What happens when there are too many Ghibli fans?

When I received a text message (last Friday) informing that I had won four free tickets to an advanced screening for Ghibli's latest masterpiece: Ponyo, I thought it was a scam. First of all, I had never entered any contest... Secondly, I was slightly concerned that this venue somehow got my cell phone number. Since the theater housing this event happened to conveniently sit across the street from my office building, I figured it wouldn't hurt to run over quickly and verify the validity of the tickets. It turns out they they were legitimate! The manager recommended getting in line no earlier than an hour before the screening. So I followed his advice (and intentional good will) that later proved to be an unintentional time underestimation. What I later saw was completely unexpected.

Hayao Miyazaki's watercolor concepts for "Ponyo" (Photo source: GhibliWorld.com)

Behold a line spanning more than 400 people that clobbered up the entire floor outside of the theater entrance; a seemingly endless sea of restless adults and children eagerly anticipating admittance. I was surprised that many people could even fit in the room! Doing a rough head estimate, there were probably close to 500 people present...and that was exactly where the problem laid. The screening room could only seat 400. At that moment, my spectacular excitement of arriving an hour earlier (as advised) became a not-so-spectacular disappointment. As you can all guess, we didn't make the cut...

Oh well, lesson learned: it never hurts to be too early. On the plus side, it was nice to see that many individuals appreciate the art and storytelling of Studio Ghibli. Thanks to those who waited in line with me! :-)

Now, if only I can get the Japanese theme song for this movie out of my head. There was one particular store in Tokyo that placed this folksy piece on repeat and I haven't been able to forget it. The U.S. version of Ponyo will be released tomorrow on Aug. 14, 2009 at select theaters.