before midnight when everything turns back to its original state.
Disney’s Big Hero 6 is a comedy-adventure set in the future, based on a Marvel comic. It focuses on the bond between teen Hiro Hamada and his giant inflatable robot, Baymax. When a devastating event befalls the city of San Fransokyo and catapults Hiro into danger, he and Baymax, along with four friends – the ‘Big Hero 6’ of the film’s title – set out to solve the mystery.
Finally, Fast and Furious 7 is the latest instalment of the high-octane franchise. This time, Dominic Torretto and his crew get involved in trying to keep a computer terrorism programme out of the hands of a Somali terrorist, while also fighting off the attentions of Deckard Shaw, the brother of Owen Shaw – who was defeated by Torretto’s crew in the last film – who is now killing members of the crew for revenge.
Sensory friendly environment
Autism Friendly Screenings are mainstream films shown in a sensory friendly environment. Lights are on low, sound is turned down, trailers are omitted and people can bring their own food, make noise and move around the cinema as they feel comfortable.
To view a full list of participating cinemas visit www.dimensions-uk.org/autismfriendly.
