Review of Yellow Submarine (1968) by Derrick M — 11 Jun 2011

The 1960's were a crazy time indeed. Throughout that decade, there was no band that was bigger or more successful than The Beatles, a group consisting of musicians John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Richard Starkey.

They were responsible for over 15 No. 1 hits, and in that time only one or two of these songs hadn't gotten to the top Billboard position. They had films before, one being "A Hard Day's Night", and the other being "Help!", which were both extremely successful comedies, both released while the Beatles were no more than a rock n' roll band singing about love.

"Yellow Submarine", however, was a animated film made in 1968, and was very psychedelic and centered more on their experimental and more elaborate works, such as "Eleanor Rigby", "Nowhere Man", and "All You Need is Love".

There isn't much in terms of story, though I might as well talk a bit about it anyway. There is a distant far away place (20,000 leagues under the sea it lie, or lay, the narrator gets confused) called Pepperland, which is, basically, the cover and universe of "Sgt.

Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band", only animated. It is a peaceful and beautiful place, all held together by music. However, there is a evil (and somewhat creepy) race called the Blue Meanies which despise and hate the happy nature and the people of Pepperland, so one day they attack it, turning all the citizens with the exception of one into stone, with the assistance of cohorts such as the "Apple Bonkers" and the "Flying Glove".

(which is exactly what the name implies) The one who escapes Pepperland takes a vehicle called the Yellow Submarine, in search of someone who could restore Pepperland back to what it once was. While searching, he goes to England and comes across Richard Starkey downtown.

He follows him to his home, where he lives with the other three Beatles, and he recruits them to help him get rid of the Blue Meanies. Now, the story merely compliments the music, which is the true standout of the film.

With a soundtrack of the trippiest Beatles songs out there, such as "Lucy in The Sky with Diamonds", "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band" and "Hey Bulldog" the film's songs are much more interesting than in the previous Beatles films.

The animation is delightfully crude, both mediocre yet expressive at the same time. You have to be a really good band to have a cartoon based on your music, and other than Pink Floyd and The Beatles, there is no one else to my knowledge that does.

And both those bands are damn good.