Alli Phillips is one of the most happy-go-lucky players on tour.

Phillips often travels with her family and sports a big smile, so if you see her at a tournament, be sure to say hello - and better yet, talk to her about movies. 

“I’m kind of a movie geek, I love the nerdy ones like Lord of the Rings, Harry Potter, all the Marvel movies, Star Wars, and all the Disney movies,” she said.

Phillips is one of eight siblings. Growing up, her family prioritized movie nights as a way to spend quality time with each other. 

“Every night is a movie night for our family. We’re so into movies that we’ll just communicate through movie quotes. In our house, instead of expressing how we’re feeling angry, we’ll just use a movie quote that describes us being angry,” she explained.“We’re also a big musical family. Any musicals we love, so that means a lot of Disney movies and we would sing along together.”

That evokes the loveliest image from The Sound of Music and the von Trapps singing together in perfect harmony. 

“One of my favorite things in my family is that we love to connect and identify with a character from the movie that we watch. So, we’ll watch a movie and say ‘Oh that’s definitely Alli,’” she said.  

When asked what movie character Phillips sees herself in, she said this:

“Anne from Anne of Green Gables. When Anne grows up to be older, I think I identify as Anne a lot. And when it comes to Disney princesses, I fall somewhere between Merida and Mulan. Not in looks, but in personality,” she said. 

But Phillips’ personal favorite movie genre? Fantasy. 

“I’m a big fantasy girl. I love imaginative worlds and dragons and princesses and stuff like that. I think it’s fun to be able to escape the reality of my current world. Not to say my life isn’t awesome but it’s fun to allow the inner child in me to continue to explore and play,” she said. 

But Phillips’ love for movies is more than just great cinema that whisks you away into fantastical locations with fascinating characters.

Movie nights are all about family.  

Phillips credited their movie nights for keeping the big family so close as everyone grows, moves out, and starts families of their own.  

“Our mom and dad just did such a good job of making us love home, love each other, and watch out for each other. There’s a huge age gap in my family. My sister is turning 40 and my youngest brother is 14. And now my older siblings have their own families but they make it a point to check up on us younger siblings and connect with us if they can. We’re all super close and I live with my sister Jenny and she’s been super awesome letting me live with her family. It's been so fun and I’m very blessed. My family is the best, and movies are a really big part of our family’s culture,” she concluded. 

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