5-year-old boy sets up cameras to capture first visit from Tooth Fairy

The day after he lost his first tooth, James Hashimoto was like a little kid waking up on Christmas morning anxiously awaiting presents from Santa Claus.

Only this time, the 5-year-old boy was looking forward to a visit from another magical figure — the Tooth Fairy.

James’ dad, Daniel Hashimoto, told his son what to expect after slipping the single tooth under his pillow that night.

“James was very excited about the whole thing,” Hashimoto told CBS News. “James then asked if we could record the Tooth Fairy since he knew he’d be asleep. And so we did just that.”

Hashimoto, a visual effects animator, and his wife Mandy Richardville, quickly got to work.

The dad set up three different cameras in James’ room, ready to capture the Tooth Fairy at all angles. 

“We like to capture big moments in our lives on camera, and so we recorded everything James had to say on the night he lost his tooth,” Hashimoto said.

Since the tooth fell out unexpectedly early, the parents were scrambling to come up with a plan.

“Mom assured James that he would receive a unique treasure, and Dad spent a lot of the night ‘making sure the cameras captured everything’ so we could show James the next morning,” Hashimoto said. 

Then they put their creative skills to work.

Sure enough, the next morning James was the first one up, and he discovered something wonderful underneath his pillow: a “crystal.”

At the kitchen table, Hashimoto took out his phone to show James the footage from the previous night.

“In suspense, he sat through lots of footage of himself just sleeping, and nothing happening,” Hashimoto described. “He was getting anxious when finally something appeared on the screen.”

Finally, he spotted the glowing fairy.

James was filled with joy.

His reaction was so good, in fact, Hashimoto decided to share the four-minute video on YouTube. The video has already been viewed more than 215,000 times since it was uploaded on Oct. 13.

“[People] get to see James’ imagination come to life in epic ways,” Hashimoto said. “We are proud to see that our boy has such a wonderful spark of wonder and innocence.”