Category: Movie Review

Producer George Dunning’s absurdist daydream, “Yellow Submarine,” inspired by The Beatles’ song of the same name, is an animated film packed to the brim with psychedelic color schemes, musical numbers performed by the quartet themselves and wildly out-of-proportion body parts. The film has returned to theaters across the country to celebrate its 50th anniversary, allowing it to prove its vibrancy against the test of time.

Lee Minoff’s writing is rife with humor and nods to hippie culture, as the dialogue style seems to shift with every character. Among the Beatles, the chemistry is written clearly. Jeremy, otherwise known as “The Nowhere Man,” speaks entirely in rhymes, and the main antagonist of the story, Chief Blue Meanie, saturates his lines with emotion.

However, instead of the smooth conversation that often accompanies well-written characters, the rhythm and placement of “Yellow Submarine’s” writing is almost unsettling, but, coupled with the unreal nature of the rest of the film’s design, this does not detract from its quality. It feels intentional, serving to push the boundaries of conventional storytelling, which, at the time of the film’s release, were more orthodox.

Ultimately, “Yellow Submarine” revolves entirely around its music. It features several songs by The Beatles, such as “Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band” during the film’s climax, and “All Together Now” to send it off. These performances are woven into the storyline in ways that feel natural and progressive by interacting with events and characters within the film, and the visuals for each track create a dream-like atmosphere that blends from scene to scene.

The animation in “Yellow Submarine” is fluid and colorful, pushing the limits of its two-dimensional space as far as they can go. Each character’s design, like the iconic costumes worn by the Lonely Hearts Club Band, jump off the screen, and juxtapose semi-realistic figures with the absolutely fictional. The film also contrasts light, positive imagery with harsher designs in ways that benefit each other, and make the film, as a whole, more dynamic.

The movie clearly uses its intense visual direction to carry a much, much simpler plot. The peaceful Pepperland falls under attack by the Blue Meanies, and Old Fred, the lone survivor, enlists The Beatles to fight back with their music.

While the film’s focus on visual storytelling is not inherently negative, it lacks even the most basic levels of character development or emotional attachment, and rarely touches upon any morals besides the surface level “All You Need Is Love.” At times, it feels like watching John, Paul, George and Ringo joke between themselves from one color-changing environment to the next, usually featuring a side character or two.

However, “Yellow Submarine” tells its story spectacularly, even a half-century after its initial release. Animated beyond its time with a soundtrack just as innovative, this is not a film a music-enthusiast world want to miss, despite its relatively easy digestibility.

By today’s standards, “Yellow Submarine” might not be considered an outstanding animated movie. What it did, however, in 1968 was to inspire a new generation of interest in animation.

And seen today, now in re-release nationwide to celebrate the 50th anniversary, it still keeps its charm.
“Before “Yellow Submarine,” animation was a mild, goody-goody world of personality-free gloved mice and cartoon bears stealing picnic baskets,” wrote Josh Weinstein in the Guardian.  “How the Beatles’ Yellow Submarine gave rise to modern animation,”

“Without Yellow Submarine,” he wrote, “there would never have been The Simpsons, no Futurama, no South Park, no Toy Story, no Shrek. No animated anything that enables us to laugh at ourselves while being highly entertained.”

Comedy is an important element in this movie. Unlike other animated filmsat that time, “Yellow Submarine” did not make us laugh by using exaggerated body language and slapstick, but by humorous dialogue , such as:

“Hey, I wonder what’ll happen if I pull this lever.”

“Oh, you mustn’t do that now. ”

“Can’t help it. I’m a born ‘Liverpooler.’ ”

The soundtrack contains six songs from the Beatles, and the orchestral part was written by the band’s music producer, George Martin. It forms the development of the plot (such as it is; there was never a completed script, according to the Guardian story) and succeeds at keeping the audience involved. The moment when the (real) Beatles starts to play “Sgt Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band” is  the climax of the movie.

As an animated film, visual arts and graphic design play an integral role.  The now-iconic sign of LOVE and KNOW in Pepperland showcase the artistic flair that has continued to influence designers today: the image of the characters,

Although the Beatles did not voice their own characters —  the voice-over actors imitated George, Ringo, John and Paul, and the actor Paul Angelis voiced both Ringo and Chief Blue Meanie —  but it works.

The film is fast-paced 90 minutes, and it was rare to see an animated film that long in the 1960s.

But it works  — even today.