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Welcome to the Space Show's First 22 Minutes Streamed Worldwide (Update 3)

Aniplex of America will stream the first 22 minutes of Welcome to THE SPACE SHOW, the first feature-length film from the creators of R.O.D. Read or Die and Kamichu!, worldwide on the YouTube website on Monday at 8:00 a.m. Pacific Daylight Time. Unlike other anime premieres streamed on YouTube, the beginning of Welcome to THE SPACE SHOW will be specifically available to online viewers outside Japan. (A separate stream of the same 22 minutes will be available to Japanese viewers on the GyaO! service on Tuesday at midnight, and the Tokyo MX station already aired the 22 minutes on June 13.)

The science-fiction family film begins during the summer vacation of fifth grader Natsuki Ōyama, who just moved into the countryside. She and four of her schoolmates embark on an space-spanning adventure that takes them beyond the fields they call home.

For this film, director Koji Masunari, writer Hideyuki Kurata, and character designer Masashi Ishihama joined forces at A-1 Pictures Inc. after working together on the R.O.D. Read or Die and Kamichu! anime. Susan Boyle, the 49-year-old Scottish woman who became globally famous after performing on the televised competition Britain's Got Talent, is contributing her "Who I Was Born to Be" song as the theme of the film.

The film will open in Japan on Saturday, after a February screening (without the theme song) at the Berlin International Film Festival and June screenings at the Sydney Film Festival.

Sources: Cinema Topics, Presepe News, Cinra.Net

Image © A-1 Pictures/Welcome To The Space Show Production Committee

Update: "The longest movie trailer you've ever seen" is now streaming.

Update 2: Aniplex of America notified ANN that it is looking into the playback issues that viewers are experiencing.

Update 3: Aniplex of America notified ANN that the video will work if users select "240p" from the resolution menu in the lower-right corner of the video.