Pirates Marathon

Last Thursday, my friend Omid and I went to a very special event - The Pirates Marathon at the El Capitan Theater. (Sarah didn't go because she couldn't sit through 8 hours of movies.)

For those of you not from CA, the El Capitan Theater is a place Disney owns right across the street from the Kodak Theater (where most big red carpet award shows are held) and the legendary Chinese Theater. Since Disney owns the place, you can expect a Disney experience at the movies. The whole theater was decked out with a pirate ship theme and they had costumes and props from the new movie.

Omid and I were lucky to snag tickets before most everyone else found out about the event. So, we got dead center, front row, balcony tickets. I think these are the best seats in the house as you have no other people in between you and the screen and its a great angle to watch a movie on the big screen.

We would watch all three movies back to back with about a 30 minute intermission between each where they would feed us in a special picnic area out back.

They did "giveaways" before each movie and the crowd was great. It is THE best way to watch a Pirates movie as the whole audience knows the backstory (with detail), will laugh at every joke (no matter how small), and will cheer for the big characters the first time they appear on screen.
We also had a few suprise guests.

Marty, the pirate from Captain Jack's crew.He had some funny scenes in the new movie, so it made it even more fun that he was there.

The Dog with the keys (which the new movie gives a new meaning to) and Mr. Cotton's parrot.

Admiral James Norrington, who appeared in all three movies. What happens to him in the third? You'll just have to watch.

But, the coolest guest was probably Naomi Harris. She places Tia Dalma, the voodoo witch lady who lives in the swamp in the second film (or the beginning of ride at Disneyland - either way you look at it). It was cool later because we realized she played a much bigger role (literally) in the third movie. It was also cool, because she looks soooo much different in real life from her makeup in the movies. But, it was the cool-est because she delivered her last line from Dead Man's Chest in character voice to the audience. "Would you be willing to sail to the end of the Eart' to fetch back witty Jack and 'im precious pearl . . ."

We had a blast - all 10 hours of it. The new pirates movie (that starts in Singapore) definitely left its mark on us.