What you see above isn’t a still from Hellboy III: Rise of the Plastic Water Bottle, but rather one child’s wish coming true. The young boy on the left, Zachary, suffers from leukemia and he asked the Make-a-Wish Foundation if he could meet (and later, become) his favorite good-guy demon, Hellboy. But they didn’t just get any Joe Brimstone to be Hellboy — they got Ron Perlman, who plays the character in the film adaptations of the comic series. According to Super Hero Hype, “Ron…donned the makeup once more and also ordered a Hellboy sized meal of burgers, shakes, and fries for Zachary and his family and the entire Spectral crew to enjoy.”
For making Zachary’s day, we’ll forgive you for The Scorpion King 3: Battle for Redemption, Ron. Here are five other heartwarming pop-culture themed Make-a-Wish Foundation wishes that came true.
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Visiting offices isn’t usually high on wish kids’ lists. Unless, of course, you’re talking about the office of the Dunder Mifflin Paper Company – the setting for NBC’s hit comedy The Office. Sixteen-year-old Anna wanted to visit this office more than any place else in the world.
When Anna was a small child, she was diagnosed with hypoplasia, a medical condition affecting the development of her arms and legs. Coping with her disability has been challenging at times, but it never kept her from her passion for all things related to film, theater and television. The Office, her favorite TV show, was the inspiration for her wish.
“I’m a huge fan of the show, and I want to go into the film industry someday,” Anna said. “I knew visiting the set of The Office would be amazing and would help me learn for my future…It was really cool because The Office films in a real building, not on a soundstage,” Anna said. “They opened the door for me, and B.J. Novak (Ryan Howard on the show) was standing right there!” ( )
Erik Martin, who is living with liver cancer, dreamed of being a superhero. Yesterday, the regional chapter of the Make-A-Wish Foundation granted him that wish with an elaborate event that involved hundreds of volunteers around the Seattle area. And I mean they pulled the works. I’m talking about Erik becoming his own superhero, “Electron Boy,” who has his own arch-nemesis “Dr. Dark“. Oh, and he saves Spider-Man, the city, as well as the Seattle Sounders.
There was even a video package from his enemy playing in Qwest Stadium. “Electron Boy, I am Dr. Dark and this is Blackout Boy,” sneered an evil voice, as the villain: Edgar Hansen and his sidekick Jake Anderson, both of Discovery Channel’s Deadliest Catch, who taunted the young superhero. “We are here to take over Seattle and make it dark!” ( )
For one day, Gilligan’s Island actor Bob Denver donned his classic red shirt and white hat and parked down on a deserted island off the coast of West Virginia. Make-A-Wish officials alerted the sick children aboard the West Virginia Bell — renamed the S.S. Minnow — that Gilligan was still out there and needed their help. Soon, the children took off to “save” him. When they’d reached the island, the children spotted Gilligan, who quickly hopped on board and spent the rest of the day signing autographs and playing games with the children. ( )
Jack, a 7-year-old from Michigan, wished to meet the MythBusters. He got a tour of the set and met the cast of the show! The cast members explained how their jobs work and answered lots of questions for Jack. After the tour, Jack had lunch with the staff and cast, collected autographs and snapped plenty of photos. ( )
A huge fan of the Fab Four who lives in southwestern Washington, [16-year-old] Nolan wished to have a replica of the costume worn by John Lennon on the cover of the Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band album. A congenital heart defect qualified Nolan to receive a wish from the Make-A-Wish Foundation.
To celebrate Nolan’s debut in the neon-green replica Beatle costume, the Oregon chapter (which serves Clark County, Washington) hosted a ’60s-themed party. Nolan invited guests to dress up for his wish celebration at a private room reserved in a popular Portland restaurant. ( )