By Renee Lorenz Special to OnMilwaukee.com Published Sep 05, 2012 at 8:33 PM

I can't imagine the ups and downs that come with being a parent, much less being a parent of a child with special needs. 

I've heard stories from my friends in both camps. Understanding can be hard to find either way, but for families in the latter one, it seems to be even harder – especially when they want to head out for some fun.

With this in mind, Marcus Theatres teamed up with Variety – The Children's Charity of Wisconsin and Best Buddies Wisconsin to present "Reel Movies for Real Needs," a family-friendly movie series geared toward families with special-needs children.

The series will present a special daytime screening of upcoming kid-friendly titles once a month with lower sound, brighter lighting and best of all, an audience who understands what it's like to experience the joys and challenges that come with raising a child with autism or other special needs.

"Reel Movies for Real Needs" will screen at select Marcus Theatres, including North Shore Cinema in Mequon and South Shore Cinema in Oak Creek. It will feature "Finding Nemo" Sept. 15, "Hotel Transylvania" Oct. 6 and "Wreck-It Ralph" Nov. 3, all beginning at 10:30 a.m.

Get details and tickets on Marcus Theatres' website.

Renee Lorenz Special to OnMilwaukee.com

Contrary to her natural state of being, Renee Lorenz is a total optimist when it comes to Milwaukee. Since beginning her career with OnMilwaukee.com, her occasional forays into the awesomeness that is the Brew City have turned into an overwhelming desire to discover anything and everything that's new, fun or just ... "different."

Expect her random musings to cover both the new and "new-to-her" aspects of Miltown goings-on, in addition to periodically straying completely off-topic, which usually manifests itself in the form of an obscure movie reference.